Conservation Practices for Personal Protective Equipment: A Systematic Review with Focus on Lower-Income Countries
Thiel, Cassandra L. Sreedhar, Pallavi Silva, Genevieve S. Greene, Hannah C. Seetharaman, Meenakshi Durr, Meghan Roberts, Timothy Vendanthan, Rajesh Lee, Paul H. Andrade, Gizely
Thiel, Cassandra L.
Sreedhar, Pallavi
Silva, Genevieve S.
Greene, Hannah C.
Seetharaman, Meenakshi
Durr, Meghan
Roberts, Timothy
Vendanthan, Rajesh
Lee, Paul H.
Andrade, Gizely
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Journal article
Date
2023-01-31
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Emergency Medicine
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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032575
Abstract
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) necessitated unprecedented and non-validated approaches to conserve PPE at healthcare facilities, especially in high income countries where single-use disposable PPE was ubiquitous. Our team conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate historic approaches for conserving single-use PPE, expecting that lower-income countries or developing contexts may already be uniquely conserving PPE. However, of the 50 included studies, only 3 originated from middle-income countries and none originated from low-income countries. Data from the included studies suggest PPE remained effective with extended use and with multiple or repeated use in clinical settings, as long as donning and doffing were performed in a standard manner. Multiple decontamination techniques were effective in disinfecting single use PPE for repeated use. These findings can inform healthcare facilities and providers in establishing protocols for safe conservation of PPE supplies and updating existing protocols to improve sustainability and overall resilience. Future studies should evaluate conservation practices in low-resource settings during non-pandemic times to develop strategies for more sustainable and resilient healthcare worldwide.
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Thiel, C.L.; Sreedhar, P.; Silva, G.S.; Greene, H.C.; Seetharaman, M.; Durr, M.; Roberts, T.; Vedanthan, R.; Lee, P.H.; Andrade, G.; et al. Conservation Practices for Personal Protective Equipment: A Systematic Review with Focus on Lower-Income Countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 2575. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032575
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 20, Iss. 3
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