Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment(PPE)

Personal protective equipment encountered by laboratorians includes gloves, gowns or laboratory coats, masks, goggles, face shields, and Plexiglas countertop shields. Gloves are worn to protect the health-care worker’s hands from contamination by patient body substances and to protect the patient from possible microorganisms on the health-care worker’s hands. Wearing gloves is not a substitute for handwashing. Hands must always be washed when gloves are removed. A variety of gloves are available, including sterile and non-sterile, powdered and unpowdered, and latex and non-latex.

Allergy to latex is increasing among health-care workers. Laboratorians should be alert for symptoms of reactions associated with latex contact, including irritant contact dermatitis that produces patches of dry, itchy irritation on the hands; delayed hypersensitivity reactions resembling poison ivy that appear 24 to 48 hours following exposure; and true immediate hypersensitivity reactions often characterized by facial flushing and respiratory difficulty. Handwashing immediately after removal of gloves and avoiding powdered gloves may aid in preventing the development of latex allergy. Replacing latex gloves with nitrile or vinyl gloves provides an acceptable alternative.Any signs of a latex reaction should be reported to a supervisor, as true latex allergy can be life-threatening.

 In a laboratory, fluid-resistant laboratory coats with wrist cuffs should be worn to protect skin and clothing from contamination by patient specimens. Coats are worn at all times when working with patient specimens. They must be completely buttoned with gloves pulled over the cuffs. Both gloves and laboratory coats should be changed as soon as possible if they become visibly soiled, and they must be removed when leaving the laboratory.

The mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth must be protected from specimen splashes and aerosols. A variety of protective equipment is available, including goggles, full-face plastic shields, and Plexiglas countertop shields. Particular care should be taken to avoid splashes and aerosols when removing container tops and when transferring and centrifuging specimens. Never centrifuge specimens in uncapped tubes or in uncovered centrifuges. When specimens are received in containers with contaminated exteriors, the exterior of the container must be disinfected or, if necessary, a new specimen may be requested.