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Barrier efficiency of surgical gowns. Are we really protected from our patients' pathogens?

J W Smith1, R L Nichols

  • 1Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, La 70112-2669.

Archives of Surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)
|June 1, 1991
PubMed

Insights

Surgical gowns must resist blood strike-through to protect healthcare workers from pathogens. Certain disposable fabrics and new cloth gowns offer better protection than older or repeatedly washed surgical gowns.

Area of Science:

  • Surgical Infection Prevention
  • Biomedical Textiles
  • Healthcare Worker Safety

Background:

  • Surgical gowns are critical barriers to prevent patient contamination by surgical teams.
  • Blood exposure during surgery poses risks to healthcare workers via blood-borne pathogens.
  • Existing gown materials vary in their resistance to fluid penetration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the

Main Methods:

  • Tested 1440 surgical gown fabric samples against human blood.
  • Simulated surgical abdominal pressure (0.25 to 2.0 psi) and time (1 second to 5 minutes).
  • Evaluated strike-through resistance of disposable (spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond, spun-lace) and reusable (cloth) gowns.

Main Results:

  • Above 0.5 psi, spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond disposable fabrics showed higher resistance than spun-lace cloth.
  • New cloth gowns demonstrated superior protection compared to gowns washed 40 times.
  • Spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond fabric tested twice was more protective than spun-lace cloth tested once.

Conclusions:

  • Surgical gown resistance to blood strike-through varies significantly among available products.
  • Impervious plastic reinforcement is necessary for complete protection against blood penetration.
  • Material choice and wear/washing history impact gown efficacy in preventing pathogen exposure.

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