Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV.
Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV.
Am J Infect Control. 2024 Dec;52(12):1397-1402. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2024.07.019. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are a popular alternative to the use of filtering facepiece respirators for health care workers. Although PAPRs protect the wearer from aerosol particles, their ability to block infectious aerosol particles exhaled by the wearer from being released into the environment (called source control) is unclear.
The source control performance of 4 PAPRs with loose-fitting facepieces were tested using a manikin that exhales aerosol particles. The PAPRs were tested by themselves and in combination with a face-worn product intended to provide source control (either a surgical mask or an N95 filtering facepiece respirator).
Two PAPR facepieces with filtration panels significantly reduced the release of exhaled aerosols into the environment, while 3 facepieces without such panels did not. Wearing a surgical mask or respirator under the facepiece significantly improved the source control performance.
Most PAPR facepieces do not block aerosols exhaled by the wearer. Facepieces designed to filter exhaled particles can prevent aerosols from being released into the environment. Wearing a surgical mask or a filtering facepiece respirator under the facepiece can also provide source control, but PAPRs are not typically certified for use with masks and respirators.
宽松贴合的动力送风过滤式呼吸防护器（PAPR）是医疗工作者替代过滤式口罩的一种流行选择。虽然 PAPR 可以保护佩戴者免受气溶胶颗粒的侵害，但它们阻止佩戴者呼出的传染性气溶胶颗粒释放到环境中的能力（称为源头控制）尚不清楚。
使用呼气产生气溶胶颗粒的模拟人来测试 4 种具有宽松贴合面罩的 PAPR 的源头控制性能。单独测试了 PAPR，并与旨在提供源头控制的面部佩戴产品（医用口罩或 N95 过滤式口罩）结合使用。
两个具有过滤面板的 PAPR 面罩显著减少了呼出气溶胶向环境中的释放，而 3 个没有此类面板的面罩则没有。在面罩下佩戴医用口罩或口罩可显著提高源头控制性能。
大多数 PAPR 面罩无法阻挡佩戴者呼出的气溶胶。设计用于过滤呼出颗粒的面罩可以防止气溶胶释放到环境中。在面罩下佩戴医用口罩或过滤式口罩也可以提供源头控制，但 PAPR 通常未经过认证可与口罩和口罩一起使用。
