References

Howarth W. PPE for SARS-Cov-2 and the utility of single-use aprons. J Para Pract. 2021; 13:(10)431-435 https://doi.org/10.12968/jpar.2021.13.10.431

Howard-Jones A, Almuzam S, Britton P Should I be worried about carrying the virus that causes COVID-19 home on my clothes?. J Paediatr Child Health. 2020; 56 https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.14938

Gollier C, Treich N. Option value and precaution. In: Shogren J. Oxford: Newnes; 2013

Loveday HP, Wilson JA, Pratt RJ epic3: national evidence-based guidelines for preventing healthcare-associated infections in NHS hospitals in England. J Hosp Infect. 2014; 1:(86)S1-70 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-6701(13)60012-2

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. CG139 Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control in primary and community care. 2012. https//www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg139 (accessed 29 October 2021)

Royal College of Nursing. Essential practice for infection prevention and control. 2017. https//www.rcn.org.uk/professional-development/publications/pub-005940 (accessed 29 October 2021)

World Health Organization. Scientific breathing: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: implications for infection prevention precautions. 2020. https//www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions (accessed 29 October 2021)

UK Health Security Agency. COVID-19: guidance for ambulance services. 2021. https//www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-ambulance-trusts/covid-19-guidance-for-ambulance-trusts (accessed 29 October 2021)

Letters

02 November 2021
Opinion
02 November 2021
Volume 13 · Issue 11

In October 2021, the Journal of Paramedic Practice published a comment article from Wesley Howarth, titled ‘PPE for SARS-Cov-2 and the utility of single-use aprons’ (Howarth, 2021). We would like to thank the author for highlighting some evidence and presenting his view on this important topic during the pandemic. However, we would like to provide our response, sharing our views from an infection prevention and control (IPC) perspective.

Firstly, the author suggested that ‘the wearing of plastic aprons with COVID-19 positive patients may be unjustified, provided the patient is wearing a facemask’. We felt that this is a bold statement as the article did not present a strong argument either for or against the use of aprons in the prehospital setting. We appreciated that the evidence on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the prehospital setting is limited at the moment; further research is required to identify the optimal PPE staff should be using in the prehospital environment. We believe that the finding of Howard-Jones et al (2021) was inappropriately used to infer that there is no transmission risk from a uniform contaminated with COVID-19. These concerns stem from the fact that patients that we see as paramedics and health professionals are often older, with comorbidities and are sometimes immunosuppressed. We recommend that ‘precautionary principles’ (Gollier and Treich, 2013) be applied here and apron use should continue despite the uncertainty around their use as PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Risks of contamination of uniform from direct contact of undifferentiated patients remain high with the current prevalence of COVID-19 in the UK.

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