A Review of Single-Use and Reusable Gowns and Drapes in Health Care

Abstract

Gowns and drapes are used widely in healthcare facilities. Gowns have been used to minimize the risk of disease acquisition by healthcare providers, to reduce the risk of patient-to-patient transmission, and during invasive procedures to aid in maintaining a sterile field. Drapes have been used during invasive procedures to maintain the sterility of environmental surfaces, equipment, and patients. This article reviews the use of gowns and drapes in healthcare facilities, including the characteristics, costs, benefits, and barrier effectiveness of single-use and reusable products. Currently, gowns protect healthcare personnel performing invasive procedures from contact with bloodborne pathogens. Although gowns have been recommended to prevent patient-to-patient transmission in certain settings (eg, neonatal intensive care unit) and for certain patients (eg, those infected with vancomycin-resistant enterococci), scientific studies have produced mixed results of their efficacy. While appropriate use of drapes during invasive procedures is recommended widely as an aid in minimizing contamination of the operative field, the efficacy of this practice in reducing surgical-site infections has not been assessed by scientific studies. Based on an evaluation of the functional requirements, environmental impact, and economics of gowns and drapes, clear superiority of either reusable or single-use gowns and drapes cannot be demonstrated. The selection of particular gowns and drapes by individual healthcare facilities requires an assessment of the facility's requirements, available products, and costs and should be based on the desired characteristics of an ideal gown or drape as defined in this paper.

Effect of cleaning and disinfection on naturally contaminated clinical contact surfaces

“…Indeed, the number and amount of clinical contact surfaces to cover with disposable barriers and the number of times barriers must be changed during a working day are so many that this measure is costly and impractical. In addition, barrier materials create an important environ mental impact 35 . On the other hand, there are serious concerns regarding costs and toxic ef fects of disinfectants on cleaning staff and en vironment 36 .…”

Physicochemical Characterization Of The Multiuse Medical Textiles In Surgery And As Packaging Material In Medical Sterilization

“…Under appropriate humidity and temperature conditions, medical textiles act as an excellent basis for the growth of bacteria and fungi, cellulose fibers are more sensitive to fungi, while protein fibers are more sensitive to the influence of bacteria [2][3][4]. Treatment in hospital must provide secure high-level protection to patients and staff and must include measures for appropriate use of medical textiles [5]. Disposable medical textiles create ecological problems when discarded.…”

Surgical Gown Fabric; Determination of Resistance to Surface Wetting of Existing Surgical Gown Fabric

“…At present, surgical gowns and drapes are being used to defend healthcare professionals as well as the patients from microbes, transmitted by the medical staff and patient by themselves 17,23 Rise in the occurrence of resistant microorganisms that can be easily transferred is alarming.…”