Healthcare PPE Selection Guidance Research Gaps Identified Through Literature Review

Healthcare workers (HCWs) rely on personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce exposure to infectious diseases while treating patients. Guidance documents, such as the 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings, inform PPE selection for HCWs. It is crucial to understand how the established recommendations from this guidance document align with current research. This literature review focuses on the research and guidance related to infectious aerosols. The scope of this review is limited to the scientific basis for aerosol-related hazards. It does not include literature on the epidemiology of disease-specific characteristics, such as virulence and infectious dose. This literature review aims to 1) characterize the literature for infectious aerosol hazards in healthcare and their relevance and appropriateness to PPE, and 2) describe the alignment of the literature with existing guidelines. The search was conducted using predefined parameters such as keywords, search modifiers, and controlled vocabulary in PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL databases. The search results were screened, and 24 relevant articles were selected for the review. The identified literature focused on the properties and behaviors of aerosols, including those generated by patients in healthcare settings, and the potential risks presented by aerosol-generating medical procedures. A potential misalignment between the guidelines and current research was identified after comparing the literature on infectious aerosols included in this review to the 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings. The hazards to HCWs associated with patient-produced infectious aerosols are multifaceted. Continued research and consensus-building efforts are necessary to improve infection control measures in healthcare settings in the dynamic landscape of infectious disease transmission.