The prevalence, characteristics, and related factors of pressure injury in medical staff wearing personal protective equipment against COVID‐19 in China: A multicentre cross‐sectional survey

Abstract

Since December 2019, the medical staff fighting against COVID‐19 frequently reported the device‐related pressure injury (DRPI) caused by personal protective equipment (PPE). We conducted a cross‐sectional survey online to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of DRPI among medical staff. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to explore the risk factors associated with DRPI. A total of 4308 participants were collected and 4306 participants were valid from 161 hospitals in China. The overall prevalence of DRPI caused by PPE among medical staff was 30.03% (95% CI 28.69%‐31.41%). The prevalence of male was more than that of female (42.25%, 95% CI 37.99‐46.51% vs 26.36%, 95% CI 26.93‐29.80%, P < .001).The categories were mainly stages 1 and 2, and the common anatomical locations were nose bridge, cheeks, ears, and forehead. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors were sweating (OR = 43.99, 95% CI 34.46‐56.17), male (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.12‐1.99), level 3 PPE (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.14‐1.83), and longer wearing time (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 0.97‐1.68). The prevalence of DRPI was high among medical staff wearing PPE against COVID‐19, and the risk factors were sweating, male, wearing level 3 PPE, and longer wearing time. Comprehensive preventive interventions should be taken.