Does Examination Table Paper Use Mitigate the Risk of Disease Transmission in a Family Medicine Clinic?

Nathan Chiarlitti; Zachary Graves; Curtis Lavoie; Ryan E R Reid

doi:10.1370/afm.3092

Does Examination Table Paper Use Mitigate the Risk of Disease Transmission in a Family Medicine Clinic?

Ann Fam Med. 2024 May-Jun;22(3):230-232. doi: 10.1370/afm.3092.

Authors

Nathan Chiarlitti¹, Zachary Graves², Curtis Lavoie³, Ryan E R Reid^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada nchia104@uottawa.ca.
² Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Human Kinetics, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁵ Department of Computer Science, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Abstract

Reducing examination table paper (ETP) use may help curb carbon emissions from health care. Six participants applied Glo Germ (DMA International) to their hands before a common physical examination (abdominal, cardiorespiratory, hip and knee) both with and without ETP. After each exam, UV light was shined on the exam table and photographs were taken. The number of hand touches on ETP-covered areas and uncovered areas were tallied and compared using t tests. Despite covering more surface area, participants touched areas without ETP significantly more than ETP-covered areas (P <.05). Despite its continued use, patients do not have much hand contact with ETP during common clinical examinations.

Keywords: clinical protocols; examination tables; primary health care; sustainable growth.

MeSH terms

Adult
Family Practice* / methods
Female
Humans
Male
Paper*
Physical Examination* / methods
Ultraviolet Rays / adverse effects