Personal protective equipment preparedness in Asia-Pacific intensive care units during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Arvind Rajamani, Ashwin Subramaniam, Kiran Shekar, Jumana Haji, Jinghang Luo, Shailesh Bihari, Wai Tat Wong, Navya Gullapalli, Markus Renner, Claudia Maria Alcancia, Kollengode Ramanathan, Personal protective equipment preparedness in Asia-Pacific intensive care units during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A multinational survey, Australian Critical Care, Volume 34, Issue 2, 2021, Pages 135-141, ISSN 1036-7314, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2020.09.006.

Background: There has been a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 admissions to intensive care units (ICUs) in Asia-Pacific countries. Because ICU healthcare workers are exposed to aerosol-generating procedures, ensuring optimal personal protective equipment (PPE) preparedness is important.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate PPE preparedness across ICUs in six Asia-Pacific countries during the initial phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which is defined by the World Health Organization as guideline adherence, training healthcare workers, procuring stocks, and responding appropriately to suspected cases.