Evaluation of Moisture Management and Antimicrobial Properties for Surgical Gowns: A Case Study in Egyptian Hospitals

Abstract

Surgical gowns are supposed to act as a pathogen barrier and provide physiological comfort for surgeons. This study was concerned with both of the aforementioned aspects. For this purpose surgical gowns used in public and private hospitals in Egypt were surveyed and one was chosen as it represented the most common type of gowns used in those medical facilities. The antimicrobial properties as well as the physiological comfort represented by its moisture management capacity were tested to evaluate its functional performance with regard to those specific areas. The results revealed that as far as acting as a pathogen barrier, according to Parallel Streak Method, the tested surgical gown proved to have an efficient inhibition zone because of the antimicrobial treated PET fibres and to the very poor overall moisture transfer capacity as a fabric (OMMC=0). As for the physiological comfort the opposite proved to be true as the very poor moisture management capacity (OMMC=0) meant diminished physiological comfort which was proven to affect surgeon’s performance in previous studies.