Yousef Andrew, La Monte Olivia, Harmon Matthew, Watson Deborah
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
JEM Rep. 2023 Jun;2(2):100038. doi: 10.1016/j.jemrpt.2023.100038. Epub 2023 May 17.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made facial masks an essential part of daily life. While protective facial masks are crucial to help the spread of viral infections, they are common causes of facial skin breakdown, acne, and superficial injuries. Masks with elastic ear loops are also particularly likely to cause ear pressure injuries.
Herein, we present a case of a patient experiencing homelessness found to have significant postauricular wounds due to prolonged mask use in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. These injuries led to bilateral erosion of the helix with partial avulsion of the ear and mask ear loops eroding into cartilage.
WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: We describe a rare complication of mask use and highlight the difficulties the COVID pandemic has made in providing adequate care for chronic head and neck wounds amongst the homeless population. While PPE remains an important part of decreasing the risk of the spread of infections, it is important to recognize the vulnerabilities of the homeless population during the COVID pandemic and how best to care for novel auricular wounds.
新冠疫情使口罩成为日常生活的重要组成部分。虽然防护口罩对于帮助防止病毒感染传播至关重要，但它们也是面部皮肤破损、痤疮和浅表损伤的常见原因。带有弹性耳挂的口罩也特别容易导致耳部压力性损伤。
在此，我们报告一例在新冠疫情期间因长期佩戴口罩而导致耳后严重伤口的无家可归患者。这些损伤导致双侧耳轮糜烂，耳部部分撕脱，口罩耳挂侵蚀至软骨。
急诊医生为何应了解此事？：我们描述了一种罕见的口罩使用并发症，并强调了新冠疫情给为无家可归者的慢性头颈部伤口提供充分护理带来的困难。虽然个人防护装备仍然是降低感染传播风险的重要组成部分，但认识到新冠疫情期间无家可归者的脆弱性以及如何最好地护理新型耳部伤口很重要。
