SURGICAL APPARELS

COMPARISON OF SOME PHYSICAL PARAMETERS

Abstract

Background: Around the world, majority of the public and private sector hospitals are using reusable gowns and scrubs whereas only a few hospitals are using disposable ones. Protection during surgery is very important both for the patient as well as for the surgeon. The reasons are not only hygienic but also creating a barrier so that the bacteria and the viruses do not transfer from patient to doctor and vice versa. The surgical gowns have been in use for many decades. With the advancements in the field of manufacturing (weaving and finishing), the quality of gowns has been improving over the period of time. In Pakistan, there is no awareness yet regarding the construction of surgical apparels viz. surgical gowns and scrubs so no standards are being followed as such during the manufacturing (weaving & finishing) of surgical apparels. For effective barrier function of surgical gowns and scrubs, it is necessary for them to comply with certain standards in terms of physical characteristics viz. mass per unit area, number of threads per unit length, tensile strength etc. The idea behind this study was to evaluate the physical characteristics of surgical gowns and scrubs currently being used in different public sector hospitals of Lahore. After which, necessary guidelines can be formulated and proposed to the concerned departments of various hospitals, in the light of which they can design some specifications and select appropriate materials for surgical apparels in future. Objectives: 1). To evaluate the physical characteristics of surgical apparels (gowns & scrubs) currently being used in different public sector hospitals of Lahore. 2). Comparison of results with existing/available performance requirements. Study design: Experimental study design. Period: April 2010-June 2010. Materials and Methods: Samples of fabric used for making surgical gowns and scrubs were collected from different hospitals of Lahore and evaluated for different fabric properties viz. mass per unit area, construction analysis (number of threads per unit length) and tensile properties in accordance with EN and ISO standards, in standard atmosphere for testing textiles. Results and Conclusions: The results obtained were compared with the available international standards and limited research studies done in the area of surgical apparels yet. It was found that none of the samples collected meet the minimal requirements available yet. So, there is a dire need of some minimal criteria of surgical apparels for the safety of the patients as well as of the health care personnel.