Introduction
During the Covid 19 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic, current guidelines dictate
that surgical teams wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
in theatre. Currently, this is at a minimum; an FFP3 respirator, a
visor, fluid repellent gown and gloves (1).
Many surgeons, particularly in ENT where aerosol generating procedures
are commonplace have chosen to use non-disposable respirators for
durability and comfort. Two common types of multiple use respirators are
half face respirators and full-face respirators with polycarbonate
lenses.
It is widely accepted that PPE hampers communication between clinical
teams due to a number of factors such as the loss of ability to lip read
and non-verbal cues as well as the physical barrier to sound that the
masks impose(2). The latter is particularly noticeable
in reusable respirators such as the half and full-face devices.
The authors have trialled a novel throat mic guitar amp system with the
view to improve communication in theatre whilst wearing PPE.