Effect of Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 Treatment on Blood Culture Contamination: Implication for Optimal PPE Strategies.
Jae Hyeon ParkTaek Soo KimChan Mi LeeChang Kyung KangPyoeng Gyun ChoeNam Joong KimPyeong Gyun ChoeMyoung-don OhPublished in: Journal of Korean medical science (2023)
The personal protective equipment (PPE) used to minimize exposure to hazards can hinder healthcare workers from performing sophisticated procedures. We retrospectively reviewed 77,535 blood cultures (202,012 pairs) performed in 28,502 patients from January 2020 to April 2022. The contamination rate of all blood cultures was significantly elevated in the coronavirus disease 2019 ward at 4.68%, compared to intensive care units at 2.56%, emergency rooms at 1.13%, hematology wards at 1.08%, and general wards at 1.07% (All of P < 0.001). This finding implies that wearing PPE might interfere with adherence to the aseptic technique. Therefore, a new PPE policy is needed that considers the balance between protecting healthcare workers and medical practices.
Keyphrases
- coronavirus disease
- healthcare
- intensive care unit
- end stage renal disease
- public health
- risk assessment
- emergency department
- chronic kidney disease
- sars cov
- ejection fraction
- primary care
- drinking water
- human health
- newly diagnosed
- peritoneal dialysis
- prognostic factors
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- metabolic syndrome
- skeletal muscle
- climate change
- smoking cessation