Daños en piel durante lucha contra covid-19 en trabajadores

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Journal Scan / Research · April 01, 2020

Skin Damage in Healthcare Workers Managing COVID-19

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

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• The authors surveyed 542 first-line healthcare workers in Hubei province, China, for the frequency of skin damage and their personal protective equipment practices. The prevalence of skin damage among workers was 97% (n=526), with the most common sites including the nasal bridge (83.1%), cheeks (78.7%), hands (74.5%), and forehead (57.2%). Dryness/tightness was the most frequently reported symptom (70.3%) and desquamation the most frequently observed sign (61.6%). Wearing an N95 mask and/or goggles for more than 6 hours per day increased the risk of skin damage (HR, 2.02 and 2.32, respectively).

• The prevalence of skin damage in first-line healthcare workers in the COVID-19 crisis is extremely high, particularly in areas subject to irritation including the nasal bridge under goggles or an N95 mask and the hands. This skin irritation could promote face touching, leading to increased risk of viral transmission.

– Margaret Hammond, MD

Written by

 

 

Alexandra Zhang MD

The evolving global coronavirus outbreak has created serious healthcare challenges that are impacting everyone. Coronavirus can be highly contagious, which makes it extremely important for medical personnel on the frontline fighting this outbreak to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as isolation gowns, protective goggles, N95 masks, face shields, gloves, and shoe covers. However, with the pandemic of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), there is a global shortage of PPE. In order to conserve the PPE, medical personnel often have no choice but to wear the same PPE for 8 to 12 hours or longer.

A report from our Chinese colleagues showed that 97% of the first-line healthcare workers developed skin damage caused by enhanced infection-prevention measures. The most common affected sites included the nasal bridge, hands, cheeks, and forehead. The most common symptoms included dryness/tightness and desquamation due to mechanical pressure from long-term use of the goggles and N95 masks. Increased incidence of acneiform eruptions, hand eczema due to frequent cleaning of the hands with soap and hand sanitizers, allergic and irritant contact dermatitis, intertrigo, tinea corporis, and tinea pedis have also been reported in these healthcare workers.

This is an unprecedented, difficult time for everyone, especially for the frontline healthcare workers. Hopefully, the important lessons learned and experience shared by our international colleagues will help us in combating this COVID-19 outbreak.

Abstract

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, over 200,000 healthcare workers from all over China have been participating in the fight against this highly contagious disease in Hubei province, which is the infected center of China. The skin damages caused by enhanced infection-prevention measures among them, which could reduce their enthusiasm for overloaded work and make them anxious, have been reported frequently.

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Skin Damage Among Healthcare Workers Managing Coronavirus Disease-2019

J Am Acad Dermatol 2020 Mar 18;[EPub Ahead of Print], J Lan, Z Song, X Miao, H Li, Y Li, L Dong, J Yang, X An, Y Zhang, L Yang, N Zhou, L Yang, J Li, J Cao, J Wang, J Tao 

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Benjamin Hidalgo-Matlock
Skin Care Physicians of Costa Rica

Clinica Victoria en San Pedro: 4000-1054
Momentum Escazu: 2101-9574

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