scholarly journals A Personal Respirator to Improve Protection for Healthcare Workers Treating COVID-19 (PeRSo)

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul T. Elkington ◽  
Alexander S. Dickinson ◽  
Mark N. Mavrogordato ◽  
Daniel C. Spencer ◽  
Richard J. Gillams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Low Resource Settings ◽  
Supply Logistics ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Manufacturing Complexity ◽  
Validation Testing

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection is a global pandemic. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect healthcare workers has been a recurrent challenge in terms of global stocks, supply logistics and suitability. In some settings, around 20% of healthcare workers treating COVID-19 cases have become infected, which leads to staff absence at peaks of the pandemic, and in some cases mortality.Methods: To address shortcomings in PPE, we developed a simple powered air purifying respirator, made from inexpensive and widely available components. The prototype was designed to minimize manufacturing complexity so that derivative versions could be developed in low resource settings with minor modification.Results: The “Personal Respirator – Southampton” (PeRSo) delivers High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered air from a battery powered fan-filter assembly into a lightweight hood with a clear visor that can be comfortably worn for several hours. Validation testing demonstrates that the prototype removes microbes, avoids excessive CO2 build-up in normal use, and passes fit test protocols widely used to evaluate standard N95/FFP2 and N99/FFP3 face masks. Feedback from doctors and nurses indicate the PeRSo prototype was preferred to standard FFP2 and FFP3 masks, being more comfortable and reducing the time and risk of recurrently changing PPE. Patients report better communication and reassurance as the entire face is visible.Conclusion: Rapid upscale of production of cheaply produced powered air purifying respirators, designed to achieve regulatory approval in the country of production, could protect healthcare workers from infection and improve healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals What healthcare professionals owe us: why their duty to treat during a pandemic is contingent on personal protective equipment (PPE)

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 432-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Schuklenk
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Universal Precautions ◽  
Tax Regimes ◽  
Global North ◽  
Allocation Decisions

Healthcare professionals’ capacity to protect themselves, while caring for infected patients during an infectious disease pandemic, depends on their ability to practise universal precautions. In turn, universal precautions rely on the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). During the SARS-CoV2 outbreak many healthcare workers across the globe have been reluctant to provide patient care because crucial PPE components are in short supply. The lack of such equipment during the pandemic was not a result of careful resource allocation decisions in the global north, where the short supply could be explained through their high cost. Instead, they were the result of democratically elected governments prioritising low tax regimes over an adequate resourcing of their healthcare delivery systems. Such decisions were made despite global health experts warning about the high probability of pandemics like SARS-CoV2 occurring during our lifetimes. Avoidable allocation decisions by democratically elected political leaders resulted in a lack of sufficient PPE for healthcare professionals. After discussing and discounting various ethical arguments in support of a professional obligation to treat, even without or with suboptimal PPE, I conclude that these policy decisions were sufficiently grave that they provide a sound ethical rationale to justify healthcare workers’ refusal to provide care to infected patients.

scholarly journals Clusters of Elements for Quality Assurance of Health Worker Protection Measures in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Bartosz Orzeł ◽  
Radosław Wolniak
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Delivery System ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Medical Facilities

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic has had a significant impact on the healthcare delivery system worldwide. Many pre-pandemic norms, standards, and methods of providing medical services in most medical facilities had to be changed and re-evaluated. Many of them will likely stay changed and will probably never be provided in the same way in post-pandemic reality. The COVID-19 crisis is still ongoing and some sources say that we should be prepared for a third wave of the pandemic. The scope of the analysis conducted in this publication is related to the healthcare sector, including services and Polish healthcare professionals’ work quality during the COVID-19 crisis. The research gap, the basis for conducting new research, is the lack of clarified results analysing the quality assurance of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is necessary to ask about healthcare professionals’ rate of personal protective equipment quality in Polish medical facilities. The result of cluster analysis will help us to know what the clusters for variables on quality assurance of protection measures for healthcare workers are. The research was carried out using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 21 medical personnel in Polish hospitals. The main findings of this publication are problems with information flow between staff and staff managers and determining appropriate zones. The quality of the personal protective equipment offered by medical facilities’ management and their availability is at an appropriate level. The publication aims to analyse the level of quality assurance of health care worker protection measures in the example of Silesian voivodeships in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Sociodemographic and Clinical Features of COVID-19 Reinfection Cases Among Healthcare Workers in Turkey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hatice İkiışık ◽  
Yasemin Çağ ◽  
Mehmet Akif Sezerol ◽  
Aral Surmeli ◽  
Yusuf Taşçı ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Disease Characteristic

Abstract Background: Global pandemic of novel Coronavirus Disease (SARS- COV-2) has spread across all continents and infected almost 80 million people. Since it is a novel disease, unknowns about the disease characteristic, treatment and length of immunity still persist. This study aims to characterize reinfection, personal protective equipment use and disease progress in healthcare workers in İstanbul. Methods: 23 healthcare workers who had confirmed negative PCR results after infection and another positivity later were questioned about both infection progress, their symptoms and treatment through an online questionnaire. Results: While the symptoms during both courses did not change drastically, 73.9% were treated as outpatient during the first infection while all but one (95.7%) were treated as such during second time around. Median time between two infections were 106 days. All participants were cleared of disease and none had to be treated in intensive care unit. Conclusion: Use of personal protective equipment was found subpar compared to World Health Organization recommendations. This is the first study from Turkey characterizing reinfected cases in healthcare workers.

scholarly journals Dermatology in COVID-19 pandemic: a review of manifestation, prevention, and treatment of personal protective equipment adverse skin reactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Gusti Ayu Nitya Indira ◽  
I Made Sutha Saskara
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Secondary Infection ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
World Health ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Skin Reactions ◽  
Global Pandemic

Since declared as a global pandemic by World Health Organizations on 11th March 2020, per early July 2020, COVID-19 total confirmed cases count had surpassed 11 million cases. COVID-19 poses a new challenge to healthcare workers with a new standard of care and managing COVID-19 patients. Healthcare workers must adhere to stricter hand hygiene, and the new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protocol brings forth new problems for healthcare workers. Skin problems have become the most common and preventable adverse effects of the daily and prolonged use of PPE. This could inadvertently cause protocol breaches, such as mask touching, scratching, or off-protocol PPE adjustment. Damage in the skin could also cause discomfort, and skin exposure may serve as a new port of entry for a secondary infection. In this study, we review various studies regarding the adverse effects, prevention, and therapy of the skin problems related to COVID-19 PPE use.

scholarly journals Stress and Associated Factors among Frontline Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Epicenter of Da Nang City, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7378
Author(s):  
Nhan Phuc Thanh Nguyen ◽  
Duong Dinh Le ◽  
Robert Colebunders ◽  
Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo ◽  
Trung Dinh Tran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Stress Component ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Laboratory Workers ◽  
Frontline Healthcare Workers ◽  
Second Wave

Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) involved in the COVID-19 response have a higher risk of experiencing psychosocial distress amidst the pandemic. Between July and September 2020, a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared in Vietnam with Da Nang city being the epicenter. During the outbreak, HCWs were quarantined within the health facilities in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19 to their respective communities. Using the stress component of the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), we assessed the level of stress among HCWs in Da Nang city. Between 30 August and 15 September 2020, 746 frontline HCWs were recruited to fill in an online structured questionnaire. Overall, 44.6% of participants experienced increased stress and 18.9% severe or extremely severe stress. In multivariable analysis, increased stress was associated with longer working hours (OR = 1.012; 95% CI: 1.004–1.019), working in health facilities providing COVID-19 treatment (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.04–2.39), having direct contact with patients or their bio-samples (physicians, nurses and laboratory workers; OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.02–1.99), low confidence in the available personal protective equipment (OR = 0.846; 95% CI: 0.744–0.962) and low knowledge on COVID-19 prevention and treatment (OR = 0.853; 95% CI: 0.739–0.986). In conclusion, many frontline HCWs experienced increased stress during the COVID-19 outbreak in Da Nang city. Reducing working time, providing essential personal protective equipment and enhancing the knowledge on COVID-19 will help to reduce this stress. Moreover, extra support is needed for HCWs who are directly exposed to COVID-19 patients.

scholarly journals COVID-19 global pandemic planning: Dry heat incubation and ambient temperature fail to consistently inactivate SARS-CoV-2 on N95 respirators

2020 ◽  
pp. 153537022097781
Author(s):  
Douglas J Perkins ◽  
Robert A Nofchissey ◽  
Chunyan Ye ◽  
Nathan Donart ◽  
Alison Kell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Personnel ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Dry Heat ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Individual Site ◽  
Pandemic Planning ◽  
N95 Respirators

The ongoing pandemic of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has placed a substantial strain on the supply of personal protective equipment, particularly the availability of N95 respirators for frontline healthcare personnel. These shortages have led to the creation of protocols to disinfect and reuse potentially contaminated personal protective equipment. A simple and inexpensive decontamination procedure that does not rely on the use of consumable supplies is dry heat incubation. Although reprocessing with this method has been shown to maintain the integrity of N95 respirators after multiple decontamination procedures, information on the ability of dry heat incubation to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 is largely unreported. Here, we show that dry heat incubation does not consistently inactivate SARS-CoV-2-contaminated N95 respirators, and that variation in experimental conditions can dramatically affect viability of the virus. Furthermore, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can survive on N95 respirators that remain at room temperature for at least five days. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that dry heat incubation procedures and ambient temperature for five days are not viable methods for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 on N95 respirators for potential reuse. We recommend that decontamination procedures being considered for the reuse of N95 respirators be validated at each individual site and that validation of the process must be thoroughly conducted using a defined protocol.

scholarly journals Safe On-Boat Resuscitation by Lifeguards in COVID-19 Era: A Pilot Study Comparing Three Sets of Personal Protective Equipment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Roberto Barcala-Furelos ◽  
Cristian Abelairas-Gómez ◽  
Alejandra Alonso-Calvete ◽  
Francisco Cano-Noguera ◽  
Aida Carballo-Fazanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Prehospital Care ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Preparation Time

Abstract Introduction: On-boat resuscitation can be applied by lifeguards in an inflatable rescue boat (IRB). Due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) and recommendations for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), prehospital care procedures need to be re-evaluated. The objective of this study was to determine how the use of PPE influences the amount of preparation time needed before beginning actual resuscitation and the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR; QCPR) on an IRB. Methods: Three CPR tests were performed by 14 lifeguards, in teams of two, wearing different PPE: (1) Basic PPE (B-PPE): gloves, a mask, and protective glasses; (2) Full PPE (F-PPE): B-PPE + a waterproof apron; and (3) Basic PPE + plastic blanket (B+PPE). On-boat resuscitation using a bag-valve-mask (BVM) and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter was performed sailing at 20km/hour. Results: Using B-PPE takes less time and is significantly faster than F-PPE (B-PPE 17 [SD = 2] seconds versus F-PPE 69 [SD = 17] seconds; P = .001), and the use of B+PPE is slightly higher (B-PPE 17 [SD = 2] seconds versus B+PPE 34 [SD = 6] seconds; P = .002). The QCPR remained similar in all three scenarios (P >.05), reaching values over 79%. Conclusion: The use of PPE during on-board resuscitation is feasible and does not interfere with quality when performed by trained lifeguards. The use of a plastic blanket could be a quick and easy alternative to offer extra protection to lifeguards during CPR on an IRB.

scholarly journals Fit Testing Retrofitted Full-Face Snorkel Masks as a Form of Novel Personal Protective Equipment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Stephanie Toigo ◽  
Michel Jacques ◽  
Tarek Razek ◽  
Ewa Rajda ◽  
Sidney Omelon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Passing Rate ◽  
Fit Testing ◽  
Full Face ◽  
Medical Grade

ABSTRACT Objective: Bottlenecks in the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain have contributed to shortages of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in fractures in the functionality of healthcare systems. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of retrofitted commercial snorkel masks as an alternative respirator for healthcare workers during infectious disease outbreaks. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed, analyzing qualitative and quantitative fit test results of the retrofitted Aria Ocean Reef® full-face snorkeling mask on healthcare workers at the McGill University Health Centre between April-June 2020. Historical fit test results, using medical-grade respirators, for healthcare workers were also analyzed. Results: During the study period, 71 participants volunteered for fit testing, 60.6% of which were nurses. The overall fit test passing rate using the snorkel mask was 83.1%. Of the participants who did not previously pass fit testing with medical-grade respirators, 80% achieved a passing fit test with the snorkel respirator. Conclusions: The results suggest that this novel respirator may be an effective and feasible alternative solution to address PPE shortages, while still providing healthcare workers with ample protection. Additional robust testing will be required to ensure that respirator fit is maintained, after numerous rounds of disinfection.

scholarly journals Acoustic voice characteristics with and without wearing a facemask

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duy Duong Nguyen ◽  
Patricia McCabe ◽  
Donna Thomas ◽  
Alison Purcell ◽  
Maree Doble ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Mask Condition ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Significant Attenuation ◽  
Cepstral Peak Prominence ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Significant Change ◽  
The Voice

AbstractFacemasks are essential for healthcare workers but characteristics of the voice whilst wearing this personal protective equipment are not well understood. In the present study, we compared acoustic voice measures in recordings of sixteen adults producing standardised vocal tasks with and without wearing either a surgical mask or a KN95 mask. Data were analysed for mean spectral levels at 0–1 kHz and 1–8 kHz regions, an energy ratio between 0–1 and 1–8 kHz (LH1000), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS), and vocal intensity. In connected speech there was significant attenuation of mean spectral level at 1–8 kHz region and there was no significant change in this measure at 0–1 kHz. Mean spectral levels of vowel did not change significantly in mask-wearing conditions. LH1000 for connected speech significantly increased whilst wearing either a surgical mask or KN95 mask but no significant change in this measure was found for vowel. HNR was higher in the mask-wearing conditions than the no-mask condition. CPPS and vocal intensity did not change in mask-wearing conditions. These findings implied an attenuation effects of wearing these types of masks on the voice spectra with surgical mask showing less impact than the KN95.

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