Is PPE really helping?

Updated:   Published

Many of the nurses who work on the COVID units came down with it. They all were provided with full PPE and even those who had to take care of positive patients were supplied with the headgear that had the pack (forgot the name). Yet, they still came down with COVID.  Was it human error or the PPE?

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Maybe both?  I mean, lots of nurses were reusing PPE for days even weeks. 

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

And what’s the guarantee they got sick from a work exposure? We have multiple staff out right now due to testing positive. That department does not care for COVID patients as all surgical patients are tested, and if positive and elective cancelled. 

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On 11/8/2020 at 2:19 PM, DesiDani said:

Many of the nurses who work on the COVID units came down with it. They all were provided with full PPE and even those who had to take care of positive patients were supplied with the headgear that had the pack (forgot the name). Yet, they still came down with COVID.  Was it human error or the PPE?

There is nothing about this entire scenario that affords nurses the realistic ability to put on appropriate PPE that is being used as it was intended in the manner one would ideally be able to undertake if they really didn't want to have an exposure. Time constraints, ever-crappy staffing and various iterations of used PPE, some of which is constantly donned and doffed, doesn't seem like a good plan for when you really don't want people to become infected. 

 

1 hour ago, Rose_Queen said:

That department does not care for COVID patients as all surgical patients are tested, and if positive and elective cancelled. 

I don't disagree that they could have (easily) been exposed through non-work activity, but why would you believe that the scenario you describe is sufficient to prevent exposures? Just thinking out loud but it seems to me that one of the higher-risk scenarios would be the possibility of false reassurances and the way that false reassurances are bound to affect people's behavior and things like policies and resource allotments.

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It's just wishful thinking to assume that 1) all those nurses were following PPE protocol efficiently and 2) they weren't interacting with people outside of work and taking risks there too.

I know as this pandemic has dragged on, staff have gotten more sloppy and apathetic about PPE and taking precautions with covid patients. I've seen nurses go in covid rooms with only surgical masks to fix something "quickly" and no gloves. Or open the door and talk to them for a few minutes standing in the doorway (negative pressure but still). We've kind of reached a new (and hopefully temporary) normal, but with that has come carelessness and apathy. So it's just not unlikely that this would account for at least some of the cases of staff infection.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, most of us have been interacting to varying degrees outside of work. I know I have. I know some nurses who have been out partying at big get togethers and pretty much acting no differently than normal, but at the very least most of us are going to the store occasionally or hanging out with some friends.

It's just hard to pin it down to PPE without following someone around with a camera 24/7, which would be ridiculous.

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I’m in an office setting but we are seeing pts with COVID-like sx (ENT) and my docs are doing surgery in the hospital with exposure. One of my docs did contract it and was tested only after he showed sx. We work in a tight area, our nurses station has 3 of us sitting next to and back-to-back much closer than 6 feet, and our halls and exam rooms are on the small side. We have this doc in clinic all day several days a week, and between the clinical staff and mid level providers there’s 6 of us that have close contact with him. He wears his mask all day (N95 under his surgical mask when treating pts, surgical when in his office), even in his office that he shares with another physician, and NONE of us contracted it. We were all tested after his positive and all negative and asymptomatic. I’d say PPE does work. 

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From what I’ve read there are risk levels. If two people come into contact with each other and neither is wearing a mask there is a high risk of exposure. If both are wearing masks then the risk is the lowest. If one is wearing a mask and the other person isn’t then the risk is moderate. Think about it, how many of our patients are wearing masks as we care for them? I think that’s why we’re getting it. We are wearing masks but our patients are not. That increases our risk. 

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3 minutes ago, AngiereeRN said:

From what I’ve read there are risk levels. If two people come into contact with each other and neither is wearing a mask there is a high risk of exposure. If both are wearing masks then the risk is the lowest. If one is wearing a mask and the other person isn’t then the risk is moderate. Think about it, how many of our patients are wearing masks as we care for them? I think that’s why we’re getting it. We are wearing masks but our patients are not. That increases our risk. 

I’m referring to inpatient. I work in a hospital and we don’t require our patients to wear masks while they are in their rooms. 

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Specializes in SCRN.
10 hours ago, AngiereeRN said:

I’m referring to inpatient. I work in a hospital and we don’t require our patients to wear masks while they are in their rooms. 

Same in my hospital! I wonder why they are not requiring patients to wear masks. Customer satisfaction? Some confused patients will not be able to keep the mask on, but those AOx4 could very well keep the mask on. This just tells me how much admin cares about their staff.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
On 11/8/2020 at 1:19 PM, DesiDani said:

Many of the nurses who work on the COVID units came down with it. They all were provided with full PPE and even those who had to take care of positive patients were supplied with the headgear that had the pack (forgot the name). Yet, they still came down with COVID.  Was it human error or the PPE?

There's so many more factors that go into this before being able to say it was human error or the PPE.

Strictly subjective on my experience, I have persistently floated to a covid unit since it was opened, had appropriate PPE throughout it for the most part (but utilizing the one N95 per patient for the entire shift approach) and have never tested positive nor have any of the other nurses I know on the covid floor. Now on the non-covid floors, I know plenty of staff who have tested positive.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

People take off their masks and hang out in the breakrooms

People socialize outside of work

People are imperfect at donning, doffing, and hand hygiene

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

CDC now says masks protect both the wearers and those around them from Covid-19

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