Elsevier

Journal of Critical Care

Volume 59, October 2020, Pages 70-75
Journal of Critical Care

Personal protective equipment and intensive care unit healthcare worker safety in the COVID-19 era (PPE-SAFE): An international survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrc.2020.06.005Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Wide variability in what PPE is available for ICU staff caring for COVID-19 patients.

  • More than half report at least one PPE item missing or out of stock.

  • Adverse effects of wearing PPE reported by 80% of health care workers.

  • Adverse effects related to duration of a shift wearing PPE without taking a break.

Abstract

Purpose

To survey healthcare workers (HCW) on availability and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) caring for COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Materials and method

A web-based survey distributed worldwide in April 2020.

Results

We received 2711 responses from 1797 (67%) physicians, 744 (27%) nurses, and 170 (6%) Allied HCW. For routine care, most (1557, 58%) reportedly used FFP2/N95 masks, waterproof long sleeve gowns (1623; 67%), and face shields/visors (1574; 62%). Powered Air-Purifying Respirators were used routinely and for intubation only by 184 (7%) and 254 (13%) respondents, respectively. Surgical masks were used for routine care by 289 (15%) and 47 (2%) for intubations. At least one piece of standard PPE was unavailable for 1402 (52%), and 817 (30%) reported reusing single-use PPE. PPE was worn for a median of 4 h (IQR 2, 5). Adverse effects of PPE were associated with longer shift durations and included heat (1266, 51%), thirst (1174, 47%), pressure areas (1088, 44%), headaches (696, 28%), Inability to use the bathroom (661, 27%) and extreme exhaustion (492, 20%).

Conclusions

HCWs reported widespread shortages, frequent reuse of, and adverse effects related to PPE. Urgent action by healthcare administrators, policymakers, governments and industry is warranted.

Keywords

COVID-19
Personal protective equipment
Safety
Health care workers
Intensive care

Cited by (0)

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The PPE-safe contributors: Ali Ait Hssain,Qatar; Alba Llorens,Spain; Leonardo Pagani,Italy; Jordi Rello,Spain; Lowell Ling,Hong Kong; Gentle Sunder Shrestha,Nepal; Seyed Mohammadreza Hashemian,Iran; Kostoula Arvaniti,Greece; Pietro Bertini,Italy; Luca Buetti,Switzerland; Luisa Nobile,Switzerland; Graziella Rodosti,Switzerland; Bruno Sousa,Portugal; Joanne White,United Kingdom; Rafael Sierra,Spain; Tomasz Torlinski,United Kingdom; Faustina Excel Adipa,Ghana; Bhagyesh Shah,India; Caroline Dallongeville,France; Clarice Wee Li-Phing,Singapore; Marc Danguy des Déserts,France; Wael Awada,Saudi Arabia; Anatilde Diaz,Argentina; Dong Liu,China; Mansoor Masjedi,Iran; Dimitrios Papadopoulos,Greece; Felipe de Jesus Montelongo,Mexico; Tharwat Aisa,Ireland; Aleksandra Gutysz-Wojnicka,Poland; Kollengode Ramanathan,Singapore; Jumana Yusuf Haji,India; Prashanth Kumar,India; Peter Lai,Hong Kong; Kiran Shekar,Australia; Jose Garnacho Montero,Spain.

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