Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens
Introduction: Oropharyngeal swabs for diagnosis of COVID-19 often induce violent coughing, which can disperse infectious droplets onto providers. Incorrectly doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) increases the risk of transmission. A cheap, single-use variation of the face shield invented by a...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Singapore Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2021118 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861070589067264 |
|---|---|
| author | Phui-Sze Angie Au-Yong Xuanxuan Chen Wen Hao Low Keen Chong Chau Stephanie Fook-Chong Shariq Ali Khan |
| author_facet | Phui-Sze Angie Au-Yong Xuanxuan Chen Wen Hao Low Keen Chong Chau Stephanie Fook-Chong Shariq Ali Khan |
| author_sort | Phui-Sze Angie Au-Yong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction:
Oropharyngeal swabs for diagnosis of COVID-19 often induce violent coughing, which can disperse infectious droplets onto providers. Incorrectly doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) increases the risk of transmission. A cheap, single-use variation of the face shield invented by a Singaporean team, SG Shield, aims to reduce this risk. This manikin study aimed to study the efficacy of the SG Shield in combination with standard PPE.
Methods:
A person attired in full PPE whose face and chest was lined with grid paper stood in front of an airway manikin in an enclosed room. A small latex balloon containing ultraviolet fluorescent dye was placed in the oral cavity of the manikin and inflated until explosion to simulate a cough. Three study groups were tested: (a) control (no shield), (b) face shield and (c) SG Shield. The primary outcome was droplet dispersion, determined quantitatively by calculating the proportion of grid paper wall squares stained with fluorescent dye. The secondary outcome was the severity of provider contamination.
Results:
The SG Shield significantly reduced droplet dispersion to 0% compared to the controls (99.0%, P = 0.001). The face shield also significantly reduced droplet contamination but to a lesser extent (80.0%) compared to the control group (P = 0.001). Although the qualitative severity of droplet contamination was significantly lower in both groups compared to the controls, the face shield group had more contamination of the provider’s head and neck.
Conclusion:
The manikin study showed that the SG Shield significantly reduces droplet dispersion to the swab provider’s face and chest. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eb25e70f363f44b681b12402d7c22338 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0037-5675 2737-5935 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Singapore Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-eb25e70f363f44b681b12402d7c223382025-02-10T05:29:17ZengWolters Kluwer – Medknow PublicationsSingapore Medical Journal0037-56752737-59352022-09-0163950951310.11622/smedj.2021118Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimensPhui-Sze Angie Au-YongXuanxuan ChenWen Hao LowKeen Chong ChauStephanie Fook-ChongShariq Ali KhanIntroduction: Oropharyngeal swabs for diagnosis of COVID-19 often induce violent coughing, which can disperse infectious droplets onto providers. Incorrectly doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) increases the risk of transmission. A cheap, single-use variation of the face shield invented by a Singaporean team, SG Shield, aims to reduce this risk. This manikin study aimed to study the efficacy of the SG Shield in combination with standard PPE. Methods: A person attired in full PPE whose face and chest was lined with grid paper stood in front of an airway manikin in an enclosed room. A small latex balloon containing ultraviolet fluorescent dye was placed in the oral cavity of the manikin and inflated until explosion to simulate a cough. Three study groups were tested: (a) control (no shield), (b) face shield and (c) SG Shield. The primary outcome was droplet dispersion, determined quantitatively by calculating the proportion of grid paper wall squares stained with fluorescent dye. The secondary outcome was the severity of provider contamination. Results: The SG Shield significantly reduced droplet dispersion to 0% compared to the controls (99.0%, P = 0.001). The face shield also significantly reduced droplet contamination but to a lesser extent (80.0%) compared to the control group (P = 0.001). Although the qualitative severity of droplet contamination was significantly lower in both groups compared to the controls, the face shield group had more contamination of the provider’s head and neck. Conclusion: The manikin study showed that the SG Shield significantly reduces droplet dispersion to the swab provider’s face and chest.https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2021118covid-19dropletface shieldoropharyngeal swabsg shield |
| spellingShingle | Phui-Sze Angie Au-Yong Xuanxuan Chen Wen Hao Low Keen Chong Chau Stephanie Fook-Chong Shariq Ali Khan Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens Singapore Medical Journal covid-19 droplet face shield oropharyngeal swab sg shield |
| title | Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| title_full | Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| title_short | Efficacy of SG Shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| title_sort | efficacy of sg shield in reducing droplet contamination during collection of oropharyngeal swab culture specimens |
| topic | covid-19 droplet face shield oropharyngeal swab sg shield |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2021118 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT phuiszeangieauyong efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens AT xuanxuanchen efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens AT wenhaolow efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens AT keenchongchau efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens AT stephaniefookchong efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens AT shariqalikhan efficacyofsgshieldinreducingdropletcontaminationduringcollectionoforopharyngealswabculturespecimens |