A pilot study of core body temperatures in healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment in a high-level isolation unit.

Personal protective equipment used by healthcare workers to mitigate disease transmission risks while caring for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases can impair normal body cooling mechanisms and exacerbate physiological strain. Symptoms of heat strain (e.g.

Ebola Virus Disease: Clinical Challenges, Recognition, and Management.

The 2014 to 2016 Ebola outbreak response resulted in many lessons learned about biocontainment patient care, leading to enhanced domestic capabilities for highly infectious and hazardous communicable diseases. However, additional opportunities for improvement remain. The article identifies and describes key considerations and challenges for laboratory analysis, clinical management, transportation, and personnel management during the care of patients infected with Ebola or other special pathogens.

Learning from Ebola: Interprofessional practice in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.

Caring for patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU) has necessitated and enabled extensive interprofessional relationships and the creation of a collaborative care model. Critical aspects of NBU functionality include a constructive leadership environment, staff inclusion and consideration during protocol development, and a culture of partnership and communication.

Planning and response to Ebola virus disease: An integrated approach.

The care of patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) requires the application of critical care medicine principles under conditions of stringent infection control precautions. The care of patients with EVD requires a number of elements in terms of physical layout, personal protective apparel, and other equipment. Provision of care is demanding in terms of depth of staff and training.

A method for evaluating health care workers' personal protective equipment technique.

Background: Given the potential for the transfer of infectious diseases among patients in isolation, health care workers (HCWs), and other patients in the hospital environment, the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is paramount. The literature is limited regarding studies of HCWs' use of PPE in patient care tasks.

Methods: A pilot study was conducted to examine the feasibility of using a simulated health care environment to assess HCWs' technique when implementing standard airborne and contact isolation precautions.

The Nebraska experience in biocontainment patient care.

Public health nurses in local health departments may receive the first call regarding a potential case of avian influenza, monkeypox, or viral hemorrhagic fever. One public health approach to containing these dangerous infectious disease outbreaks is the use of specialized isolation units. Early access to a biocontainment patient care unit (BPCU) for isolation during a bioterrorism or public health emergency event along with appropriate use of epidemiological and therapeutic interventions in the community may dramatically impact the size and severity of a disease outbreak (Smith et al.