The influence of the type of face mask used by healthcare providers during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the report of pain: a cross-sectional study in a pediatric emergency department

BACKGROUND: During 4 months of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, nurses in a pediatric emergency department (ED) used surgical and clear face masks in triage. This study aimed to find out if the type of face mask influenced children’s reports of pain. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of the pain scores of all patients aged 3–15 years who visited the ED during the 4-month period was performed. Multivariate regression was used to control for the potential confounders of demographics, diagnosis (medical, trauma), nurse experience, ED time of arrival, and triage acuity level. Self-reports of pain ≥1/10 and pain ≥4/10 were the dependent variables. RESULTS: Overall, 3,069 children attended the ED during the study period. Triage nurses wore surgical and clear face masks in 2,337 and 732 nurse-patient encounters, respectively. The two types of face masks were used in similar proportions of nurse-patient encounters. Compared with the clear face mask, wearing a surgical face mask was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting pain ≥1/10, and a lower likelihood of reporting pain ≥4/10; [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) =0.68; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56–0.82], and (aOR =0.71; 95% CI: 0.58–0.86), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the type of face mask used by the nurse influenced the report of pain. This study provides preliminary evidence that covered face masks worn by healthcare providers might have a negative impact on the child’s report of pain.