NONWOVEN, DISPOSABLE THEATER GOWNS FOR HIGH-RISK SURGERY

The ability to resist fluid penetration was measured in body fabric an d forearm seams of standard and reinforced non-woven disposable theatr e gowns. Six standard use, non-woven gowns showed water strike-through in the body area at pressures ranging between 12.1 +/- 0.8 cmH2O and 23.2 +/- 2.2 cmH2O (means +/- 95% confidence interval). Two products r esisted fluid penetration of the forearm seam at pressures similar to that of the fabric alone (16.8 +/- 1.0 cmH2O and 18.6 +/- 0.9 cmH2O re spectively) but other standard gowns leaked at significantly lower pre ssures (range 4.6-6.9 cmH2O). (P<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Six of se ven high-protection gowns proved fluid resistant at a pressure in exce ss of 50 cm in the reinforced body zone but four reinforced gowns leak ed at stitched arm seams at a pressure of less than 10 cmh2o despite a n inner impermeable layer of fabric covering the forearm. Three gowns with heat or adhesive sealed reinforced arm seams resisted fluid penet ration up to a pressure of 50 cmH2O. Standard gowns and some reinforce d gowns do not offer full protection against forearm contamination thr ough stitched seams. A gown with sealed seams and impermeable fabric s hould be chosen for high-risk cases.