ArticleEinstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil)2024
Face mask use and viral load in patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19.
Article in Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comment to: Factors affecting SARS-CoV-2 transmission among face mask users.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Article
- Comment to: Face mask use and viral load in patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePrevious studies indicated that face masks reduce the probability of infection by SARS-CoV-2 but did not examine the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and mask usage. This study analyzed this relationship.
methodsThis cross-sectional study evaluated patients admitted to a public Emergency Care Unit in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, between October 2020 and March 2021. Convenience samples were recruited during the study period. Adult patients with COVID-19 symptoms were invited to participate after being examined by a physician according to the Emergency Care Unit routine. This study included 441 adults with mild symptoms diagnosed with COVID-19 via RT-PCR, who were tested until the 14th day after symptom onset. Participants were interviewed about mask usage, oropharyngeal swabs were collected, and the SARS-CoV-2 viral load was measured using RT-PCR. The difference between the SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the groups of individuals who regularly used and did not use masks was subjected to a hypothesis test.
resultsOf the patients who had swabs collected 1-5 days after symptom onset, 64.9% of those not using masks regularly and 45.5% of those using masks regularly presented a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.0073). Considering only the patients who had swabs collected 4-8 days after symptom onset, 44.1% of those not using masks regularly and 30.8% of those using masks regularly presented a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load; this difference was statistically significant (p=0.0364).
conclusionWhen people who regularly wear a face mask contract COVID-19, they have a significantly lower probability of having a high viral load of SARS-CoV-2 compared to those who do not regularly wear masks.
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