Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36569517›Full record

ArticleBuilding and environment2023

Efficacy of Do-It-Yourself air filtration units in reducing exposure to simulated respiratory aerosols.

Raymond C Derk, Jayme P Coyle, William G Lindsley, Francoise M Blachere, Angela R Lemons, Samantha K Service, Stephen B Martin, Kenneth R Mead, Steven A Fotta, Jeffrey S Reynolds and 4 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Building and environment, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 7% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Managing infectious aerosols to counter engineered pandemics: Current recommendations and future research.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025
    Guideline
  2. Review
  3. Article
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

14 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Raymond C DerkHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Jayme P CoyleHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
William G LindsleyHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Francoise M BlachereHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Angela R LemonsHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Samantha K ServiceHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Stephen B MartinRespiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26505, USA.
Kenneth R MeadDivision of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, 45226, USA.
Steven A FottaHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Jeffrey S ReynoldsHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Walter G McKinneyHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Erik W SinselHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Donald H BeezholdHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
John D NotiHealth Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1000 Fredrick Lane, Morgantown, WV, 26508, USA.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · US

Funding

Intramural CDC HHS CC999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Many respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, can be spread by aerosols expelled by infected people when they cough, talk, sing, or exhale. Exposure to these aerosols indoors can be reduced by portable air filtration units (air cleaners). Homemade or Do-It-Yourself (DIY) air filtration units are a popular alternative to commercially produced devices, but performance data is limited. Our study used a speaker-audience model to examine the efficacy of two popular types of DIY air filtration units, the Corsi-Rosenthal cube and a modified Ford air filtration unit, in reducing exposure to simulated respiratory aerosols within a mock classroom. Experiments were conducted using four breathing simulators at different locations in the room, one acting as the respiratory aerosol source and three as recipients. Optical particle spectrometers monitored simulated respiratory aerosol particles (0.3-3 μm) as they dispersed throughout the room. Using two DIY cubes (in the front and back of the room) increased the air change rate as much as 12.4 over room ventilation, depending on filter thickness and fan airflow. Using multiple linear regression, each unit increase of air change reduced exposure by 10%. Increasing the number of filters, filter thickness, and fan airflow significantly enhanced the air change rate, which resulted in exposure reductions of up to 73%. Our results show DIY air filtration units can be an effective means of reducing aerosol exposure. However, they also show performance of DIY units can vary considerably depending upon their design, construction, and positioning, and users should be mindful of these limitations.

Indexed as

AerosolsAir filtersDo-it-yourself air cleanerIndoor air qualityInhalation exposureVentilation

Identifiers

PMID36569517
PMCPMC9759459
OpenAlexW4311967499

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.