ArticleAerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research2021
A comparison of performance metrics for cloth masks as source control devices for simulated cough and exhalation aerosols.
Article in Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Identifying the effectiveness of face mask in a large population with a network-based fluid model.PloS one · 2025Article
- Application of a composite, multi-scale COVID-19 mitigation framework: US border use-case.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2025Article
- Measuring the fitted filtration efficiency of cloth masks, medical masks and respirators.PloS one · 2025Article
- Efficacy of powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) for source control of simulated respiratory aerosols.American journal of infection control · 2024Article
- Occupational exposure monitoring of airborne respiratory viruses in outpatient medical clinics.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2024Article
- International assessment results on non-NIOSH approved respirators by the national personal protective technology laboratory (NPPTL): a data note.BMC research notes · 2024Article
- Benchtop assessment of sealing efficacy and breathability of additively manufactured (AM) face masks.Additive manufacturing · 2023Article
- Constant vs. cyclic flow when testing face masks and respirators as source control devices for simulated respiratory aerosols.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2023Article
- Risk assessment for long- and short-range airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, indoors and outdoors.PNAS nexus · 2022Article
- A critical review on the role of leakages in the facemask protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection with consideration of vaccination and virus variants.Indoor air · 2022Review
- Do They Really Work? Quantifying Fabric Mask Effectiveness to Improve Public Health Messaging.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- A Simple Method to Quantify Outward Leakage of Medical Face Masks and Barrier Face Coverings: Implication for the Overall Filtration Efficiency.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Face mask fit modifications that improve source control performance.American journal of infection control · 2022Article
- Reduction of exposure to simulated respiratory aerosols using ventilation, physical distancing, and universal masking.Indoor air · 2022Article
- Article
- How long and effective does a mask protect you from an infected person who emits virus-laden particles: By implementing one-dimensional physics-based modeling.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Universal mask wearing is recommended to help control the spread of COVID-19. Masks reduce the expulsion of aerosols of respiratory fluids into the environment (called source control) and offer some protection to the wearer. Masks are often characterized using filtration efficiency, airflow resistance, and manikin or human fit factors, which are standard metrics used for personal protective devices. However, none of these metrics are direct measurements of how effectively a mask blocks coughed and exhaled aerosols. We studied the source control performance of 15 cloth masks (face masks, neck gaiters, and bandanas), two medical masks, and two N95 filtering facepiece respirators by measuring their ability to block aerosols ≤ 7 μm expelled during simulated coughing and exhalation (called source control collection efficiency). These measurements were compared with filtration efficiencies, airflow resistances, and fit factors measured on manikin headforms and humans. Collection efficiencies for the cloth masks ranged from 17% to 71% for coughing and 35% to 66% for exhalation. Filtration efficiencies for the cloth masks ranged from 1.4% to 98%, while the fit factors were 1.3 to 7.4 on headforms and 1.0 to 4.0 on human subjects. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between the source control collection efficiencies and the standard metrics ranged from 0.03 to 0.68 and were significant in all but two cases. However, none of the standard metrics were strongly correlated with source control performance. A better understanding of the relationships between source control collection efficiency, filtration efficiency, airflow resistance, and fit factor is needed.
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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.