News & Information

In recent years, with the continuous development of China's medical and healthcare industry, greater emphasis has been placed on the safety management of hospital medical quality. Preventing hospital-acquired infections and safeguarding the safety of both medical staff and patients are of crucial importance.

Currently, over 10 million clinical surgeries are performed worldwide each year. During surgical procedures, medical staff inevitably come into contact with patients' bodily fluids and blood. Considering patient safety, addressing practical issues related to infection control during surgery, and reducing the risk of occupational exposure for high-risk personnel, it is essential to use disposable surgical gowns to establish a safe protective barrier.

Cotton Surgical Gowns Gradually Phased Out

Previously, scrub suits and surgical gowns were consistently made of cotton. Cotton surgical gowns offer good comfort and breathability; however, as hospital infection standards continue to rise and protective requirements for surgical patients and medical staff become more stringent, cotton surgical gowns have gradually been phased out.

Relevant experiments have shown that cotton surgical gowns have no bacteria-blocking effect, nor do they possess water-resistant or anti-permeation properties. They have low strength and poor wash durability—repeated washing easily causes damage and lint shedding, which in turn generates particulates. These particulates act as carriers for pathogenic bacteria, easily leading to allergies, infections, and other issues.

The Specifications for Hospital Infection Control in Operating Departments (Rooms) clearly stipulates: "The fabric of scrub suits and surgical gowns for medical staff shall be comfortable, breathable, impermeable to liquids, of appropriate thickness, with non-shedding fibers, and anti-static. After use, they shall be promptly cleaned, disinfected, or sterilized." Since then, the use of surgical gowns has gradually become standardized.

Current Development Status of Surgical Gowns in China

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued the Global Guidelines on the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections in 2016, which provides recommendations on the use of surgical gowns: Using disposable surgical gowns during surgery can help prevent surgical site infections.

In recent years, Chinese medical staff have gained a deeper understanding of surgical gowns with high protective performance, and the demand for such gowns has also increased. Consequently, the materials used in surgical gowns have become a key research focus. Currently, many new functional materials exhibit excellent properties; however, when used in combination, their effectiveness may be neutralized or not fully utilized. How to combine several functional materials to endow medical products with multiple outstanding properties is a problem worthy of practical exploration at present.

Surgical Gowns Made of New Composite Materials

Currently, most surgical gowns available on the market are made of SMMS non-woven fabric, while some manufacturers use SMMMS non-woven fabric. For surgical gowns made of new composite materials, the inner and outer layers are composed of regular fabric or fabric with added functions such as water resistance, anti-static properties, and anti-lint/pilling. The middle layer is laminated with a medical-grade film, which can effectively block the penetration of blood, bacteria, and even viruses. At the same time, water vapor generated by the medical staff's skin can pass through the medical film, ensuring physiological comfort during wear.

Disposable surgical gowns made of new composite materials exhibit excellent protective performance, with good performance in hydrostatic pressure testing, liquid penetration resistance, blood penetration resistance, and microbial penetration resistance. They can block the invasion of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens to protect medical staff, featuring bacteria-blocking, anti-bacterial, and comfortable properties. During surgery, they prevent bacteria on medical staff's clothing from contaminating the patient's surgical incision, while also ensuring the safety of medical staff and preventing occupational exposure.

Disposable surgical gowns can minimize the transmission of infectious substances to patients' surgical wounds, helping to prevent intraoperative wound infections. The use of surgical gowns with liquid penetration resistance can also reduce the risk of medical staff being exposed to infectious bacteria in blood or bodily fluids.