Survey of UK Health Care First Responders' Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Requirements. Issue 3 (22nd April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schumacher, Jan; Bond, Alexandra R.; Woodham, Valentine; Buckingham, Anna; Garnham, Francesca; Brinker, Andrea
• Is Part Of: Prehospital and disaster medicine. Volume 30:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 254
• Page End: 258
• Publication Date: 2015-04-22
• Subjects: CBRN, -- Ebola, -- PPE, -- resuscitation, -- sarin; Emergency medical services -- Periodicals; Emergency medicine -- Periodicals; Disaster medicine -- Periodicals; 616.025
• DOI: 10.1017/S1049023X15004690
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1049-023X

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: An adequate level of personal protective equipment (PPE) is necessary when treating patients with highly infectious diseases or those contaminated with hazardous substances. Methods: Following National Institute for Health Research's Research Centre (London, United Kingdom) approval, the authors of this study conducted a survey of specialist registrars' knowledge of the respiratory and skin protection requirements needed during a resuscitation scenario with Advanced Life Support. Participant responses were compared to UK national recommendations and to a previous survey in 2009. Results: A total of 98 specialist registrars (in Anesthesiology, n=51; in Emergency Medicine (EM), n=21; and in Intensive Care Medicine (ICM) n=26) completed hand-delivered surveys. The best knowledge of PPE requirements (76%) was found for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with less knowledge about PPE requirements for anthrax, plague, Ebola virus disease (EVD), and smallpox (60%). The results show limited knowledge of PPE requirements (20%-30%) for various chemical warfare agents. Personal protective equipment knowledge regarding treatment of sarin-contaminated casualties was over-rated by 80%, and for patients with EVD, it was over-rated by up to 67% of participants. Conclusion: The results of the tested cohort indicate that current knowledge regarding PPE for chemical warfare agents remains very limited. J Schumacher, AR Bond, V Woodham, A Buckingham, F Garnham, A Brinker .Survey of UK health care first responders' knowledge of personal protective equipment requirements .Prehosp Disaster Med .2015 ;30 (3 ):1 5