Last data update: May 06, 2024. (Total: 46732 publications since 2009)
Records 1-6 (of 6 Records) |
Query Trace: Kahveci Z[original query] |
---|
The impact of surface tension on the barrier performance of gowns and coveralls
Selcen Kilinc-Balci F , Kahveci Z , Yorio PL . Am J Infect Control 2023 51 (12) 1392-1400 BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) and laboratory workers who are routinely exposed to potentially life-threatening infectious diseases should wear protective clothing when anticipating contact with infectious materials. The most critical property for protective clothing is its ability to prevent liquids and viruses from passing through the garment. There are a number of potentially infectious liquids that workers may be exposed to during routine tasks. Each liquid has different physical and chemical properties that affect penetration. However, current test methods use a limited number of liquids for classifying the barrier performance. OBJECTIVE: The impact of the surface tension of the challenge liquid on the penetration resistance of gowns and coveralls was investigated in this study. METHODS: Eight isolation gowns and two coveralls were tested in accordance with AATCC 42 and AATCC 127 test methods, which were modified to incorporate the substitute challenge liquids. RESULTS: Although current standard test methods only use water to categorize liquid penetration resistance of minimal to moderate barrier performance gowns, a significant difference in the penetration was found when simulated body fluids were used. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest safety professionals and wearers should consider the varying barrier performance of PPE with different liquids and use limitations when selecting PPE for the required tasks. Furthermore, standard development organizations should consider multiple challenge liquids when classifying protective clothing for healthcare settings. |
Evaluation of fluid leakage at the coverall and glove interface in single and double glove conditions
Kahveci Z , Kilinc-Balci FS , Yorio PL . Am J Infect Control 2023 51 (10) 1145-1150 BACKGROUND: Fluid leakage through the glove-protective clothing interface is an area of concern for many healthcare personnel, including emergency medical service providers, who may wear coveralls to protect themselves from multiple types of hazards. There is currently no established standard test method to specifically evaluate the barrier performance of the glove-protective clothing interface region for any personal protective equipment ensemble. OBJECTIVE: This study quantifies the fluid leakage at the coverall and glove interface using single and double gloving. METHODS: A robotic arm, which can simulate upper extremity movements of healthcare personnel, was used to test five coverall models and an extended examination glove model in single and double glove conditions. RESULTS: The results show that there was a significant difference in fluid leakage amounts between some of the coverall models and the number of glove layers studied. Findings also highlight that there is a high correlation between basis weight and stiffness of the coverall fabrics and the fluid leakage amounts. CONCLUSIONS: These results underline that coverall constructed from thin and less stiff fabrics can result in lower fluid leakage levels. Also, there was no significant difference in fluid leakage amounts between single and double gloves when tested with each of the coverall models, with the exception of the coveralls with the highest basis weight and stiffness. |
A simulation study to assess fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface in isolation settings
Kahveci Z , Kilinc-Balci FS , Yorio PL . Am J Infect Control 2021 49 (12) 1481-1487 BACKGROUND: Isolation gowns are recommended to protect healthcare personnel (HCP), patients, and visitors from transfer of microorganisms and body fluids in patient isolation situations. Standards provide limited information about barrier performance of isolation gowns for possible exposure scenarios. One of the most vulnerable areas of the personal protective equipment (PPE) ensemble is considered the glove-gown interface. However, current classification standards do not consider the interface regions of the PPE system while assessing the level of protection. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface by simulating exposures and HCP arm movements in patient care. METHODS: We tested fluid leakage of two examination gloves with different cuff lengths and seven isolation gown models designed with varying levels of barrier resistance and multiple cuff types. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that leakage through the glove-gown interface depends on multiple factors, including glove cuff length and gown cuff design. Gowns with the thumb loop design provided better protection than the elastic cuff design, and the elastic cuff design provided better protection compared to the knit cuff design for a given AAMI PB70 level. More importantly, a substantial penetration through gown fabrics was observed. CONCLUSION: This research identifies a need to develop a standardized method to evaluate leakage at the glove-gown interface to improve worker protection. |
Barrier resistance of double layer isolation gowns
Kahveci Z , Kilinc-Balci FS , Yorio PL . Am J Infect Control 2020 49 (4) 430-433 Isolation gowns are one of the crucial pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent the migration of microorganisms and body fluids from patients to healthcare personnel and vice versa. Underperforming isolation gowns in terms of fluid resistance, could potentially put lives in danger. Wearing multiple layers of isolation gowns could theoretically increase the fluid penetration resistance. Extraordinary circumstances such as epidemics/pandemics and product recalls, bring extra burden on the health institutions in terms of PPE availability. Thus, shortages could occur, and PPE that provides an appropriate level of protection might not be available. Therefore, wearing multiple layers of lower barrier level gowns could be assumed as a solution. This study investigates if two-layer lower barrier level isolation gowns meet the barrier effectiveness requirements of a single higher barrier level isolation gown. Three ANSI/AAMI PB70 Level 2 isolation gowns were tested based on the ANSI/AAMI PB70 standard, in single and double-layer configuration. Test results demonstrated that the double layer isolation gown configuration does not always provide equal fluid resistance as the higher level of isolation gown according to results from the AATCC 42 and AATCC 127 standard test methods, which are described in ANSI/AAMI PB70. |
Critical investigation of glove-gown interface barrier performance in simulated surgical settings
Kahveci Z , Selcen Kilinc-Balci F , Yorio PL . J Occup Environ Hyg 2019 16 (7) 1-9 The barrier properties of personal protective equipment are vital to healthcare personnel to protect themselves from possible infectious body fluids. Intraoperative exposure of healthcare personnel to body fluids can be substantial in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The glove-gown interface is known as one of the weakest points of the whole personal protective equipment system. However, there is a lack of scientific research designed to investigate the problem. This paper reports the results of experiments using a new testing methodology developed to quantify fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface while simulating surgical settings in terms of operating room personnel activities, exposure types, exposure durations, and physical stresses applied on the interface. This study represents one of the first efforts investigating the amount of fluid leakage through the glove-gown interface for a number of surgical gown and glove models while considering glove material differences and single vs. double gloving. The test results showed that there is a significant difference in fluid leakage amounts between three gown models and four glove models studied. The results also demonstrated that double gloving significantly reduced the fluid leakage compared to single glove use. The mean fluid leakage was lower in the double synthetic glove configurations (M = 2.76g) compared with all other configurations (3GLV, M = 8.3g; 4GLV, M = 9.49g; 5GLV, M = 3.08g; 6GLV, M = 20.03g; double latex, M = 5.22g). Findings highlighted a significant interaction between glove and gown designs, which suggests that gown and gloves should be designed together as a system to minimize or eliminate the fluid leakage. |
Novel test method for the evaluation of fluid leakage at the glove-gown interface and investigation of test parameters
Kilinc-Balci FS , Kahveci Z , Yorio P . J Am Coll Surg 2018 227 (6) 573-586 BACKGROUND: Exposure to patients' blood/body fluids could be life-affecting, when providing care to patients with infectious diseases. Although the glove-gown interface is considered one of the weakest points of the protective ensemble system, there is a lack of research and existing standards do not provide much guidance on the strategies to minimize gaps between the gowns and gloves. Currently, there is no known standard test method to evaluate fluid leakage or assess performance improvements with new gowns/gloves. STUDY DESIGN: A novel test method with a robotic arm, which has the capability to simulate healthcare personnel's arm movements during fluid exposures, was developed to determine the leakage at the glove-gown interface. This paper explains the test method and investigates the effect of movement, exposure type, exposure duration, procedure duration, and existence of pressure on the amount of leaked fluid at the glove-gown interface. RESULTS: Test results suggest that, with the exception of procedure duration, all parameters significantly affected the amount of fluid leaked at the glove-gown interface. Leakage was higher for soaking when compared to spraying, increased as the exposure duration increased, and was greater with the application of pressure. CONCLUSIONS: The novel method developed in this study could be used by manufacturers of personal protective equipment to evaluate their products. Standard development organizations could adapt this test method in their specifications, testing standards, and guidelines. |
- Page last reviewed:Feb 1, 2024
- Page last updated:May 06, 2024
- Content source:
- Powered by CDC PHGKB Infrastructure