Brown Christopher K
Christopher K. Brown, PhD, MPH, is with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Office of Emergency Management and Preparedness, Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Washington, DC.
Health Secur. 2019 Mar/Apr;17(2):133-139. doi: 10.1089/hs.2018.0056. Epub 2019 Apr 9.
The scientific literature reflects considerable debate over which types of respiratory protective devices (RPDs) are appropriate for protecting workers against exposure to infectious bioaerosols, including during outbreaks of emerging diseases. Some evidence suggests that face masks may offer similar protection to respirators, while other studies have found marked disparities in the protectiveness of these types of devices. Previous reviews have called for more information, chiefly in the form of clinical trials, to better inform decision making about RPDs. However, alternative approaches to respirator selection, including control banding tools that match groups of similar hazards to appropriate control measures, may be useful in choosing RPDs for workers with potential bioaerosol exposures on the job. These tools, while offering more streamlined approaches to RPD selection, come with challenges of their own, including questions about how to allocate different RPDs to different workers. This article reviews arguments on both sides of the face mask-respirator divide and considers the use of control banding tools in the context of preparedness for serious emerging infectious disease outbreaks.
科学文献反映出，对于哪种类型的呼吸防护设备（RPD）适合保护工人免受传染性生物气溶胶暴露，包括在新出现疾病的暴发期间，存在相当多的争论。一些证据表明，面罩可能提供与呼吸器类似的保护，而其他研究则发现这些类型设备的防护性存在显著差异。以往的综述呼吁提供更多信息，主要以临床试验的形式，以便更好地为关于RPD的决策提供依据。然而，选择呼吸器的替代方法，包括将相似危害组与适当控制措施相匹配的控制分级工具，可能有助于为工作中可能接触生物气溶胶的工人选择RPD。这些工具虽然为RPD选择提供了更简化的方法，但也有自身的挑战，包括如何为不同工人分配不同RPD的问题。本文回顾了面罩与呼吸器之争双方的观点，并考虑在严重新出现传染病暴发的防范背景下使用控制分级工具。
