Akpan Ubong B, Akpanika Chinyere J, Asibong Udeme, Ekott Mabel, Etuk Saturday
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, NGA.
Department of Family Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, NGA.
Cureus. 2023 Sep 22;15(9):e45776. doi: 10.7759/cureus.45776. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Background and objective A facemask is often indicated for the control of the spread of airborne pathogens. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was mass enforcement of mask use across the globe. Pregnant women were not excluded. While several studies have been conducted to evaluate and compare the efficacy of various mask types, data on their effects on pregnant women during exercise are scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of N95 and surgical facemasks on the cardiopulmonary functions of pregnant women during moderate-intensity exercise. Methods A prospective randomized study was conducted among 104 healthy women with advanced singleton pregnancies performing moderate-intensity exercise wearing either surgical or N95 masks during routine antenatal care. Their respiratory rates were counted, and arterial oxygen saturation (SPO) and radial pulses (heart rates) were recorded with a mobile digital pulse oximeter at baseline and after 30 minutes of exercise. The mean values were calculated. Data analysis was done using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 25; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). An independent t-test was used to compare the mean SPO and radial pulse between the two groups. Chi-square was used to examine differences in categorical variables. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results Their demographic profiles and measured baseline parameters were comparable. Following a 30-minute exercise, the N95 mask group had lower mean SPO compared to the surgical mask group (95.5% versus 97.0%; P=0.028, 95%CI; -2.607 to 0.15). Further, the N95 group recorded a higher mean heart rate than the surgical mask group ((97.23 b/m versus 95.02b/m, respectively, mean difference (MD)=2.212, P=0.021, 95%Cl: 1.249-3.672). The mean respiratory rates were also higher among women in the N95 mask group (32.1 c/m versus 29.08 c/m, MD=3.018, 95%CI: 1.392-4.662, P=0.001). Conclusion The study, comparing the relative effects of the surgical and N95 facemask on the cardiorespiratory functions of exercising pregnant women, findings suggest that surgical facemasks may be better tolerated in advanced pregnancy when performing routine antenatal aerobic exercise in comparison with N95 masks.
口罩常用于控制空气传播病原体的传播。在新冠疫情高峰期，全球大规模强制要求佩戴口罩，孕妇也不例外。虽然已经开展了多项研究来评估和比较各种类型口罩的功效，但关于它们在孕妇运动期间影响的数据却很稀少。本研究的目的是评估和比较N95口罩和外科口罩对孕妇在中等强度运动期间心肺功能的影响。
对104名晚期单胎妊娠的健康孕妇进行了一项前瞻性随机研究，这些孕妇在常规产前检查期间佩戴外科口罩或N95口罩进行中等强度运动。在基线和运动30分钟后，用便携式数字脉搏血氧仪计数她们的呼吸频率，并记录动脉血氧饱和度（SPO）和桡动脉脉搏（心率）。计算平均值。使用统计产品与服务解决方案（SPSS，版本25；IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows，纽约州阿蒙克）进行数据分析。使用独立t检验比较两组的平均SPO和桡动脉脉搏。使用卡方检验检查分类变量的差异。显著性水平设定为0.05。
她们的人口统计学特征和测量的基线参数具有可比性。运动30分钟后，N95口罩组的平均SPO低于外科口罩组（95.5%对97.0%；P = 0.028，95%CI：-2.607至0.15）。此外，N95组的平均心率高于外科口罩组（分别为97.23次/分钟对95.02次/分钟，平均差值（MD）= 2.212，P = 0.021，95%CI：1.249 - 3.672）。N95口罩组女性的平均呼吸频率也更高（32.1次/分钟对29.08次/分钟，MD = 3.018，95%CI：1.392 - 4.662，P = 0.001）。
本研究比较了外科口罩和N95口罩对运动孕妇心肺功能的相对影响，结果表明，在晚期妊娠进行常规产前有氧运动时，与N95口罩相比，外科口罩可能耐受性更好。
