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.

Objective: Emergency Medicine being a young specialty in India, we aimed to assess the level of disaster preparedness and planning strategies among various academic Emergency Departments (EDs) across India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional multicentric survey was developed and disseminated online to various academic EDs in India and followed up over a period of 8 weeks. All results were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: 28 Academic Emergency Medicine Departments responded to the study. Compared to Pre-COVID period, COVID-19 pandemic has led to 90% of centres developing separate triage system with dedicated care areas for COVID suspect/infected in 78.6% centres with nearly 70% utilizing separate transportation pathways. Strategizing and executing the Institutional COVID-19 treatment protocol in 80% institutes were done by Emergency Physicians. Training exercises for airway management and PPE usage were seen in 93% and 80% centres respectively. Marked variation in recommended PPE usage were observed across EDs in India. Conclusions: Our study highlights the high variance in the level of preparedness response among various EDs across India during the pandemic. Preparedness for different EDs across India needs to be individually assessed and planned according to the needs and resources available.

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