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Carbon dioxide increases with face masks but remains below short-term NIOSH limits
- Source :
- BMC Infectious Diseases, BMC Infectious Diseases, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- BioMed Central, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Background and purpose COVID-19 pandemic led to wide-spread use of face-masks, respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE) by healthcare workers. Various symptoms attributed to the use of PPE are believed to be, at least in part, due to elevated carbon-dioxide (CO2) levels. We evaluated concentrations of CO2 under various PPE. Methods In a prospective observational study on healthy volunteers, CO2 levels were measured during regular breathing while donning 1) no mask, 2) JustAir® powered air purifying respirator (PAPR), 3) KN95 respirator, and 4) valved-respirator. Serial CO2 measurements were taken with a nasal canula at a frequency of 1-Hz for 15-min for each PPE configuration to evaluate whether National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) limits were breached. Results The study included 11 healthy volunteers, median age 32 years (range 16–54) and 6 (55%) men. Percent mean (SD) changes in CO2 values for no mask, JustAir® PAPR, KN95 respirator and valve respirator were 0.26 (0.12), 0.59 (0.097), 2.6 (0.14) and 2.4 (0.59), respectively. Use of face masks (KN95 and valved-respirator) resulted in significant increases in CO2 concentrations, which exceeded the 8-h NIOSH exposure threshold limit value-weighted average (TLV-TWA). However, the increases in CO2 concentrations did not breach short-term (15-min) limits. Importantly, these levels were considerably lower than the long-term (8-h) NIOSH limits during donning JustAir® PAPR. There was a statistically significant difference between all pairs (p p = 0.25). However, whether increase in CO2 levels are clinically significant remains debatable. Conclusion Although, significant increase in CO2 concentrations are noted with routinely used face-masks, the levels still remain within the NIOSH limits for short-term use. Therefore, there should not be a concern in their regular day-to-day use for healthcare providers. The clinical implications of elevated CO2 levels with long-term use of face masks needs further studies. Use of PAPR prevents relative hypercapnoea. However, whether PAPR should be advocated for healthcare workers requiring PPE for extended hours needs to evaluated in further studies.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
business.product_category
Time Factors
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Adolescent
Health Personnel
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Occupational safety and health
Hypercapnia
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Face mask
Healthy volunteers
Medicine
Humans
Prospective Studies
Respirator
Respiratory Protective Devices
Powered air purifying respirator (PAPR)
Personal protective equipment
Powered air-purifying respirator
business.industry
Research
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
N95
Significant difference
Masks
COVID-19
Carbon Dioxide
Middle Aged
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Face masks
Infectious Diseases
030228 respiratory system
Emergency medicine
Female
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14712334
- Volume :
- 21
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- BMC Infectious Diseases
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2dcf41d2841130d9ea6ccc906f4e86e0