The effects of wearing facemasks on oxygenation and ventilation at rest and during physical activity.
PLoS One
; 16(2): e0247414, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1388900
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Facemasks are recommended to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but concern about inadequate gas exchange is an often cited reason for non-compliance. RESEARCH QUESTION Among adult volunteers, do either cloth masks or surgical masks impair oxygenation or ventilation either at rest or during physical activity? STUDY DESIGN ANDMETHODS:
With IRB approval and informed consent, we measured heart rate (HR), transcutaneous carbon dioxide (CO2) tension and oxygen levels (SpO2) at the conclusion of six 10-minute phases sitting quietly and walking briskly without a mask, sitting quietly and walking briskly while wearing a cloth mask, and sitting quietly and walking briskly while wearing a surgical mask. Brisk walking required at least a 10bpm increase in heart rate. Occurrences of hypoxemia (decrease in SpO2 of ≥3% from baseline to a value of ≤94%) and hypercarbia (increase in CO2 tension of ≥5 mmHg from baseline to a value of ≥46 mmHg) in individual subjects were collected. Wilcoxon signed-rank was used for pairwise comparisons among values for the whole cohort (e.g. walking without a mask versus walking with a cloth mask).RESULTS:
Among 50 adult volunteers (median age 33 years; 32% with a co-morbidity), there were no episodes of hypoxemia or hypercarbia (0%; 95% confidence interval 0-1.9%). In paired comparisons, there were no statistically significant differences in either CO2 or SpO2 between baseline measurements without a mask and those while wearing either kind of mask mask, both at rest and after walking briskly for ten minutes.INTERPRETATION:
The risk of pathologic gas exchange impairment with cloth masks and surgical masks is near-zero in the general adult population.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Oxygen
/
Pulmonary Ventilation
/
COVID-19
/
Masks
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
JOURNAL.PONE.0247414
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