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The American Journal of the Medical... Jun 2022
Topics: Humans; Masks
PubMed: 35378096
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjms.2022.03.006 -
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Aug 2022Airway management during anaesthesia in cats is always a demanding task and is associated with several complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the...
OBJECTIVES
Airway management during anaesthesia in cats is always a demanding task and is associated with several complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the practicability and complications during feline-specific laryngeal mask placement in anaesthetised cats as an alternative to endotracheal intubation.
METHODS
In this prospective clinical study, laryngeal masks were placed in 148 anaesthetised cats. Success of placement was evaluated by capnography.
RESULTS
Placement was possible at the first attempt in 136 cats, at the second attempt in eight cats and at the third attempt in one cat. In one cat, placement was not possible. Two cats were excluded. Failure to position the laryngeal mask at the first attempt was not different between laryngeal mask sizes ( = 0.313) or positioning during placement ( = 0.406). In nine cats, the laryngeal mask dislocated during the procedure. Dislocation occurred more often in the dorsal position than in the sternal ( = 0.018) and right lateral positions ( = 0.046). Mucous obstruction of the laryngeal mask occurred in one of these cats and regurgitation in another. Material-related issues, such as disconnection of the parts of the laryngeal mask and leakage of the balloon, were observed in 2/8 laryngeal masks.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The placement of a feline-specific laryngeal mask was easy to perform. In about 7% of the cases, replacement of the device was required due to mispositioning or dislocation. Full monitoring, including capnography, should be provided to uncover dislocation and airway obstruction immediately.
Topics: Anesthesia; Animals; Cats; Intubation, Intratracheal; Laryngeal Masks; Prospective Studies
PubMed: 34663126
DOI: 10.1177/1098612X211050612 -
Computational Intelligence and... 2022Face mask-wearing detection is of great significance for safety protection during the epidemic. Aiming at the problem of low detection accuracy due to the problems of... (Review)
Review
Face mask-wearing detection is of great significance for safety protection during the epidemic. Aiming at the problem of low detection accuracy due to the problems of occlusion, complex illumination, and density in mask-wearing detection, this paper proposes a neural network model based on the loss function and attention mechanism for mask-wearing detection in complex environments. Based on YOLOv5s, we first introduce an attention mechanism in the feature fusion process to improve feature utilization, study the effect of different attention mechanisms (CBAM, SE, and CA) on improving deep network models, and then explore the influence of different bounding box loss functions (GIoU, CIoU, and DIoU) on mask-wearing recognition. CIoU is used as the frame regression loss function to improve the positioning accuracy. By collecting 7,958 mask-wearing images and a large number of images of people without masks as a dataset and using YOLOv5s as the benchmark model, the mAP of the model proposed in the paper reached 90.96% on the validation set, which is significantly better than the traditional deep learning method. Mask-wearing detection is carried out in a real environment, and the experimental results of the proposed method can meet the daily detection requirements.
Topics: Humans; Masks; Neural Networks, Computer
PubMed: 35865498
DOI: 10.1155/2022/2452291 -
Who is wearing a mask? Gender-, age-, and location-related differences during the COVID-19 pandemic.PloS One 2020Masks are an effective tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19, but some people still resist wearing them and mask-wearing behavior has not been experimentally studied...
Masks are an effective tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19, but some people still resist wearing them and mask-wearing behavior has not been experimentally studied in the United States. To understand the demographics of mask wearers and resistors, and the impact of mandates on mask-wearing behavior, we observed shoppers (n = 9935) entering retail stores during periods of June, July, and August 2020. Approximately 41% of the June sample wore a mask. At that time, the odds of an individual wearing a mask increased significantly with age and was also 1.5x greater for females than males. Additionally, the odds of observing a mask on an urban or suburban shopper were ~4x that for rural areas. Mask mandates enacted in late July and August increased mask-wearing compliance to over 90% in all groups, but a small percentage of resistors remained. Thus, gender, age, and location factor into whether shoppers in the United States wear a mask or face covering voluntarily. Additionally, mask mandates are necessary to increase mask wearing among the public to a level required to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Equipment and Supplies Utilization; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Masks; Middle Aged; Personal Protective Equipment; Rural Population; Sex Factors; Urban Population; Wisconsin
PubMed: 33057375
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240785 -
Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England) Jul 2022Face 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.
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.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Incidence; Masks; Occupations; Pandemics
PubMed: 35689550
DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqac031 -
Preventive Medicine Dec 2021Societies are looking for ways to mitigate risk while stimulating economic recovery from COVID-19. Facial coverings (masks) reduce the risk of disease spread but there...
Societies are looking for ways to mitigate risk while stimulating economic recovery from COVID-19. Facial coverings (masks) reduce the risk of disease spread but there is limited understanding of public beliefs regarding mask usage in the U.S. where mask wearing is divisive and politicized. We find that 83% (±3%) of U.S. respondents in our nationally representative sample believed masks have a role in U.S. society related to the spread of COVID-19 in June 2020. However, 11-24% of these respondents reported not wearing a mask themselves in some public locations. Beliefs about mask wearing and usage vary by respondent demographics and level of agreement with a variety of societal value statements. Agreement with the statement gun ownership is a right based on the U.S. Constitution was negatively correlated with the belief masks had a role in society related to the spread of COVID-19. Agreement with the statements healthcare is a human right and I always wear my seat belt when driving were positively correlated with the belief masks had a role. Only 47% of respondents agreed that "Wearing a mask will help prevent future lock-downs in my community related to COVID-19." Public perception of the importance of mask usage revealed public transportation, grocery/food stores, and schools, as the relatively most important public places for mask usage among those seven places studied. Results suggest that public health advisories about riskiness of various situations or locations and public perception of importance of risk mitigation by location may not be well aligned.
Topics: COVID-19; Communicable Disease Control; Humans; Masks; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 34499970
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106784 -
Respiratory Care Mar 2022A recently introduced open oxygen mask design was marketed in 2021 (open mask A). The manufacturer claims that the mask "…provides one solution for all your oxygen...
BACKGROUND
A recently introduced open oxygen mask design was marketed in 2021 (open mask A). The manufacturer claims that the mask "…provides one solution for all your oxygen delivery needs across your patients' continuum of care." The new oxygen mask specifies flow (1-15 L/min and flush) with an expected F from 0.25-0.85. This suggests that this mask eliminates the need for multiple oxygen delivery devices as F requirements change. This study aimed to describe the F performance of the new open oxygen mask and other commonly used oxygen masks.
METHODS
The following oxygen masks were studied: open mask A, open mask B, simple mask, partial rebreather, and non-rebreather. An adult mannequin head was attached to a breathing simulator, which recorded F at the simulated alveolar level. The simulator was set to a closed-loop volume control mode: V = 320 mL, compliance = 50 mL/cm HO, resistance = 4 cm HO/L/s, breathing frequency = 15 breaths/min, increase = 25%, hold = 0%, and release = 30%. Oxygen was run through each mask at the recommended flows. Each flow was verified with a flow analyzer before attaching the mask for oxygen measurement. Each experiment was performed twice. The F measurements were averaged and compared using a 2-way ANOVA with < .05 indicating significance.
RESULTS
The F delivery was significantly different for each device. The measured F range was open mask A, 0.30-0.60; open mask B, 0.28-0.64; simple mask, 0.55-0.73; partial non-rebreather, 0.73-1.0; non-rebreather, 0.93-1.00.
CONCLUSIONS
The performance of each oxygen mask from highest to lowest F : non-rebreather, partial rebreather, simple mask, open mask A, and open mask B. These findings suggest that no oxygen mask tested serves as a substitute for the others across a flow range of 1-15 L/min and flush.
Topics: Adult; Blood Gas Analysis; Humans; Masks; Oxygen; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; Respiration; Respiration, Artificial
PubMed: 34934008
DOI: 10.4187/respcare.09399 -
Skin Research and Technology : Official... Sep 2022COVID-19 is a serious respiratory disease, and wearing masks has become essential in daily life. Nevertheless, the number of people complaining of skin problems caused...
BACKGROUND
COVID-19 is a serious respiratory disease, and wearing masks has become essential in daily life. Nevertheless, the number of people complaining of skin problems caused by wearing masks is increasing. Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of changes in sensitive skin caused by wearing a mask.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty healthy Korean women with sensitive skin participated in this study. To determine any skin-related changes caused by mask-wearing, we evaluated redness, hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and moisture at 2.5 mm below the surface before and 4 h after wearing a Korea Filter 94 mask. In addition, we tested whether applying a moisturizer for 30 min after mask removal could reverse any mask-induced changes.
RESULTS
Skin redness and TEWL were significantly increased at 4 h after wearing a mask (p < 0.05), otherwise skin hydration and the 2.5 mm moisture were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). After applying the moisturizer, skin redness and TEWL were significantly decreased compared to their values 4 h after wearing masks (p < 0.05), whereas skin hydration and the 2.5 mm moisture were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Moreover, after applying the moisturizer, skin redness and TEWL were significantly reduced compared to the pre-masking baseline (p < 0.05), whereas skin hydration was significantly increased (p < 0.05); the 2.5 mm moisture showed no significant change.
CONCLUSION
We observed that wearing masks causes physiological changes in sensitive skin, whereas applying a moisturizer after removing the mask improved skin conditions.
Topics: COVID-19; Erythema; Female; Humans; Masks; Skin; Water
PubMed: 35639816
DOI: 10.1111/srt.13173 -
BMC Infectious Diseases Oct 2015There has been increasing debate surrounding mask and respirator interventions to control respiratory infection transmission in both healthcare and community settings.... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
There has been increasing debate surrounding mask and respirator interventions to control respiratory infection transmission in both healthcare and community settings. As decision makers are considering the recommendations they should evaluate how to provide the most efficient protection strategies with minimum costs. The aim of this review is to identify and evaluate the existing economic evaluation literature in this area and to offer advice on how future evaluations on this topic should be conducted.
METHODS
We searched the Scopus database for all literature on economic evaluation of mask or respirator use to control respiratory infection transmission. Reference lists from the identified studies were also manually searched. Seven studies met our inclusion criteria from the initial 806 studies identified by the search strategy and our manual search.
RESULTS
Five studies considered interventions for seasonal and/or pandemic influenza, with one also considering SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The other two studies focussed on tuberculosis transmission control interventions. The settings and methodologies of the studies varied greatly. No low-middle income settings were identified. Only one of the reviewed studies cited clinical evidence to inform their mask/respirator intervention effectiveness parameters. Mask and respirator interventions were generally reported by the study authors to be cost saving or cost-effective when compared to no intervention or other control measures, however the evaluations had important limitations.
CONCLUSIONS
Given the large cost differential between masks and respirators, there is a need for more comprehensive economic evaluations to compare the relative costs and benefits of these interventions in situations and settings where alternative options are potentially applicable. There are at present insufficient well conducted cost-effectiveness studies to inform decision-makers on the value for money of alternative mask/respirator options.
Topics: Cost-Benefit Analysis; Humans; Influenza, Human; Masks; Pandemics; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; Tuberculosis; Ventilators, Mechanical
PubMed: 26462473
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-015-1167-6 -
The Science of the Total Environment Feb 2022Face mask usage is one of the preventive measures encouraged worldwide to limit the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. Hence, production and mass use of face masks...
Face mask usage is one of the preventive measures encouraged worldwide to limit the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. Hence, production and mass use of face masks is on the rise due to the pandemic as well as government rules that mandate citizens to wear face masks. However, the improper disposal of face masks has been polluting the environment with enormous hazardous waste. In this study, a face mask littering assessment in an urbanized environment, Bangkok, was carried out. Three streets in the city were selected and observed for face mask littering for 5 h per day for 42 days. Moreover, a questionnaire from 605 participants was recorded to determine mask handling and disposal practices. The study found a total of 170 single-use face masks within a 13.30 km path. Furthermore, the highest (40) and lowest (17) cumulative litter were recorded on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Buffer analysis at 300 m showed 47% of mask litter was found within five mass transit stations, while 15% are within a single street market. Of 605 respondents, 82.15% used a single-use face mask. Surprisingly, most of them (70.58%) disposed of used face masks in regular bins along with their household waste. The results highlight three policy implications to tackle the growing problem: raising awareness, regulation, and provision of bins designed for used face masks in strategic places and supporting innovations and research for eco-friendly face masks.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Masks; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Thailand
PubMed: 34666092
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150952