PMID- 35151628
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220405
LR  - 20230214
IS  - 2468-0869 (Electronic)
IS  - 2468-0451 (Print)
IS  - 2468-0451 (Linking)
VI  - 27
IP  - 2
DP  - 2022 May
TI  - P2/N95 respirators & surgical masks to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection: 
      Effectiveness & adverse effects.
PG  - 81-95
LID - S2468-0451(22)00001-3 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.idh.2022.01.001 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Millions of people have acquired and died from SARS-CoV-2 infection 
      during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are required to wear 
      personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical masks and P2/N95 
      respirators, to prevent infection while treating patients. However, the 
      comparative effectiveness of respirators and masks in preventing SARS-CoV-2 
      infection and the likelihood of experiencing adverse events (AEs) with wear are 
      unclear. METHODS: Searches were carried out in PubMed, Europe PMC and the 
      Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register to 14 June 2021. A systematic review of 
      comparative epidemiological studies examining SARS-CoV-2 infection or AE 
      incidence in HCWs wearing P2/N95 (or equivalent) respirators and surgical masks 
      was performed. Article screening, risk of bias assessment and data extraction 
      were duplicated. Meta-analysis of extracted data was carried out in RevMan. 
      RESULTS: Twenty-one studies were included, with most having high risk of bias. 
      There was no statistically significant difference in respirator or surgical mask 
      effectiveness in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 0.85, [95%CI 0.72, 1.01]). 
      Healthcare workers experienced significantly more headaches (OR 2.62, [95%CI 
      1.18, 5.81]), respiratory distress (OR 4.21, [95%CI 1.46, 12.13]), facial 
      irritation (OR 1.80, [95%CI 1.03, 3.14]) and pressure-related injuries (OR 4.39, 
      [95%CI 2.37, 8.15]) when wearing respirators compared to surgical masks. 
      CONCLUSION: The existing epidemiological evidence does not enable definitive 
      assessment of the effectiveness of respirators compared to surgical masks in 
      preventing infection. Healthcare workers wearing respirators may be more likely 
      to experience AEs. Effective mitigation strategies are important to ensure the 
      uptake and correct use of respirators by HCWs.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
FAU - Kunstler, Breanne
AU  - Kunstler B
AD  - BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash 
      University, 8 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia. 
      Electronic address: Brea.kunstler@monash.edu.
FAU - Newton, Skye
AU  - Newton S
AD  - Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA), School of Public Health, University 
      of Adelaide, Australia.
FAU - Hill, Hayley
AU  - Hill H
AD  - Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA), School of Public Health, University 
      of Adelaide, Australia.
FAU - Ferguson, John
AU  - Ferguson J
AD  - Division of Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle Regional Mail Centre, NSW, 
      2310, Australia.
FAU - Hore, Phillipa
AU  - Hore P
AD  - Department of Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, 
      Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, VIC, 3065, Australia.
FAU - Mitchell, Brett G
AU  - Mitchell BG
AD  - The University of Newcastle, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Level 9, 77a Holden 
      St, Gosford Hospital, Gosford, NSW, Australia, 2250.
FAU - Dempsey, Kathy
AU  - Dempsey K
AD  - The Clinical Excellence Commission, 1 Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 
      2065.
FAU - Stewardson, Andrew J
AU  - Stewardson AJ
AD  - Department of Infectious Diseases, The Alfred and Central Clinical School, Monash 
      University, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 3004.
FAU - Friedman, Deborah
AU  - Friedman D
AD  - Deputy Chief Health Officer, Victorian Department of Health Melbourne, VIC, 
      Australia, 3004.
FAU - Cole, Kate
AU  - Cole K
AD  - Cole Health Pty Ltd, Balmain, NSW, Australia, 2041.
FAU - Sim, Malcolm R
AU  - Sim MR
AD  - Monash Centre for Occupational & Environmental Health (MonCOEH), School of Public 
      Health & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, 
      Monash University, 553 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 3004.
FAU - Ferguson, Bridget
AU  - Ferguson B
AD  - Central Queensland University, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences; 
      554-700 Yaamba Rd, Norman Gardens, QLD, 4701, Australia.
FAU - Burns, Penelope
AU  - Burns P
AD  - Academic Unit of General Practice, ANU Medical School, The Australian National 
      University, Building 4, Hospital Road, Garran, ACT, 2605, Australia.
FAU - King, Nicole
AU  - King N
AD  - North Shore Private Hospital, 3 Westbourne St, St Leonard's, 2065, Australia.
FAU - McGloughlin, Steven
AU  - McGloughlin S
AD  - Alfred Health and School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash 
      University, Level 4, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 3004.
FAU - Dicks, Melanie
AU  - Dicks M
AD  - Ernst & Young, 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 2601.
FAU - McCarthy, Sally
AU  - McCarthy S
AD  - Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South 
      Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
FAU - Tam, Barry
AU  - Tam B
AD  - Health Infrastructure NSW, 60 Day Road, Cheltenham, NSW, 2119, Australia.
FAU - Hazelton, Briony
AU  - Hazelton B
AD  - PathWest Laboratory Medicine, QEII Medical Centre, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA, 
      Australia, 6009.
FAU - McGurgan, Cherylynn
AU  - McGurgan C
AD  - Royal Melbourne Hospital Emergency Department, 300 Grattan Street, Parkville, 
      VIC, Australia, 3050.
FAU - McDonald, Steve
AU  - McDonald S
AD  - Cochrane Australia, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash 
      University, Level 4, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
FAU - Turner, Tari
AU  - Turner T
AD  - Cochrane Australia, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash 
      University, Level 4, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Meta-Analysis
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Review
PT  - Systematic Review
DEP - 20220120
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Infect Dis Health
JT  - Infection, disease & health
JID - 101689703
SB  - IM
MH  - *COVID-19/prevention & control
MH  - Humans
MH  - N95 Respirators/adverse effects
MH  - Pandemics/prevention & control
MH  - Personal Protective Equipment
MH  - SARS-CoV-2
PMC - PMC8769935
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - COVID-19
OT  - Cross infection
OT  - Healthcare personnel
OT  - Personal protective equipment
OT  - SARS-CoV-2
OT  - Safety
EDAT- 2022/02/14 06:00
MHDA- 2022/04/06 06:00
PMCR- 2022/01/20
CRDT- 2022/02/13 20:28
PHST- 2021/11/15 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2022/01/03 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2022/01/05 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2022/02/14 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/04/06 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/02/13 20:28 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/01/20 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - S2468-0451(22)00001-3 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.idh.2022.01.001 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Infect Dis Health. 2022 May;27(2):81-95. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2022.01.001. Epub 
      2022 Jan 20.