Introduction: A number of studies have assessed the usefulness of surgical gowns and exhaust suits with regards to barrier function and protection afforded to healthcare workers from blood strike-through, splashes and aerosols.
Patients and methods: We have performed a comfort assessment comparison between the Charnley exhaust suit, disposable gown plus visor and the Stryker Steri-Shield system using a newly developed objective multidimensional ergonomic tool designed to measure wearable comfort across the dimensions of emotion, attachment, harm, perceived change, movement and anxiety.
Results: The total mean Comfort Rating Scale value for a disposable gown plus visor was 16.1 with a mean dimensional score of 2.7 (range, 0.2-8.4), for the Charnley system the values were 51.4 and 8.6 (range, 5.9-12.8), respectively, and for the Stryker Steri-Shield 15.4 and 2.6 (range, 0.8-5.6).
Conclusions: The Steri-Shield system provides the least variation in comfort and, as such, may offer the best combination of comfort, protective qualities and form or style of personal protection equipment for lower limb arthroplasty operations.