Authors
Kahveci Z; Kilinc-Balci FS; Yorio PL
Source
J Occup Environ Hyg 2019 Jul; 16(7):498-506
Abstract
The barrier properties of personal protective equipment are vital to healthcare personnel to protect themselves from possible infectious body fluids. Intraoperative exposure of healthcare personnel to body fluids can be substantial in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The glove-gown interface is known as one of the weakest points of the whole personal protective equipment system. However, there is a lack of scientific research designed to investigate the problem. This paper reports the results of experiments using a new testing methodology developed to quantify fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface while simulating surgical settings in terms of operating room personnel activities, exposure types, exposure durations, and physical stresses applied on the interface. This study represents one of the first efforts investigating the amount of fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface for a number of surgical gown and glove models while considering glove material differences and single vs. double gloving. The test results showed that there is a significant difference in fluid leakage amounts between three gown models and four glove models studied. The results also demonstrated that double gloving significantly reduced the fluid leakage compared to single glove use. The mean fluid leakage was lower in the double synthetic glove configurations (M ¼ 2.76g) compared with all other configurations (3GLV, M = 8.3g; 4GLV, M = 9.49g; 5GLV, M = 3.08g; 6GLV, M = 20.03g; double latex, M = 5.22g). Findings highlighted a significant interaction between glove and gown designs, which suggests that gown and gloves should be designed together as a system to minimize or eliminate the fluid leakage.
Keywords
Gloves; Surgery; Personal protective equipment; PPE; Protective clothing; Infection control; Body fluids; Leak prevention;
Author Keywords: Glove; gown; interface; penetration; personal protective equipment; surgical settings
Contact
F. Selcen Kilinc-Balci, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15236
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
jcq8@cdc.gov
Priority Area
Healthcare and Social Assistance; Public Safety
Source Name
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
