Design, usage and review of a cost effective and innovative face shield in a tertiary care teaching hospital during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: A major challenge of the coronavirus pandemic is personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage. The open source community mobilised solutions to combat this using 3D printing technology. One such solution was the face shield, which protects facial areas from droplet contamination when used by orthopaedic and other front line health care workers (HCWs). Objectives: To assess the efficacy of an in-house developed face shield based on feedback by HCWs and its usage in triaging zones and operation theatre in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A protective face shield was developed and distributed among the orthopaedic surgeons and front line HCWs involved in the ICU in our hospital and neighbouring facilities. Feedback was obtained using a questionnaire utilising a Likert scale. Results: 227 face shields were distributed to the HCWs in our hospital (157) and neighbouring facilities (70). Design modifications were done as per the needs of the HCWs. 37 HCWs provided feedback giving the face shields an overall mean score of 7.92 out of 10. The poly vinyl chloride (PVC) film visors were better for airway management procedures as it can be tucked into PPE suit and visors with overhead projector (OHP) sheets were suitable for ICU and operative procedures. Conclusion: A locally developed face shield design by an inter disciplinary team in synchrony with HCWs is found to increase its acceptability and efficacy. Face shields can be made more effective in different triaging and treatment situations by varying the device setup.