SynthesisThe Journal of hospital infection2020
Decontamination interventions for the reuse of surgical mask personal protective equipment: a systematic review.
Synthesis in The Journal of hospital infection, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Autoresuscitation after circulatory arrest: an updated systematic review.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2023Pooled it
- Personal protective equipment for reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection among health care workers involved in emergency trauma surgery during the pandemic: An umbrella review.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Decontamination interventions for the reuse of surgical mask personal protective equipment: a systematic review.The Journal of hospital infection · 2020Pooled it
- Demonstration of a Home Laundering Method for Cloth Facepieces to Achieve Hygienic and Sustainable Reuse.New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS · 2025Article
- [Bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) of surgical masks used for eight hours and unused masks with Staphylococcus aureus].Revista espanola de salud publica · 2025Article
- Measuring the quantity of harmful volatile organic compounds inhaled through masks.Ecotoxicology and environmental safety · 2023Article
- Is the whole-day use of surgical masks during the coronavirus pandemic increasing the contamination of surgeons' masks?American journal of infection control · 2023Article
- Extending the Protection Ability and Life Cycle of Medical Masks through the Washing Process.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effective antiviral coatings for deactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus on N95 respirator masks or filters.Materials today. Advances · 2022Article
- Evaluation of the Microbiological Effectiveness of Three Accessible Mask Decontamination Methods and Their Impact on Filtration, Air Permeability and Physicochemical Properties.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Discarded masks as hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes during COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of hazardous materials · 2022Article
- Decontamination and reuse of personal protective masks and respirators in healthcare: Human-centered investigation and implementation considerations.Human factors in healthcare · 2021Article
- New novel thermal insulation and sound-absorbing materials from discarded facemasks of COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- What We Are Learning from COVID-19 for Respiratory Protection: Contemporary and Emerging Issues.Polymers · 2021Review
- Enhanced Medical and Community Face Masks with Antimicrobial Properties: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Evaluating the relationship between citation set size, team size and screening methods used in systematic reviews: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical research methodology · 2021Article
- Face masks against COVID-19: Standards, efficacy, testing and decontamination methods.Advances in colloid and interface science · 2021Review
- Plastics in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: Protector or polluter?The Science of the total environment · 2021Review
- Unlocking the surge in demand for personal and protective equipment (PPE) and improvised face coverings arising from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic - Implications for efficacy, re-use and sustainable waste management.The Science of the total environment · 2021Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe high demand for personal protective equipment during the novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted the need to develop strategies to conserve supply. Little is known regarding decontamination interventions to allow for surgical mask reuse.
aimTo identify and synthesize data from original research evaluating interventions to decontaminate surgical masks for the purpose of reuse.
methodsMEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Global Health, the WHO COVID-19 database, Google Scholar, DisasterLit, preprint servers, and prominent journals from inception to April 8
findingsSeven studies met eligibility criteria: one evaluated the effects of heat and chemical interventions applied after mask use on mask performance, and six evaluated interventions applied prior to mask use to enhance antimicrobial properties and/or mask performance. Mask performance and germicidal effects were evaluated with heterogeneous test conditions. Safety outcomes were infrequently evaluated. Mask performance was best preserved with dry heat decontamination. Good germicidal effects were observed in salt-, N-halamine-, and nanoparticle-coated masks.
conclusionThere is limited evidence on the safety or efficacy of surgical mask decontamination. Given the heterogeneous methods used in studies to date, we are unable to draw conclusions on the most efficacious and safe intervention for decontaminating surgical masks.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.