Stefano Bambi is a staff nurse in the medical and surgical intensive care unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
Gian Domenico Giusti is a staff nurse in the intensive care unit, Perugia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy, and a nurse educator in the Department of Experimental Medicine, School of Nursing, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Am J Crit Care. 2021 Jul 1;30(4):287-293. doi: 10.4037/ajcc2021178.
Caring for patients with COVID-19 requires wearing a full set of personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid contamination. Personal discomfort has been associated with use of PPE, and anecdotal reports describe pressure injuries related to wearing PPE.
To investigate the occurrence of device-related pressure injuries due to wearing PPE among Italian nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in critical care settings.
This descriptive study used an online survey investigating both the demographic characteristics of respondents and complications related to wearing PPE, including the development of pressure injuries.
A total of 266 nurses throughout Italy completed the survey; 32% of respondents were men. Nurses' median age was 36 years (range 22-59 years), and the median time spent working in their current clinical setting (an intensive care or high-dependency unit) was 3 years (range 0-32 years). Personal protective equipment was worn for a median duration of 5 hours (range 2-12 hours). While wearing PPE, 92.8% of nurses experienced pain and 77.1% developed device-related pressure injuries, mainly on the nose, ears, and forehead. Pain was more frequent among nurses with such injuries. Transparent dressings, emollient cream, and no dressing were associated with development of device-related pressure injury.
Pressure injuries related to PPE represent an important adverse effect for nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. This topic deserves study to determine adequate solutions for preventing and treating such injuries and their potential influence on nurses' work tolerance.
照顾 COVID-19 患者需要穿戴全套个人防护装备（PPE）以避免污染。个人不适与 PPE 的使用有关，并且有传闻报道描述了与穿戴 PPE 相关的压力性损伤。
调查在意大利用于照护 COVID-19 患者的重症监护环境中的护士穿戴 PPE 时发生的与器械相关的压力性损伤的发生情况。
这是一项描述性研究，使用在线调查来调查受访者的人口统计学特征以及与穿戴 PPE 相关的并发症，包括压力性损伤的发生情况。
意大利各地共有 266 名护士完成了这项调查；32%的受访者为男性。护士的中位年龄为 36 岁（范围为 22-59 岁），当前在临床环境（重症监护或高依赖病房）工作的中位时间为 3 年（范围为 0-32 年）。PPE 的穿戴时间中位数为 5 小时（范围为 2-12 小时）。在穿戴 PPE 时，92.8%的护士感到疼痛，77.1%发生了与器械相关的压力性损伤，主要发生在鼻子、耳朵和前额。有此类损伤的护士疼痛更为频繁。透明敷料、润肤霜和不使用敷料与与器械相关的压力性损伤的发生有关。
与 PPE 相关的压力性损伤是照护 COVID-19 患者的护士的一个重要不良事件。这个话题值得进一步研究，以确定预防和治疗此类损伤的适当方法以及它们对护士工作耐力的潜在影响。
