Table 4.
Comparison of characteristics of health‐care workers with or without symptoms of significant intense heat while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)
| Variable | With symptoms of significant intense heat | Without symptoms of significant intense heat | P‐value |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 346 | 114 | |
| Age, years; median (IQR) | 40 (34–45) | 40 (35–47) | 0.049 |
| Female sex, n (%) | 170 (49.1) | 40 (35.1) | 0.009 |
| Time wearing PPE, h; median (IQR) | 1 (1–3) | 1 (1–3) | 0.539 |
| Experience in ICU, years; median (IQR) | 10 (6–15) | 10 (6–16) | 0.889 |
| Position, registered nurse; n (%) | 195 (56.4) | 41(36.0) | <0.001 |
| Workplace, mixed ICU, COVID‐19 ICU, or other; n (%) | 273 (78.9) | 95 (83.3) | 0.346 |
| Running capacity of ICU, n (%) | |||
| Well above | 11 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.192 |
| Above | 33 (9.5) | 11 (9.6) | |
| Below | 175 (50.6) | 52 (45.6) | |
| Usual | 123 (35.5) | 50 (43.9) | |
| Unsure | 4 (1.2) | 1 (0.9) | |
ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range.