The Effect of a Plastic Barrier Drape on Resuscitation Performance and Provider Contamination: A Randomized Controlled Simulation-Based Pilot Trial.

BACKGROUND: Patient barriers to protect health care workers from COVID-19 exposure have been studied for airway management. Few are tested for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We sought to determine whether a plastic drape barrier affects resuscitation performance and contamination risks for a simulated cardiopulmonary arrest scenario. METHODS: This pilot trial randomized in-hospital resuscitation teams of 4 to 6 participants to a plastic drape or without a drape in an in situ cardiopulmonary arrest simulation. The mannequin's airway emanated simulated virus particles (GloGerm, Moab, UT), detectable through UV light. Primary outcomes included airway management and CPR quality measures. Secondary outcomes included visible contamination on personal protective equipment (PPE). We used the Non-Technical Skills (NO-TECHS) instrument to measure perceived team performance and the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to measure individual workload. Outcome variables were analyzed using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with participant number as a covariate. RESULTS: Seven teams were allocated to the intervention (plastic drape) group and 7 to the control. Intubation and ventilation performance (η 2 = 0.09, P > 0.3) and chest compression quality (η 2 = 0.03-0.19, P > 0.14) were not affected by the plastic drape. However, mean contaminated PPE per person decreased with the drape (2.8 ± 0.3 vs. 3.7 ± 0.3, partial η 2 = 0.29, P = 0.05). No differences in perceived workload nor team performance were noted ( P > 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, the use of a plastic drape barrier seems not to affect resuscitation performance on simulated cardiopulmonary arrest but decreases health care worker contamination risk. Further implementation trials could characterize the true risk reduction and any effect on resuscitation outcomes.

Development of a Mannequin for Simulation-Based Trials Involving Respiratory Viral Spread During Respiratory Arrest and Cardiopulmonary Arrest Scenarios.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mannequin models have been developed to mimic viral spread using fluorescent particles. These models use contraptions such as a spray gun or an exploding latex balloon to emanate a sudden acceleration of particles, simulating a "cough" reflex. No models have been developed to mimic passive aerosolization of viral particles during a cardiopulmonary arrest simulation. Our novel approach to aerosolization of simulated viral spread allows for a continuous flow of particles, which allows us to maintain components of high-fidelity team-based simulations. Our simulated model emanated GloGerm (Moab, UT) from the respiratory tract using a continuous nebulization chamber. Uniquely, the construction of our apparatus allowed for the ability to perform full, simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation scenarios (such as chest compressions, bag-mask ventilation, and endotracheal intubation) on a high-fidelity mannequin while visualizing potential contamination spread at the conclusion of the simulation. Positive feedback from users included the ability to visualize particulate contamination after cardiopulmonary resuscitations in the context of personal protective equipment usage and roles in resuscitation (i.e. physician, respiratory therapist, nurse). Negative criticism towards the simulation included the lack of certain high-fidelity feedback markers of the mannequin (auscultating breath sounds and checking pulses) due to the construction of the particle aerosolization mechanism.