Personal protective equipment related dermatoses among health care workers of a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background Personal protective equipment although is the need of the hour to prevent and stay safe from unknown infectious diseases but its use has advantages and disadvantages all depending on its type and duration of use.   Objective To assess personal protective equipment related dermatoses among health care workers attending patients at a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan.   Methods The study was carried out in the department of Pathology (Microbiology), Army Medical College/National University of Medical Sciences from June 10th 2021 to July 10th 2021. A self-administered Performa consisting of multiple-choice items was designed using Google forms. It was distributed electronically to health care workers attending patients at a tertiary care hospital. Data was collected through snowball sampling technique. Questionnaire consisted of type and duration of personal protective equipment used, site of skin lesion, sociodemographic data, department of the hospital, prior dermatological history. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 27.0.   Results The cutaneous manifestations were varied, the most common being acneiform eruption (41%) followed by ulcerating lesions (21%) and erythema with vesicular lesions (9.6%).   Conclusion Use of personal protective equipment plays a crucial role in combating infections but its continuous use brings wide array of dermatological manifestations. In order to avoid these complications, safety measures should be taken. Discovering a balance between this critical protection and methods to mitigate the harmful effects on the skin health is the key.