Clinical Experience with Disposable Isolation Gown Selection, Strikethrough, and Reporting

Objectives: This study sought to investigate whether and to what extent fluid strikethrough for disposable isolation gowns is underreported and to identify areas for improving healthcare worker (HCW) understanding of gown performance. Methods: Researchers developed a confidential, qualitative, online disposable isolation gown user experience survey with an intended audience of HCWs with experience either wearing disposable isolation gowns or selecting them for purchase. The unrestricted survey link was distributed from February to March 2024. Results: A total of 211 individuals completed the survey. When asked about selection, purchasers most frequently chose to purchase level 2 isolation gowns for patient care during nonsurgical applications. More than 40% of wearers stated that they did not have a choice regarding gown protection levels when donning personal protective equipment for patient care, and 34.3% experienced fluid strikethrough (i.e., penetration of fluid through a disposable isolation gown), yet nearly one-half never reported this problem. Discussion and Conclusion: To enhance safety, the healthcare community must work together to improve guidance on gown performance and selection based on fluid exposure risk. Frequent, underreported strikethrough incidents highlighted confusion among HCWs regarding gown classification and appropriate usage. A need exists for a unified, task-based framework that clearly links gown performance with clinical risk. Fostering a culture that normalizes reporting issues-while minimizing staff burden-combined with targeted education and streamlined reporting mechanisms, will enable more informed decision making and reinforce infection prevention efforts.