[Safe handling of clothing and hygiene of patients and health professionals: Scoping review].

INTRODUCTION

In January 2020, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a zoonotic virus (SARS-CoV-2) appeared in China. The main route of transmission is considered to be the inhalation of large respiratory drops, by deposition in the mucosa and hands or contaminated fomites. The objective is to identify the interventions to be performed during hospitalization for the correct and safe handling of clothing and hygiene of patients and health professionals.

METHOD

Scoping review carried out without chronological or language delimitation in the PUBMED and Cochrane databases. Tracking standards and recommendations of national and international government entities to answer the research question on the safe handling of clothing and skin hygiene in patients and in health professionals to avoid Covid-19 infection. The data analysis was carried out in 2 stages: in the first, identification and categorization of the studies, and in the second, content analysis as an informative and classifying criterion.

RESULTS

14 documents have been selected, mainly from government entities. The recommendations are structured in 5 sections on the management of clothing and skin hygiene of infected patients and health professionals in the hospital setting.

CONCLUSION

The clothing of patients and healthcare personnel are transmitting vehicles of the disease. Its correct treatment helps to improve the control of the same and the correct use of the resources available at the moment. Proper skin hygiene, especially hand cleansing, is one of the basic pillars for infection prevention and control. We highlight the similarity of some of the guidelines collected and provided by the different agencies consulted.