Green S, Gani A, Bailey M, Brown O, Hing C B
St George's University, London, UK.
Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Hospital, London, UK.
J Hosp Infect. 2021 Jul;113:180-186. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.024. Epub 2021 May 1.
Public Health England guidance stipulates the use of filtering facepiece (FFP3) masks for healthcare workers engaged in aerosol-generating procedures. Mask fit-testing of respiratory protective equipment is essential to protect healthcare workers from aerosolized particles.
To analyse the outcome of mask fit-testing across National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, 137 NHS hospitals were approached on May 26, 2020 by an independent researcher to provide data on the outcome of fit-testing at each site.
Ninety-six hospitals responded to the request between May 26, 2020 to October 29, 2020. There was a total of 86 mask types used across 56 hospitals, 13 of which were used in at least 10% of these hospitals; the most frequently used was the FFP3M1863, used by 92.86% of hospitals. Overall fit-testing pass rates were provided by 32 hospitals with mean pass rate of 80.74%. The most successful masks, in terms of fit-test failure rates, were the Alpha Solway 3030V and the Alpha Solway S-3V (both reporting mean fit-test failures of 2%). Male- and female-specific pass and failure rates were provided by seven hospitals. Across the seven hospitals, 20.1% of men tested failed the fit-test for all masks used, whereas 19.9% of women tested failed the fit-test for all masks used. Failure rates were significantly higher in staff from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds 644/2507 (25.69%) across four hospitals.
Twenty percent of healthcare workers tested during the first response to the pandemic failed fit-testing for masks. A small sample revealed that this was most prominent in staff from BAME backgrounds.
英国公共卫生部的指导方针规定，从事产生气溶胶操作的医护人员应使用过滤式面罩（FFP3）口罩。对呼吸防护设备进行口罩适合性测试对于保护医护人员免受气溶胶颗粒侵害至关重要。
分析在2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行第一波期间，英国国民保健服务体系（NHS）各医院口罩适合性测试的结果。
2020年5月26日，一名独立研究人员根据《信息自由法》联系了137家NHS医院，要求提供各医院适合性测试的结果数据。
96家医院在2020年5月26日至2020年10月29日期间回复了请求。56家医院共使用了86种口罩类型，其中13种在至少10%的这些医院中使用；使用最频繁的是FFP3M1863，92.86%的医院使用该型号。32家医院提供了总体适合性测试通过率，平均通过率为80.74%。就适合性测试失败率而言，最成功的口罩是阿尔法索尔韦3030V和阿尔法索尔韦S-3V（两者报告的平均适合性测试失败率均为2%）。七家医院提供了针对男性和女性的通过和失败率。在这七家医院中，20.1%接受测试的男性对所有使用的口罩适合性测试均未通过，而19.9%接受测试的女性对所有使用的口罩适合性测试均未通过。在四家医院中，来自黑人和少数族裔（BAME）背景的工作人员失败率显著更高，为644/2507（25.69%）。
在对大流行的首次应对期间接受测试的医护人员中，20%的人口罩适合性测试未通过。一个小样本显示，这在来自BAME背景的工作人员中最为突出。
