The effect of mask usage of the health personnel on blood gas analysis and cognitive strengthening during COVID-19 pandemic
To investigate the effect of lengthy mask use on blood gas values and cognitive functions. The cross-sectional study was conducted in February and March 2022 at Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, Mersin, Turkey, and comprised healthcare professionals of either gender aged 20-60 years workin...
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Published in | Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association Vol. 74; no. 4; pp. 652 - 655 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Pakistan
Knowledge Bylanes
01.04.2024
Pakistan Medical Association |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | To investigate the effect of lengthy mask use on blood gas values and cognitive functions.
The cross-sectional study was conducted in February and March 2022 at Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, Mersin, Turkey, and comprised healthcare professionals of either gender aged 20-60 years working in the 3rd level intensive care unit. Each volunteer was subjected to venous blood gas analysis at the beginning and end of the 8-hour morning shift. Coronavirus disease-2019 status was noted, and further data related to cognitive functions was collected using a 7-item questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
Of the 63 subjects, 43(68.3%) were women and 20(31.7%) were men. The overall mean age was 33.53±6.76 years. There were 42(66.7%) subjects using N95 mask; 27(64.3%) women and 15(35.7%) men with mean age 32.38±6.54 years. There were 21(33.3%) subjects wearing surgical masks; 16(76.2%) women and 5(23.8%) men with mean age 35.95±0.76 years. Intergroup comparisons were non-significant for all the markers (p>0.05). Within the N95 mask group, potential of hydrogen and lactate values were significantly different (p<0.05), while in the surgical mask group, potential of hydrogen and partial pressure of oxygen were significantly different (p<0.05). There were 28(66.7%) subjects in the N95 group who had been affected by coronavirus disease-2019 compared to 16(76.2%) in the surgical mask group (p>0.05). Subjects in the N95 mask group had significant impaired cognitive functions compared to the surgical mask group (p<0.05).
Impairment in cognitive functions in intensive care unit workers using masks could be explained by the development of intermittent long-term moderate hypoxia. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0030-9982 |
DOI: | 10.47391/JPMA.9243 |