KENYA STANDARD                                                       DKS 2933:2021  
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Disposable Surgical Cap – Specification  
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   KEBS 2021      First Edition 2021 
 
  
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development I nstitute  
Kenya Medical Association  
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority  
Kenya Pediatrics Association  
Ministry of Health (M OH)  
Kenya Defense Forces (K DF)  
ICPL  
PadMad  
Marvel Five Investment ltd  
Mbagathi County Hospital  
Interconsumer  Products Ltd  
Mount Kenya  University  
Radbone Clark  
Procter and Gamble  
KIM FAY East Africa Ltd  
The Nairobi Hospital  
Nairobi Enterprises  Ltd  
Mega Importers  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
  
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  1   
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya  standards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestion for improvements to 
published standards addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, are welcome.  
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2015 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of sect ion of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of the Laws of Kenya, copyright subsists in all 
Kenya Standards and except as provided under section 7 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of Standards 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system i n any form or transmitted by any without prior permission in writing from the 
Managing Director.  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
              
 
 
 
 
 
Disposable Surgical Cap  – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office :  P.O. Box 54974,  Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254  020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org   
 
Coast Region     Lake Region          Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 213 8, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254  041) 229563, 230939/40  Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+ 254 041 ) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814   
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  3 Foreword  
 
 
This Kenya standard has been prepared by the Technical Committee on Towels, M edical and Hygienic Textile Products under the 
guidance of the Standards Project Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards.  
 
In preparation of this Kenya Standard reference was made to the following document:  
 
EN 14126: 2003 Protective clothing - Performance requirements and test methods for protective clothing against infective agents  
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from this source.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
 Introduction  
 
Surgical caps (also k nown as isolation, dental or medical procedure caps) is  head gear intended to be worn  during  medical 
procedures to prevent  transmission  of infections  to patients and the personnel, by blocking the  transmission  of pathogens through 
particles such as hair am ong others.    
Surgical caps are made of a  nonwoven fabric  created using a  melt blowing  process and vary by quality and levels of protection.  
 
The development of this standard was necessitated by the need to protect the health care workers from substandar d surgical caps in 
terms of breaking strength, tearing strength, mass per unit area, fiber composition, absorption capacity  and workmanship  
 
 
  
 
  
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  5  
 
KENYA STANDARD                 
 
 
1.0 SCOPE  
 
This Kenyan St andard specifies minimum requirements of  non-woven d isposable  surgical caps  mainly  used during surgical 
procedures and other infection prevention control practices  
 
2.0 Normative References : 
 
The following standards were used as normative references.  
 
 
KS 816 -Methods for determination of absorbency of absorbent  textile materials  
 
KS 2659 -Packaging of textile products - Code of practice  
 
KS ISO 1833 Textiles — Quantitative chemical analysis (relevant parts)  
 
KS ISO 9073-1, Textiles — Test methods for nonwov ens Part 1: Determination of mass per unit area 
 
KS ISO 9073 -4, Textiles  — Test methods for nonwovens — Part 4: Determination of tear resistance  
 
 KS ISO 9073 -15, Textiles - Test methods for nonwovens  part 15: Determination of air permeability  
 
KS ISO 9073-18, Textiles — Test methods for nonwovens Part 18: Determination of breaking strength and elongation of 
nonwoven materials using the grab tensile test 
 
ISO 8784 -1, Pulp, paper and board — Microbiological examination — Part 1: Enumeration of bacteria and bacterial spores based 
on disintegration  
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
  
3.0 Definitions  
 
For the purpose of this sta ndard, the following definition  apply  
 
3.1 Air Permeability  
 
Velocity of an air flow passing perpendicularly through a test specimen under a prescribed air pressure differential over a c ertain time 
period  
 
Note: Air permeabilit y is expressed in litres per square centimeter per second (l/cm2.s), or any other equivalent unit  
 
3.2 Absorption  capacity  
 
Mass of liquid that is absorbed per unit mass of test piece  
 
 
3.3 Types/designs  
 
Surgical caps are of two types;  
 
a) Theatre/surgeon Ca p-They have tie -on strings to fasten  (figure 1) 
 
b) Surgical caps/ nurse caps - They are either in bouffant or clip (string form) - figure 1 and 2 
 
 
4.0 REQUIREMENTS  
 
4.1 Materials  
 
4.1.1  General  
 
All materials, dyes and chemicals used in the manufacture of disposable surgical cap shall not cause any undesirable effects to the 
skin. 
 
  
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  7 4.1.2 Securing mechanism   
 
The disposable surgical cap shall be fitted with an approximate securing mechanism that fits comfortabl y around the head of the 
wearer.  
 
4.2 Workmanship  
 
The disposable surgical  caps shall  be made with first class workmanship throughout and shall be free from defects  that affect their 
appearance and/or serviceability , and free from marks spots or stains incurred in their manufacture . 
 
4.3 Performance requ irements  
 
Disposable surgical caps shall comply with the performance requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with the t est 
methods prescribed therein.  
 
Table 1 — Performance requirements for disposable surgical caps  
 
S/N Characteristic  
 Requirement  Test method  
i.  Absorption  capacity , seconds  Above 60  KS 816 Method 2  
ii.  Air Permeability , l/cm2.s, min  0.015  KS ISO 9073 -15* 
iii.  Breaking Strength, N , min  Cross direction  6 KS ISO 9073 -18 
Machine direction  10 
iv.  Mass per unit area , g/m2 ,min  9 KS ISO 9073 -1 
v.  Fiber composition  100% Polyolefin  KS ISO 1833  
vi.  Tearing strength, N , min  Cross direction  6 KS ISO 9073 -4 
Machine direction  9 
*use differential pressure of 100 Pa across the specimen  (ISO 9327)  
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
  
 
 
4.4 Microbiological requirement  
 
Disposa ble surgical caps shall comply with the microbiological requirements given in Table 2 when tested in accordance to the test 
methods specified therein.  
 
Table 2 — Microbiological requirements for disposable surgical caps  
 
S/N Characteristics  Limit  Test Meth od 
i.  Total plate count, cfu/g, max.  300  
 
ISO 8784 -1 ii.  Pseudomonas aeruginosa , cfu/g  Not detected in 1 g  
iii. Staphylococcus 
aureus , cfu/g of the 
product  iii.  Staphylococcus aureus , cfu/g  
iv.  Candida albicans , cfu/g  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  9  
5.0 PACKAGING  
 
All di sposable surgical  caps  shall be packaged i n accordance with  KS 2659 :2016  
 
5.1 The Pack shall be free of contaminant s. 
 
 
6.0 LABELLING  
 
The following information in English shall be legibly and indelibly marked on  the secondary packaging in which the dispo sable 
surgical cap  is supplied  
a) manufacturers name and address   
b) date of manufacture  and expiry  
c) country of manufacture  
d) Each box and carton shall be clearly labelled with the name and characteristics (type)  of the article   
e) production batch number  
f) Number of u nits 
g) The color of the product  
h) Instructions for use and disposal  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                ANNEX A  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig 1 -Theatre/surgeon cap                                                  
 
 
  
© KEBS 202 1 — All rights reserved  11 
 
 
 
 
Fig 2 -String form or clip  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                                                                         DKS 2933:2021  
 
 
 
 
Fig 3 - Bouffant