EXISTING SURGICAL GOWNS

Abstract

Textiles perform as an interface between the body and environment. In the newgeneration of textiles, this potential of textiles is being utilized to provide the resistance not onlyagainst weather but also against micro-organisms and collision forces etc. the type of weavehas a strong impact on its physical properties. Type of weave also affects the suitability of thematerial end use. According to a study by Behera plain weave is more suitable for surgicalapparels in comparison with twill weave because of large pores between two adjoining yarns onintersection. Fabric construction parameters determine the strength of the fabric. Parametersare: mass per unit area, number of threads per unit length, maximum force using the stripmethod, & yarn count (yarn number). A fabric with high thread count does not allow themicroorganisms to pass through a fabric than a fabric having low/less count. Different Surfacefinishes help to decrease the bacterial growth on the surface of fabric. Plasma coated Nonwovensamples are better repellent of pathogens than re-usable woven fabrics. All surgicalattire has to meet some given standards for tensile strength which dictates the rate of wear andtear that will affect the required properties. The thought behind this study was to evaluate andcompare the tensile strength of existing surgical gowns among the groups. Objectives: 1) Tofind out the Tensile Strength of existing surgical gown fabric before and after laundering (amongthree groups of hospitals). 2) To compare the results of Tensile Strength of existing surgicalgowns (among three groups of hospitals) being used in hospitals of Lahore. Study Design: Thestudy has experimental design. Period: March 2011- March. 2012. Materials and methods:Samples of fabric used for making surgical gowns were collected from different hospitals ofLahore and evaluated for Tensile Strength before and after laundering at Textile Lab. Resultand Conclusions: On the whole a decreasing trend was observed for tensile strength in all3 groups of hospitals from 0 to 20th laundering. Group B of hospitals showed lowest tensilestrength observation whereas the highest value was observed in group A of hospitals. Thelowest observation for tensile strength was found in Group B of hospitals whereas in group Cthe highest value was observed it’s clear that fabrics of group B showed lowest tensile strengthrating in test results for both warp and weft directions. Whereas group A of hospitals showedhighest tensile strength test results among the groups in warp and in weft group C showed highresults.