ReviewIranian journal of microbiology2023
Face masks for respiratory viral illness prevention in healthcare settings: a concise systemic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Iranian journal of microbiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dynamics of Absences Due to Respiratory Infections, Including COVID-19, Among Medical Staff in a Regional Pediatric Hospital.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A comparison of fit, heat stress, oxygen saturation and comfort between a novel reusable mask and disposable N95 respirator.PloS one · 2025Article
- Alterations in tear film and wavefront parameters associated with different types of disposable surgical masks in healthcare personnel during working hours: a randomized trial.Therapeutic advances in ophthalmologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and Objectives: There are conflicting views regarding face mask guidelines amongst healthcare staff to prevent transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), influenza and other respiratory viral infections (RVIs). We conducted a thorough meta-analysis to statistically compare mask use versus no mask use efficacy for RVIs in healthcare settings. Materials and Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were used for selecting researches published between 2003 and June 2022 from different databases, including Publisher Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, etc.; 6 studies qualified for inclusion. Data was pooled from in vivo randomized control, case-control and observational studies dealing with the relationship between face mask use and no use by patients or health personnel and RVI prevention in healthcare setups. Results: The fixed and random-effects model was carried out to determine pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their respective 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs). The results revealed that wearing a face mask significantly reduced the risk of contracting a respiratory viral illness in hospital settings, with pooled OR (95% CI) of 0.11 (0.04 to 0.33) (probability value (P) <0.08). Conclusion: Masks largely succeeded in stopping respiratory virus transmission, as evidenced by the meta-analysis of 6 studies (a total of 927 individuals).
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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.