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Berryhill BA, Burke KB, Smith AP, Morgan JS, Tarabay J, Mamora J, Varkey JB, Mumma JM, Kraft CS. A bacteriophage-based validation of a personal protective equipment doffing procedure to be used with high-consequence pathogens. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2024:1-7. [PMID: 38706211 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2024.84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine if the high-level personal protective equipment used in the treatment of high-consequence infectious diseases is effective at stopping the spread of pathogens to healthcare personnel (HCP) while doffing. BACKGROUND Personal protective equipment (PPE) is fundamental to the safety of HCPs. HCPs treating patients with high-consequence infectious diseases use several layers of PPE, forming complex protective ensembles. With high-containment PPE, step-by-step procedures are often used for donning and doffing to minimize contamination risk to the HCP, but these procedures are rarely empirically validated and instead rely on following infection prevention best practices. METHODS A doffing protocol video for a high-containment PPE ensemble was evaluated to determine potential contamination pathways. These potential pathways were tested using fluorescence and genetically marked bacteriophages. RESULTS The experiments revealed existing protocols permit contamination pathways allowing for transmission of bacteriophages to HCPs. Updates to the doffing protocols were generated based on the discovered contamination pathways. This updated doffing protocol eliminated the movement of viable bacteriophages from the outside of the PPE to the skin of the HCP. CONCLUSIONS Our results illustrate the need for quantitative, scientific investigations of infection prevention practices, such as doffing PPE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon A Berryhill
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Program in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG), Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS), Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kylie B Burke
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Andrew P Smith
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jay B Varkey
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joel M Mumma
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Colleen S Kraft
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
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