Mr Marcus Kusiak1, Miss Kelly Ryan1, Mrs Tracey Panozzo1, Miss Phoebe Georgakis1, Mrs Wendy Grant1, Associate Professor Steve McGloughlin1,2, Ms Pauline Bass1, Mrs Annabelle Maclure1, Mrs Tania Birthisel1, Mrs Karen MacMillan1, Dr Maurice LeGuen1, Associate Professor Andrew Stewardson1,2
1Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia
2Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Method: In October 2021, 8 ICU clinicians volunteered to wear the ER rather than a disposable respirator. They were quantitatively fit tested and educated about use and workflows. A COVIDSafe plan was initiated to minimise risks; including ER reprocessing and staff surveillance testing. Participants completed evaluation Likert scales after each use to assess comfort, communication, and whether the user felt safe.
Results: The pilot was stopped after 1 week due to discomfort and the rapid onset of pressure injuries; with 50% of users giving this device the poorest comfort rating. The average length of wear was 3 hours in a shift, with consistent feedback, “it becomes very heavy after the first hour, the mask pulls on the nose”. While staff felt secure, communication difficulties were an additional challenge, with 7 out of 8 participants rating face-to-face and phone communication as inadequate.
Conclusion: Finding adequate alternatives to disposable respirators requires trialing and robust review to ensure that government guidance, workflows for use, education and training, infection prevention recommendations, reprocessing, and usability, are all rigorously evaluated prior to implementation. This specific respirator did not meet our needs and therefore, as part of pandemic preparedness, further review of reusable options is needed.
Background: Disposable respirators (P2/N95s) have been a critical component of PPE during the pandemic, but there have been concerns about supply. Reusable elastomeric respirators (ERs) are a potential alternative; however, there is limited guidance to support implementation. We evaluated the feasibility of using a specific ER in our ICU.
Biography: Marcus Kusiak is a critical care nurse with over 10 years experience in ICU at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. He achieved his Masters of Science in Infectious Diseases in 2017. Marcus developed and leads the new Respiratory Protection Program to help ensure staff safety from respiratory hazards.
Kelly Ryan is an ICU Infection Prevention Clinical Nurse Consultant at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. She received her bachelor of Nursing in 2007 and Graduate Certificate in Intensive Care Nursing in 2015 from Queensland University of Technology. Kelly has fifteen years nursing experience, eleven of those in the Intensive Care specialty.