Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33166599›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of infection control2021

Filtration efficiency of surgical sterilization fabric for respiratory protection during COVID-19 pandemic.

Sinan Sousan, Nicole Garcia, Avian White, Jo Anne Balanay

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of infection control, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The Effect of Sanitizing Treatments on Respirator Filtration Performance.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sinan SousanDepartment of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University and North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, Greenville, NC. Electronic address: sousans18@ecu.edu.
Nicole GarciaDepartment of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Avian WhiteEnvironmental Health Sciences Program, Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Jo Anne BalanayEnvironmental Health Sciences Program, Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
East Carolina University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDue to COVID-19 and high demand for respirators, some healthcare professionals have been using the Halyard H600 fabric as an alternative to N95 respirators without testing the filtration efficiency of the fabric with established scientific methods. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficiency of the Halyard H600 as a respirator filtering material as compared to the NIOSH-certified N95 and P100 filters, and determine if H600 is a good alternative for respiratory protection for healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

methodsThree filter types (Halyard H600, N95, and P100) were challenged with salt particles inside an exposure chamber at a flow rate of 43 LPM and relative humidity of 40 ± 2%. N95 and P100 respirator filters were tested initially to establish the validity of the chamber, followed by the Halyard H600 fabric. Particle penetration was measured using an aerosol spectrometer. The filtration efficiency was calculated for different particle sizes by measuring the particle number concentration upstream and downstream of the filter. The pressure drop across the filter materials was measured using a manometer.

resultsThe efficiency of the P100 for particles ≥250 nm was 100%. The N95 efficiency was 97 ± 1% at 275 nm, 99 ± 0% at 324 nm, and 100% for larger particles. The Halyard H600 fabric had a variable efficiency with an average of 62 ± 28% at 275 nm, 89 ± 8% at 324 nm, and 100% efficiency for particles >450 nm. The pressure drop values for P100 and N95 were 32 and 8 mmH

conclusionThe high variability in filter efficiency for particles ≤324 nm and the increased fabric breathing resistance demonstrate that the Halyard H600 has an inferior performance and is not a good substitute for N95 and P100. Thus, the use of the Halyard H600 fabric for respiratory protection is not recommended.

Indexed as

Air FiltersMaterials TestingRespiratory Protective DevicesTextilesCOVID-19HumansN95 RespiratorsParticle SizePressureSARS-CoV-2Spectrum AnalysisSterilizationCOVID-19N95 respiratorParticle efficiencyRespirator efficiencySARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33166599
PMCPMC7647410
OpenAlexW3097930237

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.