ReviewThe Lancet. Respiratory medicine2020
Particle sizes of infectious aerosols: implications for infection control.
Review in The Lancet. Respiratory medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 284 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
284 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 644 citations in OpenAlex.
- The filtration performance of fabrics against particles of viral size: a systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis of COVID-19 Cluster Events Suggestive of Long-Distance Airborne Transmission/Inhalation.MicrobiologyOpen · 2026Pooled it
- Generation of Aerosols by Noninvasive Respiratory Support Modalities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- SARS-CoV-2 air sampling: A systematic review on the methodologies for detection and infectivity.Indoor air · 2022Pooled it
- Are medical procedures that induce coughing or involve respiratory suctioning associated with increased generation of aerosols and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection? A rapid systematic review.The Journal of hospital infection · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy and feasibility of a novel semi-facial respirator with chitosan nanoparticles on the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare professionals: randomized controlled trial.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Trial
- Effect of face masks on dyspnea perception, cardiopulmonary parameters, and facial temperature in healthy adults.Narra J · 2024Trial
- The globally prevalent MPXV strain exhibits high airborne and contact transmissibility in black-tailed prairie dogs.Emerging microbes & infections · 2026Article
- Article
- Can Non-Thermal Microwave Irradiation Inactivate Viruses? A Review with Some Computations.Viruses · 2026Review
- Inhalable bioadhesive barrier for lung protection and clearance of fine particulate matter.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Accounting for the long-distance transmission route: An epidemiological model of airborne disease transmission in hospitals.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- A Portable, Foldable Negative-Pressure Aerosol-Containment System (FNPACS) for Aerosol Control During Aerosol-Generating Procedures.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Comparative Performance Analysis of Commercial SARS-CoV-2 RNA Detection Assays: Implications for Sensitivity, Specificity, Accuracy, and Diagnostic Response Time.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Invasive ventilator exhaust in critical care: aerosol transmission risks and management strategies-a narrative review.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Review
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis biology, pathogenicity and interaction with the host.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2025Review
- Covering the biopsy hole check valve with "enzymolysis gauze" reduces bacterial contamination in the endoscopy room.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Article
- The relative contribution of close-proximity contacts, shared classroom exposure and indoor air quality to respiratory virus transmission in schools.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Airflow Determines Natural Airborne Transmission of Tuberculosis in a Guinea Pig Model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Experimental system enables studies ofmBio · 2025Article
224 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
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has been associated with infections and deaths among health-care workers. This Viewpoint of infectious aerosols is intended to inform appropriate infection control measures to protect health-care workers. Studies of cough aerosols and of exhaled breath from patients with various respiratory infections have shown striking similarities in aerosol size distributions, with a predominance of pathogens in small particles (<5 μm). These are immediately respirable, suggesting the need for personal respiratory protection (respirators) for individuals in close proximity to patients with potentially virulent pathogens. There is no evidence that some pathogens are carried only in large droplets. Surgical masks might offer some respiratory protection from inhalation of infectious aerosols, but not as much as respirators. However, surgical masks worn by patients reduce exposures to infectious aerosols to health-care workers and other individuals. The variability of infectious aerosol production, with some so-called super-emitters producing much higher amounts of infectious aerosol than most, might help to explain the epidemiology of super-spreading. Airborne infection control measures are indicated for potentially lethal respiratory pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
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Identifiers
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.