There needs to be a national standard for measuring the effectiveness of personal protective equipment at its most vulnerable spot—the wrist, urge CDC investigators.
P
roper donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) lowers the chance of spreading pathogens in a hospital or other health care facility. It involves several steps, but it’s worth doing well because the equipment protects patients and health care workers from the many deadly pathogens that can strike. COVID-19 and its variants aren’t the only dangers infection preventionists (IPs) have to deal with.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers IPs and other health care professionals a step-by-step guide for how best to put on and take off PPE.1 And as the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) notes, the various parts of PPE may come from different sources, or manufacturers, and that presents a problem.2
PPE may not fit as snuggly as it should. “A particularly vulnerable area is where the glove and gown meet: the glove-gown interface,” NIOSH points out. “This interface is considered one of the weakest areas because gaps can occur, allowing infectious fluids to seep through to the skin.” Recently, CDC investigators measured just how much pathogenic leakage can occur at the interface. Their findings, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, led them to conclude that there needs to be a national standard developed for measuring the safety of the glove-gown interface.3 That standard must take into account the various design factors of the different models of gloves and gowns.
The investigators evaluated “the fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface by simulating exposures and HCP [health care personnel] arm movements in patient care. We tested fluid leakage of 2 examination gloves with different cuff lengths and 7 isolation gown models designed with varying levels of barrier resistance and multiple cuff types.”
Gowns with a thumb loop design provided the best protection. The next best was the elastic cuff design, followed by the knit cuff design. But the investigators didn’t think any of the designs provided the proper protection because they found substantial leakage through gown fabrics.
They concluded that there’s “a need to develop a standardized method to evaluate leakage at the glove-gown interface to improve worker protection.”
That conclusion mirrors what NIOSH says about the glove-gown interface.
“Despite this concern, the glove-gown interface has received little research attention, so minimal guidance is available on how to prevent gaps. Furthermore, no standardized test currently exists to evaluate leakages in new products,” NIOSH says.
References:
Four Years After COVID-19: What Has the Infection Prevention Community Learned?
March 15th 2024Four years ago today, March 15, 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown began, and since then, the world has undergone significant changes. It has been a terrifying experience for everyone, especially for the infection prevention community, both within and outside of the health care sector. However, a crucial question remains unanswered: What has the infection prevention community learned from this pandemic, and where does it go from here?
COVID-19 Harmonization: Balancing Risks and Benefits of CDC's Latest Move
March 11th 2024The CDC's recent decision to align recommendations for respiratory viruses, particularly COVID-19, has garnered support from the public and infectious disease societies. However, as the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) lends its backing to the CDC's harmonization efforts, concerns persist regarding the implications of this shift, especially considering the Omicron variant's unique characteristics and the ongoing challenges posed by COVID-19's multi-system impacts.
“A Marathon and a Sprint”: Passing Surgical Smoke Legislation
March 9th 2024At the AORN’s International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024, a presentation on surgical smoke drew applause and strong emotion about the continuing fight for legislation on removing surgical smoke from operating rooms. Infection Control Today was there to tell you what happened.
Health at Risk: The Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance From a Global to Local Health Perspective
March 6th 2024Discover the critical role infection preventionists play in combating multidrug-resistant organisms, from the impact on patient care to the challenges of treatment, and the evolving landscape of antimicrobial resistance with Katharine J Hoffman, MPH, CIC.