Trial reportInfluenza and other respiratory viruses2017
The efficacy of medical masks and respirators against respiratory infection in healthcare workers.
Trial report in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of face mask to prevent it: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of medical research · 2021Pooled it
- A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients.International journal of nursing studies · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks against influenza: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- The efficacy of medical masks and respirators against respiratory infection in healthcare workers.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2017Trial
- Occupational biohazard exposure during patient waste management: PPE use, reporting practices, and systemic barriers in nursing care.Infection prevention in practice · 2026Article
- In Vitro Assessment ofGlobal challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2025Article
- Associations between hospital structure, infection control and incidence of hospital-acquired viral respiratory infections: a 10-year surveillance study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- Ventilation does not affect close-range transmission of influenza virus in a ferret playpen setup.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Association of institutional masking policies with healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 infections in Swiss acute care hospitals during the BA.4/5 wave (CH-SUR study): a retrospective observational study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Observational
- Masking for COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections: implications of the available evidence.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024Article
- Article
- The time has come to protect healthcare workers and patients from aerosol transmissible disease.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Release of microplastics from disposable face mask in tropical climate.Regional studies in marine science · 2023Article
- Bioburden Variation of Filtering Face Piece Respirators over Time: A Preliminary Study.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Unraveling the potential human health risks from used disposable face mask-derived micro/nanoplastics during the COVID-19 pandemic scenario: A critical review.Environment international · 2022Review
- The face behind the Covid-19 mask - A comprehensive review.Environmental technology & innovation · 2022Review
- Face mask use in the community and cutaneous reactions to them during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a national survey in Italy.Dermatology reports · 2022Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe aimed to examine the efficacy of medical masks and respirators in protecting against respiratory infections using pooled data from two homogenous randomised control clinical trials (RCTs).
methodsThe data collected on 3591 subjects in two similar RCTs conducted in Beijing, China, which examined the same infection outcomes, were pooled. Four interventions were compared: (i) continuous N95 respirator use, (ii) targeted N95 respirator use, (iii) medical mask use and (iv) control arm. The outcomes were laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infection, influenza A or B, laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonisation and pathogens grouped by mode of transmission.
resultsRates of all outcomes were consistently lower in the continuous N95 and/or targeted N95 arms. In adjusted analysis, rates of laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonisation (RR 0.33, 95% CI 0.21-0.51), laboratory-confirmed viral infections (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.91) and droplet-transmitted infections (RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.16-0.42) were significantly lower in the continuous N95 arm. Laboratory-confirmed influenza was also lowest in the continuous N95 arm (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.10-1.11), but the difference was not statistically significant. Rates of laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonisation (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33-0.87) and droplet-transmitted infections (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.25-0.72) were also lower in the targeted N95 arm, but not in medical mask arm.
conclusionThe results suggest that the classification of infections into droplet versus airborne transmission is an oversimplification. Most guidelines recommend masks for infections spread by droplets. N95 respirators, as "airborne precautions," provide superior protection for droplet-transmitted infections. To ensure the occupational health and safety of healthcare worker, the superiority of respirators in preventing respiratory infections should be reflected in infection control guidelines.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.