Disposable isolation gowns, disposable protective gowns, and disposable surgical gowns are all personal protective equipment commonly used in hospitals. But in the process of clinical supervision, we often find that medical staff are a little confused about these three. After inquiring about the information, the editor will talk to you about the similarities and differences of the three from the following aspects.
1. Function
Disposable isolation gowns: protective equipment used for medical personnel to avoid contamination by blood, body fluids, and other infectious substances during contact, or to protect patients from infection. The isolation gown is a two-way isolation to prevent the medical staff from being infected or contaminated and the patient from being infected.
Disposable protective clothing: disposable protective equipment worn by clinical medical staff when they come into contact with patients with Class A or infectious diseases managed by Class A infectious diseases. Protective clothing is to prevent infection of medical staff and is a single item of isolation.
Disposable surgical gown: The surgical gown plays a two-way protective role during the operation. First, the surgical gown establishes a barrier between the patient and the medical staff, reducing the probability of medical staff coming into contact with the patient’s blood or other body fluids and other potential sources of infection during the operation; secondly, the surgical gown can block colonization/adhesion to the medical staff’s skin or clothing Various bacteria on the surface spread to surgical patients, effectively avoiding cross-infection of multi-drug resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE). Therefore, the barrier function of surgical gowns is regarded as the key to reducing the risk of infection during surgery [1].
2. Dressing indications
Disposable isolation gown: 1. When contacting patients with infectious diseases spread by contact, such as those infected by multidrug-resistant bacteria. 2. When carrying out protective isolation of patients, such as diagnosis, treatment and nursing of patients with extensive burns and bone graft patients. 3. It may be splashed by the patient's blood, body fluids, secretions and feces. 4. To enter key departments such as ICU, NICU, and protective wards, whether to wear isolation gowns or not should be decided according to the purpose of entry and the contact status of the medical staff.
Disposable protective clothing: 1. When contacting patients with Class A or Class A infectious diseases. 2. When contacting patients with suspected or confirmed SARS, Ebola, MERS, H7N9 avian influenza, etc., the latest infection control guidelines should be followed.
Disposable surgical gown: It is strictly sterilized and used for invasive treatment of patients in a specialized operating room.
3. Appearance and material requirements
Disposable isolation clothing: Disposable isolation clothing is usually made of non-woven materials, or combined with materials with better impermeability, such as plastic film. Through the use of various non-woven fiber joining technologies instead of the geometric interlocking of woven and knitted materials, it has integrity and toughness. Isolation clothing should be able to cover the torso and all clothing to form a physical barrier for the transmission of microorganisms and other substances. It should have impermeability, abrasion resistance and tear resistance [2]. At present, there is no special standard in China. There is only a brief introduction on the putting on and taking off of the isolation gown in the "Isolation Technical Specifications" (the isolation gown should be opened behind to cover all clothes and exposed skin), but there is no specification and material, etc. Related indicators. Isolation gowns can be reusable or disposable without a cap. Judging from the definition of isolation gowns in the "Technical Specifications for Isolation in Hospitals", there is no requirement for anti-permeability, and isolation gowns can be waterproof or non-waterproof.
The standard clearly states that protective clothing must have liquid barrier function (water resistance, moisture permeability, synthetic blood penetration resistance, surface moisture resistance), flame retardant properties and antistatic properties, and it must have resistance to breaking strength, elongation at break, filtration There are requirements for efficiency.
Disposable surgical gowns: In 2005, my country issued a series of standards related to surgical gowns (YY/T0506). This standard is similar to the European standard EN13795. The standards have clear requirements on the barrier properties, strength, microbial penetration, and comfort of surgical gown materials. [1]. The surgical gown should be impermeable, sterile, one-piece, and without a cap. Generally, the cuffs of surgical gowns are elastic, which is easy to wear and is helpful to wear sterile hand gloves. It is not only used to protect medical staff from contamination by infectious substances, but also to protect the sterile state of the exposed parts of the operation.
To sum up
In terms of appearance, protective clothing is well distinguished from isolation gowns and surgical gowns. Surgical gowns and isolation gowns are not easy to distinguish. They can be distinguished according to the length of the waistband (the waistband of the isolation gown should be tied to the front for easy removal. The waistband of the surgical gown is tied at the back).
From a functional point of view, the three have intersections. The requirements for disposable surgical gowns and protective clothing are significantly higher than those for disposable isolation gowns. In cases where isolation gowns are commonly used in clinical practice (such as contact isolation of multi-drug resistant bacteria), disposable surgical gowns and gowns can be interoperable, but where disposable surgical gowns must be used, they cannot be replaced by gowns.
From the perspective of the process of putting on and taking off, the differences between isolation gowns and surgical gowns are as follows: (1) When putting on and taking off the isolation gown, pay attention to the clean surface to avoid contamination, while the surgical gown pays more attention to aseptic operation; (2) the isolation gown can It is done by one person, and the surgical gown must be assisted by an assistant; (3) The gown can be used repeatedly without contamination. Hang it in the corresponding area after use, and the surgical gown must be cleaned, disinfected/sterilized and used after wearing it once. Disposable protective clothing is commonly used clinically in microbiology laboratories, infectious disease negative pressure wards, Ebola, avian influenza, mers and other epidemics to protect medical staff from pathogens. The use of the three are important measures for the prevention and control of infection in hospitals, and plays an important role in protecting patients and medical workers.