ArticleThe Journal of hospital infection2020
Is there an adequate alternative to commercially manufactured face masks? A comparison of various materials and forms.
Article 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 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Development and evaluation of a fluidic facemask for airborne transmission mitigation.Experimental thermal and fluid science · 2023Review
- Assessing face masks in the environment by means of the DPSIR framework.The Science of the total environment · 2022Review
- Face Masks to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)-Processing, Roles, Requirements, Efficacy, Risk and Sustainability.Polymers · 2022Review
- Submicronic Filtering Media Based on Electrospun Recycled PET Nanofibers: Development, Characterization, and Method to Manufacture Surgical Masks.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Masks for COVID-19.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2022Review
- Infection Prevention Mask Consisting of Nanofiber Filter and Habutae Silk Fabrics.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- What do masks mask? A study on transdermal COMedical engineering & physics · 2021Article
- A life cycle assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Role of additive manufacturing in medical application COVID-19 scenario: India case study.Journal of manufacturing systems · 2021Article
- Review
- SARS-Cov-2: The Relevance and Prevention of Aerosol Transmission.Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2021Article
- Review of the Breathability and Filtration Efficiency of Common Household Materials for Face Masks.ACS nano · 2021Review
- Efficacy of Face Masks Used in Uganda: A Laboratory-Based Inquiry during the COVID-19 Pandemic.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2021Article
- Environmentally friendly non-medical mask: An attempt to reduce the environmental impact from used masks during COVID 19 pandemic.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Efficacy of face masks, neck gaiters and face shields for reducing the expulsion of simulated cough-generated aerosols.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2021Article
- Study of Recycling Potential of FFP2 Face Masks and Characterization of the Plastic Mix-Material Obtained. A Way of Reducing Waste in Times of Covid-19.Waste and biomass valorization · 2021Article
- Challenging the engineering design process for the development of facial masks in the constraint of the COVID-19 pandemic.Procedia CIRP · 2021Article
- Environmental implication of personal protection equipment in the pandemic era: LCA comparison of face masks typologies.Procedia CIRP · 2021Article
- 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
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is a worldwide shortage of medical-grade face masks. Donning masks can play an important role in curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
aimTo conclude whether there is an effective mask for the population to wear in public that could easily be made during a medical face mask shortage using readily available materials.
methodsWe determined the effectiveness of readily available materials and models for making a face mask. The outcomes were compared with N95/FFP2/KN95 masks that entered the Netherlands in April-May 2020. Masks were tested to determine whether they filtered a minimum of 35% of 0.3-μm particles, are hydrophobic, seal on the face, are breathable, and can be washed.
findingsFourteen of the 25 (combinations of) materials filtered at least 35% of 0.3-μm particles. Four of the materials proved hydrophobic, all commercially manufactured filters. Two models sealed the face. Twenty-two of the 25 materials were breathable at <0.7 mbar. None of the hydrophobic materials stayed intact after washing.
conclusionsIt would be possible to reduce the reproduction rate of SARS-CoV-2 from 2.4 to below one if 39% of the population would wear a mask made from ePM₁ 85% commercially manufactured filter fabric and in a duckbill form. This mask performs better than 80% of the imported N95/FFP2/KN95 masks and provides a better fit than a surgical mask. Two layers of quilt fabric with a household paper towel as filter is also a viable choice for protecting the user and the environment.
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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.