Physiological-hygienic substantiation of preventive measures for medical personnel working in personal protective equipment against COVID-19 and other biological factors

The research was conducted in 2020 at the clinic of the «Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health», which accepts patients with coronavirus infection for treatment. Indicators of the thermal state of the body of the observed individuals were evaluated during 5 hours of work following MUk 4.3.1895-04. For medical workers wearing COVID-19 PPE in the «contagious zone» after three hours of work, all indicators of the thermal state of workers corresponded to acceptable values. During the five hours of medical workers performing medical procedures and official duties in the studied PPE, there was an increase in almost all values of the indicators of the thermal state against the background of continuing profuse sweating.

Conclusions. Analysis of the dynamics of heat exchange indicators in the body of medical workers performing physical work with energy consumption of 179±73 W/m², dressed in biological PPE, including COVID-19, allowed us to determine the rate of change in their thermoregulatory reactions and revealed the permissible duration of work in the «contagious» zone – no more than three hours. To normalize the moisture on the surface of the skin of health workers in the «red» zone, it is necessary to Supplement the protective equipment used with special underwear (shirt, trousers, and headdress) made of light, moisture-absorbing materials with sufficient vapor permeability and hygroscopic, capable of absorbing and removing the released moisture with sweat from the surface of the human body. Without the use of special underwear made with the use of vapor-permeable membranes, complete with biological PPE, including after three hours of work in the «red» zone, medical personnel needs a break of up to 30 minutes in a room with comfortable microclimate parameters to fully restore the body’s thermal state without PPE from COVID-19.