Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Impact of Personal Protective Equipment on the Performance of Emergency Pediatric Tasks

Posted on by Kayla Korzekwinski

Pediatric Emergency Care • December 2021

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Adler MD, Krug S, Eiger C, Good GL, Kou M, Nash M, Henretig FM, Hornik CP, Gosnell L, Chen JY, Debski J, Sharma G, Siegel D, Donoghue A
This study evaluated the impacts of personal protective equipment (PPE) on timeliness or success of emergency procedures performed by pediatric health care providers (HCPs). For session 1, HCPs wore normal attire; for session 2, they wore full-shroud PPE garb with 2 glove types: Ebola level or chemical. During each session, they performed clinical tasks on a patient simulator: intubation, bag-valve mask ventilation, venous catheter (IV) placement, push-pull fluid bolus, and defibrillation. Personal protective equipment did not affect procedure timeliness or success on a simulated child, with the exception of IV placement. Further study is needed to investigate PPE’s impact on procedures performed in a clinical care context.

Impact of Personal Protective Equipment on Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Performance: A Controlled Trial

Posted on by Kayla Korzekwinski

Pediatric Emergency Care • June 2020

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Donoghue A, Kou M, Good G, Eiger C, Nash M, Henretig F, Stacks H, Kochman A, Debski J, Chen JY, Sharma G, Hornik C, Gosnell L, Siegel D, Krug S, Adler M, on behalf of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act – Pediatric Trials Network

This study aimed to determine whether personal protective equipment (PPE) results in deterioration in chest compression (CC) quality and greater fatigue for administering health care providers (HCPs). HCPs completed 2 sessions. In session 1 (baseline), HCPs wore normal attire; in session 2, HCPs donned full PPE. We enrolled 108 HCPs. During a clinically appropriate 2-minute period, neither CC quality nor self-reported fatigue worsened to a significant degree in providers wearing PPE. Our data suggest that Pediatric Basic Life Support recommendations for CC providers to switch every 2 minutes need not be altered with PPE use.

Impact of Personal Protective Equipment on the Performance of Emergency Pediatric Procedures by Prehospital Providers

Posted on by Kayla Korzekwinski

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness • May 2020

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Kou M, Donoghue AJ, Stacks H, Kochman A, Semiao M, Nash M, Siegel D, Ku L, Debski J, Chen J-Y, Sharma G, Gosnell L, Krug S, Adler MD

This study examined the effects of personal protective equipment (PPE) on the ability of prehospital providers (PHPs) to perform resuscitation procedures on pediatric patients. This prospective study was conducted at a US simulation center. Paramedics wore normal attire at the baseline session and donned full Level B PPE for the second session. PPE did not have a significant impact on PHPs performing critical tasks while caring for a pediatric patient with a highly infectious or chemical exposure. This information may guide PHPs faced with the situation of resuscitating children while wearing Level B PPE.