Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42238729›Full record

ArticleAntimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE2026

Impact of masking policy on healthcare-associated acute respiratory infections in 18 hospitals in Southern Ontario.

Thomas Scheier, Anne Bialachowski, Michael Silverman, Tom Szakacs, Marianita Lampitoc, William Ciccotelli, Medina Saffie, Karim Ali, Zain Chagla, Dominik Mertz and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

11 authors.

Thomas ScheierPopulation Health Research Institute, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7805-1025
Anne BialachowskiSt Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7576-0421
Michael SilvermanWestern University Faculty of Science, Canada.
Tom SzakacsBrantford General Hospital, Canada.
Marianita LampitocLondon Health Sciences Centre, Canada.
William CiccotelliWaterloo Regional Health Network, Canada.
Medina SaffieJoseph Brant Hospital, Canada.
Karim AliNiagara Health System, Canada.
Zain ChaglaSt Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3619-7031
Dominik MertzMcMaster University, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4337-1613
SWO-IPAC group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Whether continuous masking prevents healthcare-associated acute respiratory infections (HA-ARI) remains uncertain. We demonstrate that discontinuing continuous masking policies in 18 acute care facilities in Ontario was not associated with an increase in the incidence of HA-ARIs in hospitalized patients, or with ARI outbreak activity over two consecutive ARI seasons.

Identifiers

PMID42238729
PMCPMC13227126

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.