Personal protective equipment in the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of cooling-wear as alleviator of thermal stress : A pilot study in plastic surgery staff members.
Wien Klin Wochenschr
; 133(7-8): 312-320, 2021 Apr.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-967933
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
High temperatures at workplaces lead to health-related risks and premature exhaustion. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires many health professionals to perform under unfavorable conditions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) causes thermal stress and negatively affects performance. PATIENTS, MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
This pilot project investigated the effects of PPE and additional cooling wear on physiological parameters and concentration of six healthy staff members of the Plastic Surgery Department of the Medical University of Graz, Austria during simulated patient care. In this study two 1hour cycles with patient care-related tasks with PPE and PPEâ¯+ cooling-wear, respectively, were conducted. A third cycle with scrubs exclusively served as baseline/negative control. The assessment occurred immediately pre-cycles and post-cycles.RESULTS:
Pre-cycle assessments showed no significant differences between the cycles. After PPE cycle, increased physical stress levels and decrements in concentration capacity were observed. Physiological parameters were significantly less affected in the cooling cycle, while concentration capacity slightly increased.CONCLUSION:
COVID-19 PPE causes considerable thermal stress, ultimately affecting human performance. As opportunity to withstand thermal stress, and improve patients' and professionals' safety, cooling-wear can be considered relevant. Medical personnel performing in exceptional situations may particularly benefit from further development and investigation of cooling strategies.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Surgery, Plastic
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Wien Klin Wochenschr
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S00508-020-01775-x
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