title: Impact of the medical clothing on the thermal stress of surgeons.
abstract: The aim of the presented experiments was to determine thermal stress of surgeons performing their work with a high metabolic rate, wearing clothing characterized by high insulation and impermeability protecting them against water vapour but also in thermal conditions of a warm climate protecting patients against hypothermia. The experiments were conducted with the participation of 8 volunteers. Each subject took part in the experiment four times, i.e. in each of the four tested surgical gowns. The experiments were conducted in a climatic chamber where thermal conditions characteristic of an operating theatre were simulated. The parameters to be measured included: skin temperature, temperature measured in the auditory canal, sweat rate as well as temperature and humidity between clothing and a human body. The conducted experiments provided the grounds to conclude that medical clothing can be regarded as barrier clothing and it can influence thermal load of a human body.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Thermal Load, Department of Ergonomics, Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland. mazwo@ciop.pl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zwolińska
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bogdan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001831:Body Temperature; D032561:Cotton Fiber; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D008297:Male; D011091:Polyesters; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013546:Sweating; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013696:Temperature; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters