Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Environmental Health Sciences Program, Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Am J Infect Control. 2023 Apr;51(4):388-395. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.06.024. Epub 2022 Jul 25.
COVID-19 pandemic caused a high demand for respiratory protection, caused a scarcity of approved respirators and the production of alternative respiratory protection. To raise public awareness through the scientific community, bestselling respirators and masks in the United States' leading online retailer, Amazon.com, were evaluated.
Ten respirators and masks, 5 Face Protective Equipment (FPE) and 5 Cloth Face Masks (CFMs), were evaluated compared to the N95 standard. Two groups were established with the intention of comparing all masks together. The fractional efficiency and pressure drop were measured and compared to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards. In addition, grading factors for protection, comfort, and affordability were developed that can be used by the scientific community to readily disseminate to consumers for the selection of the appropriate respiratory protection.
Two FPE provided acceptable efficiency (>95%) similar to the N95, while the remaining products were below or extremely below NIOSH standards. All products provided pressure drops within NIOSH standards (≤35 mmHO) ranging from 2.3-10.3 mmHO. The grading factors show that the CFMs have minimal protection, and the N95 has average comfort and affordability compared to all the products.
The N95 remains the best respiratory protection, and in the event of the next airborne pandemic, FPEs could serve as adequate alternative protection against the viral spread.
COVID-19 大流行导致对呼吸防护的高需求，造成了经批准的呼吸器短缺和替代呼吸防护的生产。为了通过科学界提高公众意识，评估了美国领先的在线零售商亚马逊（Amazon.com）上最畅销的呼吸器和口罩。
评估了 10 个呼吸器和口罩，其中 5 个为面部防护设备（FPE）和 5 个布面口罩（CFM），并与 N95 标准进行了比较。建立了两组，目的是将所有口罩一起进行比较。测量了分效率和压降，并与美国国家职业安全与健康研究所（NIOSH）标准进行了比较。此外，还制定了防护、舒适性和价格因素的分级标准，供科学界用于向消费者快速传播，以便选择合适的呼吸防护。
两种 FPE 的效率（>95%）可接受，类似于 N95，而其余产品则低于或远低于 NIOSH 标准。所有产品的压降均在 NIOSH 标准（≤35 mmHO）范围内，为 2.3-10.3 mmHO。分级因素表明，CFM 的防护性最小，而 N95 与所有产品相比，舒适性和价格适中。
N95 仍然是最好的呼吸防护，在下一次空气传播的大流行中，FPE 可以作为对抗病毒传播的足够替代防护。
