ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Face mask use in the workplace has become widespread since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and has been anecdotally linked to adverse health consequences. AIMS: To examine reports of adverse health consequences of occupational face mask use received by The Health and Occupation Research (THOR) network before and after the pandemic onset. METHODS: THOR databases were searched to identify all cases of ill-health attributed to 'face mask' or similar suspected causative agent between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2021. RESULTS: Thirty two cases were identified in total, 18 reported by occupational physicians and 14 by dermatologists. Seventy-five per cent of cases were reported after the pandemic onset and 91% cases were in the health and social care sector. 25 of the 35 (71%) diagnoses were dermatological, the most frequent diagnoses being contact dermatitis (14 cases) and folliculitis/acne (6 cases). Of the seven respiratory diagnoses, four were exacerbation of pre-existing asthma. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of an abrupt increase in reports of predominantly dermatological ill-health attributed to occupational face mask use since the start of the pandemic. Respiratory presentations have also occurred.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Incidence , Masks/adverse effects , OccupationsABSTRACT
P77 Table 1 n = 50 (%) Age (years) 44 Sex Male 9 18 Female 41 82 BMI (kg/m2) 30.7 On high dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) 49 98 No. of patients on at least 5mg daily prednisolone 19 38 No. of patients who had 2 or more courses of prednisolone 29 58 Ethnicity Caucasian 39 78 Black 1 2 Other 10 20 ConclusionsDomiciliary spirometry in a cohort of patients with a presumed diagnosis of difficult-to-treat asthma, enabled just over one in every ten patients to commence asthma biologic therapies, whilst allowing patients to limit extensive travel and remain out of the hospital environment. Further work is warranted to ensure feasibility, cost-effectiveness and patient compliance.