Protective Properties of Health Care Materials Influenced by the Application Conditions

Sa？etak The aim of the paper is to investigate protective function changes of reusuable fabrics used for standard (operations where these risks for penetration by liquids are lower) and high performance clothes (for operations with a high risk for penetration by liquids) after a certain number of washing and sterilisation cycles. The absorbency test method and test method of obtaining penetration, absorption and repellency indexes of fabrics, were used to create an impression about the protective function of health care fabrics after 10, 20, 30 and 50 cycles. Protective properties of fabrics used in hospitals for standard perfomance after real application (washing ans sterilization) have changed and it could affect the protection of medical workers. Therefore, it should take into consideration a period of use of fabrics intended for standard performance. The most important property for surgical gowns is repellency index, which for Laminate PES/PU/PES fabric, used for surgical gowns, is maximum and remains unchanged even after 50 washing and sterilization cycles, providing complete protection of medical workers