Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov 4;7(1):e584.
doi: 10.1002/ams2.584. eCollection 2020 Jan-Dec.

Personal protective equipment use by health-care workers in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: comparative analysis with the PPE-SAFE survey

Takeshi Unoki  1 , Mitsuhiro Tamoto  2 , Akira Ouchi  3 , Hideaki Sakuramoto  3 , Asami Nakayama  4 , Yukiko Katayama  5 , Satoko Miyazaki  6 , Toru Yamada  7 , Shigeki Fujitani  8 , Osamu Nishida  9 , Alexis Tabah  10 ; PPE‐SAFE in Japan Project, International Exchange Committee, the Japan Society of Intensive Care Medicine
Affiliations

Personal protective equipment use by health-care workers in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: comparative analysis with the PPE-SAFE survey

Takeshi Unoki et al. Acute Med Surg. .

Abstract

Aim: We investigated personal protective equipment (PPE) use and supply shortage, training, and adverse events among health-care workers (HCWs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan and compared the results with an international survey that used the same methodology.

Methods: This Web-based survey was carried out from 14 April to 6 May, 2020, in Japan and included HCWs directly involved in ICU management of COVID-19 patients. A survey invitation was emailed using the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine's mailing list.

Results: We analyzed 460 valid responses from among 976 responses. The N95/FFP2 mask (77%) was the most frequently used, although half of our respondents reported reuse of single-use N95/FFP2 masks. The median duration (1 h) of uninterrupted PPE use per shift was less than that in the international study. The most common PPE-related adverse event was experiencing intense heat (75%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that being a nurse was independently associated with experiencing intense heat.

Conclusion: Shortage of PPE and frequent mask reuse were prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Intense heat is the most significant symptom, especially for nurses, even with short-duration PPE use. Strategies to protect HCWs from dehydration and intense heatstroke are needed.

Keywords: Health‐care worker; heat; intensive care unit; personal protective equipment; safety.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Approval of the research protocol: The study protocol was approved by the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (LNR/2020/QrBW/63041), Brisbane, Australia. Informed consent: N/A. Registration and the registration no. of the study/trial: N/A. Animal studies (if applicable): N/A. Conflicts of interest: None.

References

    1. Rothan HA, Byrareddy SN. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus (Covid‐19) outbreak. J. Autoimmun. 2020; 109: 102433. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Situation Report 176 . Coronavirus Disease 2020. [internet] World Health Organization; [updated 14 July, 2020; cited 15 July, 2020]. Available from https://www.who.int/docs/default‐source/coronaviruse/situation‐reports/2....
    1. Verbeek JH, Rajamaki B, Ijaz S et al Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2020; 4: CD011621. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamerow D. Covid‐19: the crisis of personal protective equipment in the US. BMJ 2020; 369: m1367. - PubMed
    1. Kantor J. Behavioral considerations and impact on personal protective equipment use: Early lessons from the coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2020; 82: 1087–8. - PMC - PubMed