PropertyValue
?:abstract
  • BACKGROUND During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was shortage of the standard respiratory protective equipment (RPE). The aim of this study was to develop a procedure to test the performance of alternative RPEs used in the care of COVID-19 patients. METHODS A laboratory-based test was developed to compare RPEs by total inward leakage (TIL). We used a crossflow nebulizer to produce a jet spray of 1-100 µm water droplets with a fluorescent marker. The RPEs were placed on a dummy head and sprayed at distances of 30 and 60 cm. The outcome was determined as the recovery of the fluorescent marker on a membrane filter placed on the mouth of the dummy head. RESULTS At 30 cm, a type IIR surgical mask gave a 17.7% lower TIL compared with an FFP2 respirator. At 60 cm, this difference was similar, with a 21.7% lower TIL for the surgical mask compared to the respirator. When adding a face shield, the TIL at 30 cm was further reduced by 9.5% for the respirator and 16.6% in the case of the surgical mask. CONCLUSIONS A safe, fast and very sensitive test method was developed to assess the effectiveness of RPE by comparison under controlled conditions.
?:creator
?:doi
?:doi
  • 10.3390/ijerph18041599
?:journal
  • International_journal_of_environmental_research_and_public_health
?:license
  • unk
?:pmid
?:pmid
  • 33567665
?:publication_isRelatedTo_Disease
?:source
  • Medline
?:title
  • Comparative Performance Testing of Respirator versus Surgical Mask Using a Water Droplet Spray Model.
?:type
?:year
  • 2021-02-08

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