Self-contamination during repeated donning and doffing or breakdown of materials due to extended wear are the greatest risks of reusing PPE.

Syracuse University

University of California, Santa Cruz

- Masks/respirators (N95, etc)
- long-sleeved gowns
- goggles 
- disposable round caps
- latex gloves 
- show covers
-ventilators

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

With the demand for protective personal equipment constantly increasing due to COVID-19, there are compromises being made, aiming to reduce negative ramifications.
- Healthcare workers required to personally acquired their own PPE.  Often sacrifices quality of protection and increases risk of contagion.
-  Reusing of PPE presents higher risk for contracting COVID-19.  Quality degrades over time and reduces effectiveness of protection.

Negative Consequences of PPE Shortage

Nguyen, L. H., Drew, D. A., Joshi, A. D., Guo, C. G., Ma, W., Mehta, R. S., Sikavi, D. R., Lo, C. H., Kwon, S., Song, M., Mucci, L. A., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., Eliassen, A. H., Hart, J. E., Chavarro, J. E., Rich-Edwards, J. W., Davies, R., Capdevila, J., Lee, K. A., … Chan, A. T. (2020). Risk of COVID-19 among frontline healthcare workers and the general community: a prospective cohort study. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2020.04.29.20084111. 
https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.29.20084111
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.29.20084111v6

Risk of COVID-19 among frontline healthcare workers and the general community: a prospective cohort study

In low-contagion areas, healthcare workers used surgical masks, latex gowns, gloves, and disposable round caps. In high-contagion areas, healthcare workers used N95 masks, long-sleeved gowns, goggles, disposable round caps, latex gloves, and show covers.

PPE in the Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China

- medRxiv
- Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (JEADV)
- WHO

References for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by Journal

Reuse of PPE presents higher risk for contracting COVID-19

Medical staff who must constantly use skin disinfectants and personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic develop skin injury and disease that lowers their performance and quality of life. Experts from The Chinese Society of Dermatology have recommended measures to prevent and treat these conditions.


PPE skin injury/disease prevention and treatment 

Face Mask Policies by Country 

Compared with healthcare workers using adequate PPE, frontline healthcare workers reporting the reuse of PPE had a 46% increased risk of reporting a positive COVID-19 test, with inadequate PPE associated with a comparable 31% increase

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