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The response to our publication by Andrew Viner and Stewart Ayrey is much appreciated [...].
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Public Health , Water , Ventilators, MechanicalABSTRACT
When searching for ‘total inward leakage’ on Google, the first hit refers to a statement by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [3]: “Total inward leakage (TIL) is an estimate of the performance of a respirator, which is measured as the leakage of contaminants through the filter media and through the face-seal interface and exhalation valve of respiratory protective devices under laboratory conditions. There is a lack of consensus on the most appropriate test method to measure TIL”. [...]it is not useful to discuss this with respect to its application in EN149:2001 [2]. For other tasks, good quality surgical masks provide sufficient protection. Since our paper was published, two additional systematic reviews have analyzed the current collection of studies, including the more recent studies.
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BACKGROUND: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was shortage of the standard respiratory protective equipment (RPE). The aim of this study was to develop a procedure to test the performance of alternative RPEs used in the care of COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A laboratory-based test was developed to compare RPEs by total inward leakage (TIL). We used a crossflow nebulizer to produce a jet spray of 1-100 µm water droplets with a fluorescent marker. The RPEs were placed on a dummy head and sprayed at distances of 30 and 60 cm. The outcome was determined as the recovery of the fluorescent marker on a membrane filter placed on the mouth of the dummy head. RESULTS: At 30 cm, a type IIR surgical mask gave a 17.7% lower TIL compared with an FFP2 respirator. At 60 cm, this difference was similar, with a 21.7% lower TIL for the surgical mask compared to the respirator. When adding a face shield, the TIL at 30 cm was further reduced by 9.5% for the respirator and 16.6% in the case of the surgical mask. CONCLUSIONS: A safe, fast and very sensitive test method was developed to assess the effectiveness of RPE by comparison under controlled conditions.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/prevention & control , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional/prevention & control , Masks/standards , Personal Protective Equipment/standards , Respiratory Protective Devices/standards , Aerosols/adverse effects , Humans , Occupational Exposure/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Ventilators, Mechanical , WaterABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: ICU professionals are at risk of developing burnout due to coronavirus disease 2019. This study assesses the prevalence and incidence of burnout symptoms and moral distress in ICU professionals before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis. DESIGN: This is a longitudinal open cohort study. SETTING: Five ICUs based in a single university medical center plus another adult ICU based on a separate teaching hospital in the Netherlands. SUBJECTS: All ICU professionals were sent a baseline survey in October-December 2019 (252 respondents, response rate: 53%), and a follow-up survey was sent in May-June 2020 (233 respondents, response rate: 50%). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Burnout symptoms and moral distress measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Moral Distress Scale, respectively. The prevalence of burnout symptoms was 23.0% before coronavirus disease 2019 and 36.1% at postpeak time, with higher rates in nurses (38.0%) than in physicians (28.6%). Reversely, the incidence rate of new burnout cases among physicians was higher (26.7%) than nurses (21.9%). Higher prevalence of burnout symptoms was observed in the postpeak coronavirus disease 2019 period (odds ratio, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.32-2.53), for nurses (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.03-3.04), for professionals working overtime (odds ratio 2.11; 95% CI, 1.48-3.02), and for professionals directly engaged with care for coronavirus disease 2019 patients (odds ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.35-2.60). Physicians were more likely than nurses to develop burnout symptoms due to coronavirus disease 2019 (odds ratio, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.06-12.21). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that overburdening of ICU professionals during an extended period of time leads to symptoms of burnout. Working long hours and under conditions of scarcity of staff, time, and resources comes at the price of ICU professionals' mental health.