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.