Personal Protective Equipment needed for healthcare workers to protect themselves from COVID-19

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

They are "specialized clothing or equipment, worn by an employee for protection against infectious materials".

Types of PPE Used in Healthcare Settings

• Gloves – protect hands
• Gowns/aprons – protect skin and/or clothing 
• Masks and respirators– protect mouth/nose – 
• Respirators – protect respiratory tract from airborne infectious agents
• Goggles – protect eyes 
• Face shields – protect face, mouth, nose, and eyes
  

Gloves 

• Purpose – patient care, environmental services, other
•  Glove material – vinyl, latex, nitrile, other 
• Sterile or nonsterile 
• One or two pair
•  Single use or reusable 

Do’s and Don’ts of Glove Use

 • Work from “clean to dirty”

 • Limit opportunities for “touch contamination” - protect yourself, others, and the environment

 – Don’t touch your face or adjust PPE with contaminated gloves

 – Don’t touch environmental surfaces except as necessary during patient care

Change gloves

 – During use if torn and when heavily soiled (even during use on the same patient)

 – After use on each patient

 Discard in appropriate receptacle

 – Never wash or reuse disposable gloves

Gowns or Aprons 

• Material 

Natural or man-made 

– Reusable or disposable

 – Resistance to fluid penetration

 • Clean or sterile

Face Protection 

• Masks – protect nose and mouth (N95, N99 or N100)

– Should fully cover nose and mouth and prevent fluid penetration

 • Goggles – protect eyes – Should fit snuggly over and around eyes 

– Personal glasses not a substitute for goggles 

– Antifog feature improves clarity.

• Face shields

 – protect face, nose, mouth, and eyes 

– Should cover forehead, extend below chin and wrap around side of face

Respiratory Protection 

• Purpose – protect from inhalation of infectious aerosols (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis) 

• PPE types for respiratory protection 

– Particulate respirators 

– Half- or full-face elastomeric respirators 

– Powered air purifying respirators (PAPR)

Elements of a Respiratory Protection Program

 • Medical evaluation

 • Fit testing 

• Training

 • Fit checking before use

Key Points About PPE

 • Don before contact with the patient, generally before entering the room

 • Use carefully – don’t spread contamination

 • Remove and discard carefully, either at the doorway or immediately outside patient room; remove respirator outside room 

• Immediately perform hand hygiene

Sequence* for Donning PPE 

• Gown first 

• Mask or respirator 

• Goggles or face shield 

• Gloves

Sequence for Removing PPE

• Gloves 

• Face shield or goggles

 • Gown

 • Mask or respirator

Hand Hygiene

 • Perform hand hygiene immediately after removing PPE. 

– If hands become visibly contaminated during PPE removal, wash hands before continuing to remove PPE 

• Wash hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub PPE Use in Healthcare Settings 

* Ensure that hand hygiene facilities are available at the point needed, e.g., sink or alcohol-based hand rub

Standard Precautions

 • Previously called Universal Precautions 

• Assumes blood and body fluid of ANY patient could be infectious

• Recommends PPE and other infection control practices to prevent transmission in any healthcare setting 

• Decisions about PPE use determined by type of clinical interaction with patient

Source:
- CDC guideline
- ASHP guideline for personal protective equipment