Gloves and eye protection during patient contact are examples of which level of PPE?

• A. Expanded PPE
• B. Minimum PPE
• C. Full PPE
• D. No PPE

Answer: (B)

The main concept here is the baseline protection used for routine patient care to prevent exposure to blood and bodily fluids. Gloves protect your hands from contact with fluids, and eye protection guards the mucous membranes of the eyes from splashes. Together they form the minimum level of PPE you should use during patient contact as part of standard precautions. If there’s a higher risk of splash, droplets, or aerosols, you would add more protection (such as gowns, masks or respirators, face shields, etc.), but for standard patient contact, gloves plus eye protection are the baseline, or minimum, level of PPE.