User experience of wearing comfort of reusable versus disposable surgical gowns and environmental perspectives: A cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the user experience of wearing comfort of reusable sterile surgical gowns and compare these gowns with conventional disposable surgical gowns. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: An academic hospital in the Netherlands. POPULATION: Gynaecologists, surgeons, residents and operating room assistants (n=80). METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained via a written questionnaire. Participants provided subjective comments and scored the reusable gown on each individual topic with a score from 1 to 5 (1 = unsatisfactory, 2 = moderate, 3 = good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent) and compared the reusable gown with the conventional disposable alternative (better, equal or worse). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Wearing comfort: ventilation and temperature regulation, fit and length, functionality, barrier function and ease of use. RESULTS: The results of the overall scores of the reusable gown are scored as 'very good' (mean 4.3, SD ± 0.5) by its users. Regarding comparison of the gowns, more than 79% (lowest score 79%, highest score 95%) of the participants scored the reusable gown equal or higher on six of seven topics. The topic 'ease of use' was scored equal or higher by 59% of the participants. Subjective comments provided information on possible improvements. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study demonstrate that there is professional acceptance regarding the utilisation of reusable surgical gowns. To facilitate broader adoption, it is imperative to foster collaboration among suppliers and healthcare institutions. The reusable surgical gown is an environmentally sustainable, safe and comfortable alternative in the operating room.

Surgical gowns as a safety barrier under non-standard environmental conditions.

In this prospective study, we aimed to investigate whether surgical gowns become contaminated during surgery. Samples from the gowns of five surgeons during 19 surgeries were collected using sterile swabs in circular standard delimited areas on both wrists and the mid-chest at three time-points: immediately before surgical incision (t=0), 30 min (t=30), and 60 min (t=60) later. Additionally, at t=0 and t=60, three settle plates of plate count agar were positioned at 1.5 m from the ground and remained open for 20 min. The operating room temperature and relative humidity were monitored. The swabs were cultivated and incubated, and colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) counts were measured. The CFU/g counts for bacteria or fungi did not differ among the three sampling sites. The surgeons' lateral dominance in manual dexterity did not influence the gowns' contamination. There were significant variations in the temperature and relative humidity over time, but not in the CFU/g counts. In conclusion, during the first hour of surgery, surgical gowns did not become a source of contamination and are an effective barrier against bacterial and fungal contamination even under non-standard surgical environmental conditions.

Does the Type of Surgical Headwear Worn in the OR Matter? A Review of Evidence and Opinions.

Proper surgical attire is essential in decreasing surgical site infections; however, the effectiveness of the different types of headwear is a controversial topic. We conducted a narrative review based on studies identified through a focused literature search to summarize and critically assess evidence and opinions on the most appropriate type of headwear for OR personnel. We included 48 articles: 17 original research studies and 31 non-peer-reviewed articles of various types. Research published before 2014 mostly supports the complete coverage of all hair, which aligns with the 2015 AORN guidelines. However, more recent literature rebuts these guidelines and emphasizes the importance of clean headwear. Although earlier studies (published before 2017) lacked scientific rigor, later studies (published after 2017) have other various limitations, including missing data on compliance, surgery-related techniques, and surgical attire other than headwear. The findings from this review highlight the importance of solid evidence-based guidelines and expert collaboration.

Changes in the properties of pure cotton surgical gowns and drapes with clinical use and reprocessing.

The impact of repeated in-hospital reprocessing on 100% cotton fabric continues to be debated. We analyzed the properties of surgical gowns and drapes over 15 months of clinical use. The amount of linting fibers and the water absorption rate increased significantly, but microbial and blood penetration was preserved.

Evaluation of Surgical Gown Cuff Contamination During Orthopaedic Surgery in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of positive cultures of the surgical gown cuffs among scrubbed personnel prior to and immediately after orthopaedic surgical procedures performed on client-owned dogs. STUDY DESIGN: In this cross-sectional study, the left and right surgical gown cuffs of three scrubbed persons in 10 orthopaedic surgical procedures were individually sampled using a sterile wipe prior to and immediately after surgery in order to determine the frequency of and risk factors associated with positive bacterial cultures. RESULTS: Fifty of 120 (41.6%) cultures were positive with an even distribution before and after surgery. The three most common genera were Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium and Streptococcus. Using multivariable logistic regression models, humidity in the operating room (odds ratio: 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.08; p = 0.038) and the number of individuals scrubbed into surgery (odds ratio: 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.39-0.91; p = 0.016) had a significant effect on the likelihood of positive culture after surgery. Of the nine patients available for follow-up, one dog developed osteomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: Maintaining the humidity in the operating room to the lowest comfortable level may reduce contamination of the surgical gown cuffs. Confirmation of bacterial contamination of surgical gown cuffs warrants adherence to operative guidelines to minimize the risk of surgical gown cuffs' contact with sterile attire, equipment and the surgical field during surgical procedures.

Pediatric dentist attire and relationship with anxiety in children and parents during Covid-19 pandemic

Aim The study aimed to evaluate children's and parent's preferences of dentist's attire during Covid-19 pandemic and their relationship with dental anxiety. Methods A total of 139 Children(71 boys, 68 girls) aged 6-12 years were shown videos of a pediatric dentist working with different attire such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and pedoscrub, and they were asked to express the way they preferred their dentist to be dressed. Children's anxiety levels with different attire of paediatric dentists were assessed in different age groups and for boys and girls separately and recorded it using the Facial image scale. A questionnaire regarding dental anxiety was created online and completed by 139 parents (76 females, 63 males) of various ages and different educational backgrounds who were asked to choose between two outfits. Results were tabulated and statistically analysed using Chi-square test. Results Children aged 10-12 years preferred PPE by 50.6%, whereas 48.1% of children aged 6-9 years least preferred PPE (<0.05). About 46 (33%) were scored as anxious children and they had a preference for pedoscrub. Also, nonanxious children 43(31%) preferred PPE. All educated parents (100%) selected PPE over pedoscrub and the result were shown to be statistically significant. (<0.05). Conclusion Ultimately, the majority of the anxious children chosen pedoscrub, whereas non - anxious children have chosen PPE. Furthermore, the data reveals that both educated parents and older children preferred PPE as their attire for paediatric dentists.

Children's and parents' perceptions concerning surgical attire: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature about children's and parent's perceptions on surgical attire. DATA SOURCE: A systematic search was conducted in the databases EMBASE, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS), PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science. Grey literature was searched on Google Scholar, Open Grey and ProQuest Dissertations, and Theses Database. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 2,567 papers were identified. After a two-phase selection, 15 studies were included in narrative synthesis. Children favored wearing white coats in five of the nine included studies (55.5% [95%CI 48.3-62.7]; p=1.00). With respect to parents' preferences, results of vote counting showed that in 11 of 15 included studies, they favored physicians wearing white coats (73.3% [95%CI 67.9-78.6]; p=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Children and parents have preferred physicians to wear a white coat with a very low certainty of evidence.

Iatrogenic Contamination With a Surgical Helmet System in Orthopedic Surgery.

Surgical helmet systems (SHSs) have been used to decrease iatrogenic contamination to prevent periprosthetic joint infections. However, the use of SHSs has been controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate iatrogenic contamination of traditional surgical attire (TSA), SHSs, and SHSs with delayed ventilation (SHS-DV) (helmet fan not turned on until surgeon gowned and gloved). A total of 180 orthopedic surgical procedures were prospectively enrolled and randomized into one of three cohorts. The TSA cohort included any orthopedic procedures, while the SHS and SHS-DV cohorts included arthroplasty procedures. Cultures were obtained from bilateral forearms, axillae, the sternum, and face shields for SHS groups. There were 60 surgeries in each group. The rate of positive cultures was calculated for each cohort and stratified by location and type of microorganism. The positive culture rates were 15% in the TSA, 25% in the SHS, 18% in the SHS-DV cohorts. The positive swab culture rates were 6% in the TSA, 7% in the SHS, and 4% in the SHS-DV cohorts. The positive culture rate was highest from the forearms in the TSA cohort (10%), the face shield in the SHS cohort (20%), and the chest in the SHS-DV cohort (7%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was the most common bacteria cultured. The overall bacterial contamination rates were similar between the TSA and the SHS cohorts, with a lower rate in the SHS-DV cohort. Waiting to initiate airflow in SHSs and treating the shields as contaminated may reduce iatrogenic contamination. [Orthopedics. 2021;44(6):e753-e756.].

The Association between the Perceived Adequacy of Workplace Infection Control Procedures and Personal Protective Equipment with Mental Health Symptoms: A Cross-sectional Survey of Canadian Health-care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: L'association entre le caractère adéquat perçu des procédures de contrôle des infections au travail et de l'équipement de protection personnel pour les symptômes de santé mentale. Un sondage transversal des travailleurs de la santé canadiens durant la pandémie COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between perceived adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) and workplace-based infection control procedures (ICP) and mental health symptoms among a sample of health-care workers in Canada within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A convenience-based internet survey of health-care workers in Canada was facilitated through various labor organizations between April 7 and May 13, 2020. A total of 7,298 respondents started the survey, of which 5,988 reported information on the main exposures and outcomes. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) screener, and depression symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) screener. We assessed the perceived need and adequacy of 8 types of PPE and 10 different ICP. Regression analyses examined the proportion of GAD-2 and PHQ-2 scores of 3 and higher across levels of PPE and ICP, adjusted for a range of demographic, occupation, workplace, and COVID-19-specific measures. RESULTS: A total of 54.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53.5% to 56.1%) of the sample had GAD-2 scores of 3 and higher, and 42.3% (95% CI, 41.0% to 43.6%) of the sample had PHQ-2 scores of 3 and higher. Absolute differences of 18% (95% CI, 12% to 23%) and 17% (95% CI, 12% to 22%) were observed in the prevalence of GAD-2 scores of 3 and higher between workers whose perceived PPE needs and ICP needs were met compared to those who needs were not met. Differences of between 11% (95% CI, 6% to 17%) and 19% (95% CI, 14% to 24%) were observed in PHQ-2 scores of 3 and higher across these same PPE and ICP categories. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest strengthening employer-based infection control strategies likely has important implications for the mental health symptoms among health-care workers in Canada.

Effect of attire on client perceptions of veterinarians.

This study examined the effect that veterinarian attire and gender had on clients' perceptions of veterinarians in a large academic specialty hospital. Clients volunteered to answer a survey in the small animal waiting area over a 3-month period. The survey consisted of demographic information, information about the nature of their appointment with their pet, and questions regarding clients' levels of comfort with and the perceived trustworthiness of a Caucasian male and Caucasian female model in four different types of attire: surgical scrubs, surgical scrubs with white lab coat, business casual, and business casual with white lab coat. Relevant effects of interest were estimated using linear mixed models. Five hundred and five clients participated in the survey, yielding a total of 6217 completed survey questions. Clients perceived veterinarians wearing white lab coats as more competent and reported more comfort with those veterinarians (P < 0.0001). When comparing surgical scrubs with no white lab coat to business attire with no white lab coat, surgical scrubs resulted in higher perceived competence and comfort levels (P < 0.0001). Wearing a white lab coat over both surgical scrubs and business casual increased clients' perceived competency and comfort levels compared to not wearing a white lab coat.

Infection Prevention Precautions for Routine Anesthesia Care During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

Many health care systems around the world continue to struggle with large numbers of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, while others have diminishing numbers of cases following an initial surge. There will most likely be significant oscillations in numbers of cases for the foreseeable future, based on the regional epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Less affected hospitals and facilities will attempt to progressively resume elective procedures and surgery. Ramping up elective care in hospitals that deliberately curtailed elective care to focus on SARS-CoV-2-infected patients will present unique and serious challenges. Among the challenges will be protecting patients and providers from recurrent outbreaks of disease while increasing procedure throughput. Anesthesia providers will inevitably be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by patients who have not been diagnosed with infection. This is particularly concerning in consideration that aerosols produced during airway management may be infective. In this article, we recommend an approach to routine anesthesia care in the setting of persistent but variable prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We make specific recommendations for personal protective equipment and for the conduct of anesthesia procedures and workflow based on evidence and expert opinion. We propose practical, relatively inexpensive precautions that can be applied to all patients undergoing anesthesia. Because the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spread primarily by respiratory droplets and aerosols, effective masking of anesthesia providers is of paramount importance. Hospitals should follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for universal masking of all providers and patients within their facilities. Anesthesia providers should perform anesthetic care in respirator masks (such as N-95 and FFP-2) whenever possible, even when the SARS-CoV-2 test status of patients is negative. Attempting to screen patients for infection with SARS-CoV-2, while valuable, is not a substitute for respiratory protection of providers, as false-negative tests are possible and infected persons can be asymptomatic or presymptomatic. Provision of adequate supplies of respirator masks and other respiratory protection equipment such as powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) should be a high priority for health care facilities and for government agencies. Eye protection is also necessary because of the possibility of infection from virus coming into contact with the conjunctiva. Because SARS-CoV-2 persists on surfaces and may cause infection by contact with fomites, hand hygiene and surface cleaning are also of paramount importance.

A Grounded Theory of Intraoperative Team Members' Decision Making Regarding Surgical Attire Guideline Adherence.

Surgical attire guidelines (SAGs) assist perioperative nurses with minimizing the risk of patients developing surgical site infections. However, some intraoperative team members fail to fully adhere to SAGs, which may put patients at risk. Because there is a lack of published literature on the reasons for intraoperative team members' SAG nonadherence, I undertook a grounded theory study to explore the decision making of intraoperative team members related to the AORN SAG. The resulting model identifies the factors that affect decision making regarding SAG adherence, including personal identity needs, adherence anchoring activities, SAG awareness, direction from authority figures and organizations, guideline evidence strength, and resource availability. After weighing the influence of each factor, team members decide to what extent they will adhere to the SAG. The theory also provides guidance for enhancing adherence decisions.

PPE during a pandemic: The experience of obtaining PPE and lessons learned from a department of obstetrics and gynecology in New York city.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is an ongoing crisis that has strained hospitals and health systems around the globe. The provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers is of utmost importance in sustaining an effective response to this crisis. New York City has experienced one of the most devastating outbreaks of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this article we report the experience of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University in New York City in managing the supply of PPE for providers and staff during the height of the outbreak. We describe the types of equipment used and aspects of PPE regulation and certification. We also describe our practices in extended use and reuse of PPE in light of the current understanding of the virus characteristics and modes of transmission.

Unintended consequences of long-sleeved gowns in a critical care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the peak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hand hygiene audits indicated decreased compliance in a 12-bed critical care (CC) area with ventilated COVID-19 patients, where staff used personal protective equipment (PPE), including sessional use of long-sleeved gowns in accordance with the recommendations of Public Health England. There was also a cluster of three central venous catheter (CVC) infections along with increases in the number of patients from whom enteric Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) were isolated from sterile sites. Environmental sampling of near-patient surfaces and frequently touched sites demonstrated that 11.5% of areas were contaminated with enteric GNB in the COVID-19 CC area, compared with 2.6% and 2.7% in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 general wards, respectively. Following a risk assessment, hospital policy was changed to replace long-sleeved gowns with short-sleeved gowns. The CC unit underwent enhanced cleaning with hypochlorite-based disinfectant and was resampled 8 days later. On resampling, no GNB were isolated from the CC unit. Following this change in PPE, hand hygiene compliance returned to baseline standards and no further CVC infections were identified. Staff reported a preference for short-sleeved gowns. No evidence currently exists that PPE beyond that recommended for pandemic influenza (respiratory protection plus standard PPE) adds to the protection of healthcare workers (HCWs) from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. Long-sleeved gowns prevent HCWs performing hand hygiene effectively. While it is imperative that HCWs are adequately protected, protection of patients from infection hazards is equally important. Further studies are necessary to establish risks from PPE to inform a review of current guidance.