Physiological Assessments of Chemical Threat Protective Patient Wraps in Three Environments

Comparisons of physiological responses of eight resting supine subjects to 2-h encapsulation in the current chemical warfare agent protective patient wrap, and seven prototypes were conducted in a warm (T sub db = 30C, T sub dp = 7C) environment. Oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations within the wrap, and the subjects' rectal temperature (T sub re), heart rate (HR) and sweating rates were determined. The subjects' sweating rates and final T sub re and HR were not different among wraps. Two prototype wraps were further tested in the heat (T sub db = 49C, T sub dp = 17C) and cold (T sub db = -39C). The chosen wraps were the wrap of Nyco twill shell and 3M melt-blown polypropylene core which showed the smallest changes in O2 and CO2 (final O2 = 19.3%, CO2 = 1.2%) of the prototypes, and the Nyco oxford shell and Bondina Mark IV core wrap which had the third smallest changes in O2 and CO2 levels (final O2 = 18.8%, CO2 = 1.6%) in the warm environment. Both wraps resulted in the smallest T sub re increase (0.2C) in the warm environment. In the heat, final O2 concentration was greater (0.5%; p = 0.05) for the Nyco twill 3M wrap although final T re, HR and weight loss were not different between wraps. In the cold, there were no differences between the wraps in these physiological responses. These results show that the Nyco twill 3M patient wrap is equal or better than the six prototype wraps in the warm and hot environments, and performs as well as the Bondina Mark IV in the cold. Presented at the Annual Aerospace Medical Association Meetings (57th), Nashville, TN, 20-24 Apr 86.