Donning Procedure
The following summarizes the suggested donning and doffing procedures. Further review of this protocol by infection disease specialists or EH&S officers in hospitals is required.
Sequence for putting on Pneumask and PPE.
Eat, drink and go to the restroom. Check everything that you need to bring into the patient's room is available.
Tie up your hair and remove unnecessary accessories on wrists, neck and ears.
Perform hand hygiene.
Put on a surgical cap.
Put on the first layer of gloves.
Put on your gown by placing your head through the top of the opening and insert your arms into the sleeves. Tie the gown properly.
Carefully inspect the disinfected snorkel mask, adapter and viral filter of Pneumask.
(Optional if they are connected already) Serially connect the adapter and viral filter to the snorkel mask
(Optional for Bluetooth user) Turn on the Bluetooth microphone. Check the connection with the smartphone. Put the Bluetooth microphone in a clean, small ziplock bag, Tape and secure the ziplock bag inside the mouth chamber without blocking the chin valve.
Perform a suction test: put the mask to your face, press it slightly while inhaling to create a suction between the mask and your face. The mask should suction to your face. Try smiling and see if the movement of facial muscle breaks the seal.
Put on the mask fully. Adjust and tighten the straps as needed.
Inhaling or exhaling while closing off the top of the filter with your hand can be done for another seal check. With a good facial seal, the mask should suck down on your face with a good seal with inspiration, and not lift off face with exhalation.
Perform hand hygiene.
Place your gloved thumbs through the loops of the gown. Put on the second layer of gloves.
Doffing Procedure
Sequence for taking off Pneumask and PPE.
In the anteroom (or the doorway if there is no anteroom), grasp the gown and pull away from your body. Carefully fold the gown into ball-shape and only touch the outer surface of the gown with gloved hands. Remove the gown and the outer gloves together. Dispose the gown and the gloves into a dedicated trash can.
Perform hand hygiene (you should still be wearing your inner layer of gloves).
Leave the anteroom.
Perform hand hygiene.
Inspect the integrity of the inner glove. If it is intact without gross contamination, proceed through the next step. If it is torn, broken, or grossly contaminated, remove the inner glove. Perform hand hygiene, and put on a new pair of gloves.
Lean head forward into sniff position. Loosen the straps and remove the mask.
Use alcohol-based wipe or hydrogen peroxide wipe to wipe the surface of the mask and filter. Gently disconnect the filter from the mask. Dispose the wipe.
Dispose the filter if it is designed for one-time usage, or put it into a clean dedicated box if the filter is designed for disinfection and reuse.
Put the mask into a clean dedicated box.
Perform hand hygiene.
Remove the surgical cap.
Perform hand hygiene.
Remove the inner gloves.
Perform hand hygiene.
(Optional for Bluetooth user) Remove the ziplock bag which contains the Bluetooth microphone. Wipe the surface of the ziplock bag with alcoholic wipe and open the ziplock bag. Perform hand hygiene. Dump the microphone from the ziplock bag with one hand (dirty hand) onto the other hand (clean hand). Dispose the ziplock bag with your dirty hand. Place the microphone somewhere you will not forget with your clean hand. Perform hand hygiene.
Bring the box and the mask to somewhere you can decontaminate it, or hand it to hospital technicians per hospital policy.