Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Foundation University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Foundation University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Ideggyogy Sz. 2024 Jul 30;77(7-8):263-271. doi: 10.18071/isz.77.0263.
Face masks are crucial parts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of respiratory infections. The COVID-19 outbreak has increased healthcare workers’ use of face masks. This study aimed to evaluate changes in cerebrovascular response among healthcare workers using surgical and N95 respirator masks.
.90 healthcare workers: 30 wearing surgical masks, 30 wearing N95 respirators, and 30 without masks were included. After two-hour of face mask use, the baseline mean flow velocity (MFV) and the mean breath-holding index (BHI) of the bilateral middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were evaluated with transcranial Doppler ultrasound. The presence of de-novo headache was recorded. BHI values below 0.69 were evaluated as a sign of impaired cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR).
.The rate of de-novo headache was significantly higher in the N95 respirator mask group (p = 0.004). Compared to the control and surgical mask groups, the N95 respirator mask group had significantly lower values of the baseline MFV of the right MCA (p = 0.003 and p = 0.021, respectively) and mean BHI (p = 0.003 and p = 0.012, respectively). Still, only one N95 respirator mask user had a mean BHI value below 0.69.
.Surgical masks did not significantly affect cerebral hemodynamics. Although N95 respirator mask use significantly decreased BHI values, the CVR is still within normal limits, and the development of de-novo headache is not directly associated with low CVR.
.口罩是个人防护装备（PPE）的重要组成部分，可降低呼吸道感染的风险。COVID-19 疫情增加了医护人员对面罩的使用。本研究旨在评估使用手术口罩和 N95 呼吸器口罩的医护人员的脑血管反应变化。
.纳入 90 名医护人员：30 名佩戴手术口罩，30 名佩戴 N95 呼吸器，30 名未佩戴口罩。佩戴口罩两小时后，使用经颅多普勒超声评估双侧大脑中动脉（MCA）的基线平均血流速度（MFV）和平均屏气指数（BHI）。记录新发头痛的存在。BHI 值低于 0.69 被评估为脑血管反应性（CVR）受损的迹象。
.N95 呼吸器口罩组新发头痛的发生率明显更高（p = 0.004）。与对照组和手术口罩组相比，N95 呼吸器口罩组右侧 MCA 的基线 MFV（p = 0.003 和 p = 0.021）和平均 BHI（p = 0.003 和 p = 0.012）值明显较低。然而，只有一名 N95 呼吸器口罩使用者的平均 BHI 值低于 0.69。
.手术口罩不会显著影响脑血流动力学。尽管 N95 呼吸器口罩的使用显著降低了 BHI 值，但 CVR 仍在正常范围内，新发头痛的发展与低 CVR 并无直接关系。
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