Headaches Associated With Personal Protective Equipment - A Cross-Sectional Study Among Frontline Healthcare Workers During COVID-19.
Headache
; 60(5): 864-877, 2020 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-98794
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease of pandemic proportions. Healthcare workers in Singapore working in high-risk areas were mandated to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 face mask and protective eyewear while attending to patients.OBJECTIVES:
We sought to determine the risk factors associated with the development of de novo PPE-associated headaches as well as the perceived impact of these headaches on their personal health and work performance. The impact of COVID-19 on pre-existing headache disorders was also investigated.METHODS:
This is a cross-sectional study among healthcare workers at our tertiary institution who were working in high-risk hospital areas during COVID-19. All respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire.RESULTS:
A total of 158 healthcare workers participated in the study. Majority [126/158 (77.8%)] were aged 21-35 years. Participants included nurses [102/158 (64.6%)], doctors [51/158 (32.3%)], and paramedical staff [5/158 (3.2%)]. Pre-existing primary headache diagnosis was present in about a third [46/158 (29.1%)] of respondents. Those based at the emergency department had higher average daily duration of combined PPE exposure compared to those working in isolation wards [7.0 (SD 2.2) vs 5.2 (SD 2.4) hours, P < .0001] or medical ICU [7.0 (SD 2.2) vs 2.2 (SD 0.41) hours, P < .0001]. Out of 158 respondents, 128 (81.0%) respondents developed de novo PPE-associated headaches. A pre-existing primary headache diagnosis (OR = 4.20, 95% CI 1.48-15.40; P = .030) and combined PPE usage for >4 hours per day (OR 3.91, 95% CI 1.35-11.31; P = .012) were independently associated with de novo PPE-associated headaches. Since COVID-19 outbreak, 42/46 (91.3%) of respondents with pre-existing headache diagnosis either "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the increased PPE usage had affected the control of their background headaches, which affected their level of work performance.CONCLUSION:
Most healthcare workers develop de novo PPE-associated headaches or exacerbation of their pre-existing headache disorders.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Health Personnel
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Personal Protective Equipment
/
Headache
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Headache
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Head.13811
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS