What is the recommended doffing approach for Level A PPE?

• A. Doff in reverse order of donning with decon and hand hygiene between steps.
• B. Doff in any order; decon is optional.
• C. Doff only after removing all PPE at once.
• D. Doff by removing outer gloves first, then hood only.

Answer: (A)

Doff in reverse order of donning, with decontamination between steps and hand hygiene between removals. Level A PPE is fully encapsulating and protects against the most hazardous atmospheres, but its components can carry contaminants on their outer surfaces. Removing the most contaminated items first and then decontaminating between each step reduces the chance of transferring contaminants to skin, inner layers, or the environment. Performing hand hygiene between steps helps ensure any residues picked up during removal don’t spread. Other approaches allow contaminants to migrate or fail to remove them between steps, or skip decontamination entirely, which increases the risk of self-contamination.