Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review

Like other low-income countries, limited data are available on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Pakistan. We conducted a systematic review of studies on PPE use for respiratory infections in healthcare settings in Pakistan. MEDLINE, Embase and Goggle Scholar were searched for clinic...

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Main Authors: Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Wasiq Khan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2019-07-01
Series:Journal of Infection and Public Health
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034119300668
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spelling doaj-664c5e94647f472fa4f00b0521228d362020-11-25T00:19:03ZengElsevierJournal of Infection and Public Health1876-03412019-07-01124522527Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic reviewAbrar Ahmad Chughtai0Wasiq Khan1School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Corresponding author at: Room 228, Level 2 Samuels Building, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.University of Bath, Bath, United KingdomLike other low-income countries, limited data are available on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Pakistan. We conducted a systematic review of studies on PPE use for respiratory infections in healthcare settings in Pakistan. MEDLINE, Embase and Goggle Scholar were searched for clinical, epidemiological and laboratory-based studies in English, and 13 studies were included; all were observational/cross-sectional studies. The studies examined PPE use in hospital (n = 7), dental (n = 4) or laboratory (n = 2) settings. Policies and practices on PPE use were inconsistent. Face masks and gloves were the most commonly used PPE to protect from respiratory and other infections. PPE was not available in many facilities and its use was limited to high-risk situations. Compliance with PPE use was low among healthcare workers, and reuse of PPE was reported. Clear policies on the use of PPE and available PPE are needed to avoid inappropriate practices that could result in the spread of infection. Large, multimethod studies are recommended on PPE use to inform national infection-control guidelines. Keywords: Respiratory tract infections, Influenza, Infection control, Personal protective equipment, Health personnel, Pakistanhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034119300668
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Abrar Ahmad Chughtai
Wasiq Khan
spellingShingle Abrar Ahmad Chughtai
Wasiq Khan
Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
Journal of Infection and Public Health
author_facet Abrar Ahmad Chughtai
Wasiq Khan
author_sort Abrar Ahmad Chughtai
title Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
title_short Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
title_full Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
title_fullStr Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review
title_sort use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in pakistan: a systematic review
publisher Elsevier
series Journal of Infection and Public Health
issn 1876-0341
publishDate 2019-07-01
description Like other low-income countries, limited data are available on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Pakistan. We conducted a systematic review of studies on PPE use for respiratory infections in healthcare settings in Pakistan. MEDLINE, Embase and Goggle Scholar were searched for clinical, epidemiological and laboratory-based studies in English, and 13 studies were included; all were observational/cross-sectional studies. The studies examined PPE use in hospital (n = 7), dental (n = 4) or laboratory (n = 2) settings. Policies and practices on PPE use were inconsistent. Face masks and gloves were the most commonly used PPE to protect from respiratory and other infections. PPE was not available in many facilities and its use was limited to high-risk situations. Compliance with PPE use was low among healthcare workers, and reuse of PPE was reported. Clear policies on the use of PPE and available PPE are needed to avoid inappropriate practices that could result in the spread of infection. Large, multimethod studies are recommended on PPE use to inform national infection-control guidelines. Keywords: Respiratory tract infections, Influenza, Infection control, Personal protective equipment, Health personnel, Pakistan
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034119300668
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