Type of personal protective equipment worn by medical professionals
This article is about gowns worn by healthcare personnel as personal protective equipment. For gowns worn by patients, see Patient gown.
Medical gowns are
patient gowns
are flimsy often with exposed backs and arms, PPE gowns, as seen below in the cardiac surgeon photograph, cover most of the exposed skin surfaces of the professional medics.
In several countries, PPE gowns for use in the
European Commissioner for the Internal Market made freely-available the relevant standards documents in order "to tackle the severe shortage of protective masks, gloves and other products currently faced by many European countries. Providing free access to the standards will facilitate the work of the many companies wishing to reconvert their production lines in order to manufacture the equipment that is so urgently needed."[2]
History
The concept of PPE in regards to medical professionals was seen as early as the 17th century Plague doctor's outfit.
During the
WHO published a rapid advice guideline on PPE coveralls.[3]
Types
The different levels of various gown types are categorized as follows:[4]
Level
Risk
Exposure
Product usable as/at
Protection levels
Tests
One
Minimum
Standard isolation, Basic care
Visitor gown
Allows small amount of fluid penetration. Slight barrier to fluids.
Only one test of water impacting the gown material's surface is conducted to determine barrier protection.
Water impact on gown's surface for barrier protection.
Pressure test of the material.
Barrier protection level against simulated blood containing virus
Local variants
United States
In the United States, medical gowns are medical devices regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. FDA divides medical gowns into three categories. A surgical gown is intended to be worn by health care personnel during surgical procedures. Surgical isolation gowns are used when there is a medium to high risk of contamination and a need for larger critical zones of protection. Non-surgical gowns are worn in low or minimal risk situations.[5]
Surgical and surgical isolation gowns are regulated by the FDA as a
510(k) premarket notification, but non-surgical gowns are Class I devices exempt from premarket review. Surgical gowns only require protection of the front of the body due to the controlled nature of surgical procedures, while surgical isolation gowns and non-surgical gowns require protection over nearly the entire gown.[5]
In 2004, the FDA recognized ANSI/AAMI PB70:2003 standard on protective apparel and drapes for use in health care facilities. Surgical gowns must also conform to the ASTM F2407 standard for tear resistance, seam strength, lint generation, evaporative resistance, and water vapor transmission. Because surgical gowns are considered to be a surface-contacting device with intact skin, FDA recommends that cytotoxicity, sensitization, and irritation or intracutaneous reactivity is evaluated.[5]