Materials for Manufacturing Protective Barrier Clothing of Medical Workers and Testing of This Clothing for Compliance with the Requirements of the Applicable Regulations

Abstract

Introduction. An integrated scientific approach to the protection of healthcare professionals requires the development of modern barrier clothing for them, especially that for surgical staff who in the course of their professional duties may be exposed to various types of infectious diseases.
Problem Statement. The creation of effective protective barrier clothing for surgical department staff necessitates the development of a range of fabrics and measures for antimicrobial treatment of sutures at the junction of clothing items, as well as the testing of the developed clothing in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Purpose. The purpose of this research is to justify for the choice of materials for the manufacture of protective barrier clothing for medical workers and the development of measures for antimicrobial treatment of sutures at the junction of clothing items.
Materials and Methods. The object of the study are textile materials and modified threads used for the manufacture of barrier medical clothing. Experimental studies have been conducted in the laboratories of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design according to the standardized and original methods for evaluating the properties of textile materials and threads.
Results. The principles for the application of new composite materials with protective properties for designing surgeon barrier clothes to be worn in a surgery room have been defined, the dependences of the indicators of textile material quality on the number of washing and sterilizing cycles have been established, and measures on antimicrobial treatment of seams in joints of clothing elements have been offered. The developed clothing has been tested in accordance with the applicable regulations.

Conclusions. The results have shown that from the standpoint of the protection of medical workers, the most effective is the zonal principle of using different types of fabrics for the manufacture of barrier medical clothing. It has been also determined that among the developed and studied threads, the most suitable for sewing technologically clean clothes are POM 529, POM I and POM II.