Personal Protective Equipment

Health care workers said a “care bundle” they created that includes WaterWipes, Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm and Mepitac Tape reduced the number of facial pressure injuries caused by prolonged use of personal protective equipment.

A study of more than 24,000 health care personnel found that community contact with COVID-19 increased the risk for being seropositive for SARS-CoV-2, but workplace exposure did not, according to results published in JAMA Network Open.

Editor’s note: One of the studies cited in this story, conducted in Egypt, has since been retracted. The FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19. Moreover, the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends against ivermectin for the treatment of outpatients with COVID-19, unless in the context of a clinical trial.

Patients with skin allergies who wear certain types of face masks may experience adverse events, according to a presenter at this year’s virtual American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

The American Neurogastronterology and Motility Task Force developed recommendations for resuming gastrointestinal motility procedures during COVID-19, which were published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Personal protective equipment can cause feelings of isolation and fear. However, PPE portraits — postcard-sized self-portraits of doctors affixed to their protective clothing — can help physicians connect with patients, researchers wrote.

As of Sept. 16, there have been 1,718 deaths from COVID-19 and related complications among health care workers in the U.S., significantly more than the 690 deaths reported by the CDC, according to a report released by National Nurses United.

Nurses continue to face substantial challenges more than 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with access to PPE.

Former CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, recently described a hierarchy of controls — elimination, substitution, engineering, administration and personal protective equipment — that may help prevent COVID-19 among health care workers.

Frontline health care workers are at least three times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than the general community, with the highest risk for infection occurring among Black, Hispanic and Asian health care workers, according to a recent analysis.