The efficacy of medical masks and respirators against respiratory infection in healthcare workers

• Published in: Influenza and other respiratory viruses Vol. 11; no. 6; pp. 511 - 517
• Main Authors: MacIntyre, Chandini Raina, Chughtai, Abrar Ahmad, Rahman, Bayzidur, Peng, Yang, Zhang, Yi, Seale, Holly, Wang, Xiaoli, Wang, Quanyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.11.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Accident prevention; Bacteria; Bacterial Infections - diagnosis; Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Bacterial Infections - prevention & control; Bacterial Infections - transmission; China - epidemiology; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Clinical trials; Colonization; Comparative analysis; Control methods; Disease transmission; droplet infections; Guidelines; Health aspects; Health care; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; healthcare workers; Humans; Infection Control - instrumentation; Infection Control - methods; Infection Control - statistics & numerical data; Infections; Influenza; Influenza A; Influenza, Human - diagnosis; Influenza, Human - epidemiology; Influenza, Human - prevention & control; Influenza, Human - transmission; Laboratories; Lung diseases; Masks; Masks - statistics & numerical data; medical masks; Medical personnel; Medical research; Occupational Exposure - prevention & control; Occupational health; Original; Prevention; Protective equipment; Respirators; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory tract infection; Respiratory Tract Infections - diagnosis; Respiratory Tract Infections - prevention & control; Respiratory Tract Infections - virology; Statistical analysis; Ventilators; Ventilators, Mechanical - classification; Ventilators, Mechanical - statistics & numerical data; Viral infections; Virus Diseases - epidemiology; Virus Diseases - prevention & control; Virus Diseases - transmission; Viruses; New Zealand; Beijing China; China; influenza; medical masks; respirators; droplet infections; masks; healthcare workers

Objective We aimed to examine the efficacy of medical masks and respirators in protecting against respiratory infections using pooled data from two homogenous randomised control clinical trials (RCTs). Methods The data collected on 3591 subjects in two similar RCTs conducted in Beijing, China, which...