Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 12;9(1):18952. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55451-w.
Children are more vulnerable to the risks of air pollution, including susceptibility to acquiring chronic diseases in their developing lungs. Despite these, there are no specific masks designed for and tested in children that are available to protect our young from the common particulate air pollutants today. We evaluated safety, fit and comfort of a specially designed paediatric N95 mask with an optional micro ventilator (micro fan, MF) in healthy children aged 7-14 years, in a randomized, two-period crossover design. The subjects' cardiorespiratory physiological measurements were assessed in different states of physical activity under different interventions (mask without and with MF). A total of 106 subjects were recruited between July-August 2016. The use of the mask without MF increased the End-Tidal CO (ETCO) and Fractional concentration of Inspired CO (FICO) at rest and on mild exertion, as expected. The use of the mask with MF brought FICO levels comparably closer to baseline levels without the mask for both activities. The mask, with or without the MF, was found to be well fitting, comfortable and safe for use in children at rest and on mild exertion. The N95 mask tested offers a promising start for more studies in the paediatric population.
儿童更容易受到空气污染风险的影响，包括在其发育中的肺部患上慢性疾病的易感性。尽管如此，目前还没有专门为儿童设计和测试的特定口罩，无法保护我们的孩子免受常见的空气颗粒物污染。我们评估了一种专门设计的儿童 N95 口罩在健康的 7-14 岁儿童中的安全性、适合性和舒适性，该口罩带有可选的微型通风机（微型风扇，MF），采用随机、两周期交叉设计。在不同的干预措施（无 MF 的口罩和有 MF 的口罩）下，根据不同的身体活动状态评估了受试者的心肺生理测量值。2016 年 7 月至 8 月期间共招募了 106 名受试者。如预期的那样，使用无 MF 的口罩会增加休息和轻度运动时的呼气末 CO（ETCO）和吸入 CO 的分数浓度（FICO）。使用带有 MF 的口罩可使 FICO 水平在两种活动中与不使用口罩时的基线水平相当接近。无论是否使用 MF，该口罩在休息和轻度运动时都被发现适合、舒适且安全。经过测试的 N95 口罩为在儿科人群中进行更多研究提供了一个有希望的起点。
