Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33819279›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Reusable snorkel masks adapted as particulate respirators.

Henry Seligman, Sameer Zaman, David S Pitcher, Matthew J Shun-Shin, Freya Hepworth Lloyd, Vitaliy Androschuk, Sayan Sen, Rasha Al-Lamee, David M Miller, Harry W Barnett and 9 more

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Henry SeligmanNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-4244-860X
Sameer ZamanNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
David S PitcherImperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Matthew J Shun-ShinNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Freya Hepworth LloydNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Vitaliy AndroschukNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Sayan SenNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Rasha Al-LameeNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
David M MillerImperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Harry W BarnettImperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Gulam S HajiNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Luke S HowardNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Sukhjinder NijjerNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Jamil MayetNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Darrel P FrancisNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Oscar CesAdvanced Hackspace, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Nicholas W F LintonNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Nicholas S PetersNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Ricardo PetracoNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-7912-5492
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust · GBImperial College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDuring viral pandemics, filtering facepiece (FFP) masks together with eye protection form the essential components of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. There remain concerns regarding insufficient global supply and imperfect protection offered by currently available PPE strategies. A range of full-face snorkel masks were adapted to accept high grade medical respiratory filters using bespoke-designed 3D-printed connectors. We compared the protection offered by the snorkel to that of standard PPE using a placebo-controlled respirator filtering test as well as a fluorescent droplet deposition experiment. Out of the 56 subjects tested, 42 (75%) passed filtering testing with the snorkel mask compared to 31 (55%) with a FFP3 respirator mask (p = 0.003). Amongst the 43 subjects who were not excluded following a placebo control, 85% passed filtering testing with the snorkel versus to 68% with a FFP3 mask (p = 0.008). Following front and lateral spray of fluorescence liquid particles, the snorkel mask also provided superior protection against droplet deposition within the subject's face, when compared to a standard PPE combination of FFP3 masks and eye protection (3.19x108 versus 6.81x108 fluorescence units, p<0.001). The 3D printable adaptors are available for free download online at https://www.ImperialHackspace.com/COVID-19-Snorkel-Respirator-Project/.

conclusionFull-face snorkel masks adapted as particulate respirators performed better than a standard PPE combination of FFP3 mask and eye protection against aerosol inhalation and droplet deposition. This adaptation is therefore a promising PPE solution for healthcare workers during highly contagious viral outbreaks.

Indexed as

Health PersonnelMasksOccupational ExposureRespiratory Protective DevicesAdultCOVID-19FemaleHumansMale

Identifiers

PMID33819279
PMCPMC8021169
OpenAlexW3144044656

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.