Personal Protective Equipment and Testing During the COVID 19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrom coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The virus poses specific problems for cardiac nurses, with nurses being at the frontline of healthcare delivery. These issues not only involve treating and caring for cardiac patients with the virus, but also include the need to continue routine cardiac interventions during the pandemic. Many cardiac interventions are invasive, requiring close patient contact. As such, these interventions pose significant infection risks. To mitigate against these risks, cardiac nurses should follow established infection control guidelines and wear personal protective equipment where appropriate. Ongoing research is also demonstrating the usefulness of COVID-19 testing, the results of which will aid in the detection of the virus and enable any self-isolating nurses to return to work, where appropriate.