THE EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS OPERATION IN A CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE ENSEMBLEON THE PERFORMANCE OF MEDICAL TASKS IN TRAUMA MANAGEMENT

Treating casualties in a chemically hazardous environment constitutes a unique problem. Physical protection of the medical personnel may imp air their performance and potentially affect patients' prognoses. The present study examined the effect of prolonged physical protection on the accomplishment of medical tasks related to trauma management. Sixt y one emergency medical technicians, acclimatized to operating in prot ective gear, underwent four rounds of testing during eight hours of co ntinuously wearing either a chemical protective suit or regular fatigu es. The quality of the designated medical tasks, including sterility, was maintained throughout the study. A significant reduction in speed of performance was noted (almost-equal-to 30% slowing, p < 0.0001 in m ultivariate analysis) because of protective clothing. There was no add itional decrement in performance following a prolonged stay in the pro tective gear. We conclude that in a chemically contaminated area, full y protected medical personnel are capable of treating trauma patients reasonably well, and for a relatively long period of time. The importa nce of pretraining and proper instruction is emphasized.