Calculating an institutional personal protective equipment (PPE) burn rate to project future usage patterns during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Infection control and hospital epidemiology Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 1474 - 1475
• Main Authors: Raja, Sumanth, Patolia, Harsh H., Baffoe-Bonnie, Anthony W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cambridge University Press 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Civil Defense - methods; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Disease Transmission, Infectious - prevention & control; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Infection Control - methods; Infection Control - organization & administration; Letter to the Editor; Pandemics; Patient safety; Personal protective equipment; Personal Protective Equipment - statistics & numerical data; Personal Protective Equipment - supply & distribution; Prevention; Projection; Protective equipment; SARS-CoV-2; Virginia - epidemiology; Virginia
• ISSN: 0899-823X; 1559-6834; 1559-6834
• DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.190

To the Editor—The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, caused by a severe coronavirus strain named SARS-CoV-2, and has created shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a PPE burn rate calculator for hospitals to project future PPE supplies.2 This tool requires that hospital systems have an understanding of daily PPE usage patterns. [...]our calculator does not capture changes in N95 disinfection and N95 use rates, which can be subject to change. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/index.html.