Survey of UK Health Care First Responders’ Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Requirements

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionAn adequate level of personal protective equipment (PPE) is necessary when treating patients with highly infectious diseases or those contaminated with hazardous substances.MethodsFollowing 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.ResultsA 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.ConclusionThe results of the tested cohort indicate that current knowledge regarding PPE for chemical warfare agents remains very limited.SchumacherJ, BondAR, WoodhamV, BuckinghamA, GarnhamF, BrinkerA. Survey of UK health care first responders’ knowledge of personal protective equipment requirements. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):15