Study Finds Limiting Use of PPE to Only N95 Respirators for COVID Patients Was Safe and Environmentally Sustainable

A new study found that “limiting the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to only N95 respirators late in the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore healthcare facilities kept staff safe, reduced plastic waste and carbon emissions, and lowered related costs.” CIDRAP has the news.

The study was led by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in Singapore, and it evaluated “the use of PPE and monthly COVID-19 rates among medical, allied, ancillary, and administrative staff” both before and after PPE de-escalation. The Singapore Ministry of Health had “updated its national PPE recommendations for HCP [healthcare personnel] caring for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19” in late 2022, “advising the use of N95 respirators alone.” Guidelines from the U.S. CDC recommend “the use of gowns, gloves, and eye protection” along with N95 respirators.

Limiting PPE to N95 respirators was “linked to a 1-year savings of 440,532 gowns, 398,681 kilograms…of carbon dioxide equivalent in emissions, 66,080 kg of plastic waste, and about $453,748 in Singapore dollars ($333,970 U.S.) in healthcare costs.” That amount of carbon dioxide equivalent is equal to “the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling 138 tons…of waste instead of landfilling and is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 6,592 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.”

The pandemic brought with it a precipitous increase in healthcare waste worldwide. The researchers involved with this study found that “eliminating unneeded PPE can improve interactions between HCP and patients and lessen the negative psychological effects on patients without raising the risk of disease transmission.” A related commentary said “the study findings reveal an opportunity for healthcare systems to increase investment in research into disease transmission dynamics and in expanding implementation of engineering controls.”