Department of Dermatology, PGIMER and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India.
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 Dec;19(12):3189-3198. doi: 10.1111/jocd.13736. Epub 2020 Oct 17.
Doctors and healthcare workers (HCW) are at frontline in control of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The virus is transmitted by contact, droplet, and airborne transmission; hence, hand hygiene, social distancing, environmental disinfection, and use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) form important components to protect HCWs from cross-infection. Appropriate use of PPE is of paramount importance not only to reduce the risk of transmission but also to maintain adequate stock for those who are dealing directly with COVID-19 patients.
In this article, we aim to provide the rationale for appropriate use of PPE in the dermatology setting in the current scenario. We have also discussed the scientific evidence for use of each component of protection and the practical problems faced in our COVID referral tertiary hospital.
Our review was based on articles that have studied or analyzed the efficacy of various protective measures being utilized by health workers against spread of COVID-19. This was done by carrying out a PUBMED search with terms "coronavirus, COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE), transmission, mask, face shields, goggles, gloves." We also scrutinized the various pragmatic issues being faced by doctors in our setup while using PPE.
In order to maximize the appropriate use of PPE, the rationale for use needs to be understood and problems encountered in daily practice need to be addressed.
Adherence to protective measures and use of PPE is of utmost importance for HCWs to prevent cross-infection in this pandemic. The use of PPE can limit transmission to a great extent, but appropriate use and avoiding misuse is equally important in the dermatology setting in order to avoid depletion of stock. It is also essential to consider various practical issues with use of PPE and device measures to avoid them so that breach in protocols can be prevented and spread of infection minimized.
医生和医护人员(HCW)是控制新型冠状病毒感染(COVID-19)大流行的第一线人员。该病毒通过接触、飞沫和空气传播;因此,手卫生、保持社交距离、环境消毒以及使用适当的个人防护设备(PPE)是保护 HCW 免受交叉感染的重要组成部分。正确使用 PPE 不仅对于降低传播风险至关重要,而且对于那些直接与 COVID-19 患者打交道的人来说,也对于维持足够的库存至关重要。
本文旨在为当前情况下皮肤科环境中适当使用 PPE 提供依据。我们还讨论了每种保护措施的使用的科学证据以及我们在 COVID 转诊三级医院中面临的实际问题。
我们的综述基于研究或分析卫生工作者在预防 COVID-19 传播中使用的各种保护措施的功效的文章。这是通过使用术语“冠状病毒、COVID-19、个人防护设备(PPE)、传播、口罩、面罩、护目镜、手套”进行 PUBMED 搜索来完成的。我们还仔细研究了医生在使用 PPE 时在我们的环境中遇到的各种实际问题。
为了最大限度地正确使用 PPE,需要理解使用的基本原理,并解决日常实践中遇到的问题。
HCW 遵守防护措施并使用 PPE 对于预防大流行中的交叉感染至关重要。使用 PPE 可以在很大程度上限制传播,但在皮肤科环境中正确使用和避免误用同样重要,以避免库存耗尽。考虑使用 PPE 和设备措施时的各种实际问题并避免这些问题也很重要,以防止违反协议并最大程度地减少感染的传播。