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Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application

PURPOSE: Respiratory protective equipment is widely used in healthcare settings to protect clinicians whilst treating patients with COVID-19. However, their generic designs do not accommodate the variability in face shape across genders and ethnicities. Accordingly, they are regularly overtightened...

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Autores principales: Caggiari, Silvia, Bader, Dan L, Foxell, Finn, Pipe, Nicholas, Couch, Seana, Turner, Abbie, Worsley, Peter R
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9343257/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35928220
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/MDER.S370142
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author Caggiari, Silvia
Bader, Dan L
Foxell, Finn
Pipe, Nicholas
Couch, Seana
Turner, Abbie
Worsley, Peter R
author_facet Caggiari, Silvia
Bader, Dan L
Foxell, Finn
Pipe, Nicholas
Couch, Seana
Turner, Abbie
Worsley, Peter R
author_sort Caggiari, Silvia
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: Respiratory protective equipment is widely used in healthcare settings to protect clinicians whilst treating patients with COVID-19. However, their generic designs do not accommodate the variability in face shape across genders and ethnicities. Accordingly, they are regularly overtightened to compensate for a poor fit. The present study aims at investigating the biomechanical and thermal loads during respirator application and the associated changes in local skin physiology at the skin–device interface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen healthy volunteers were recruited and reflected a range of gender, ethnicities and facial anthropometrics. Four single-use respirators were evaluated representing different geometries, size and material interfaces. Participants were asked to wear each respirator in a random order while a series of measurements were recorded, including interface pressure, temperature and relative humidity. Measures of transepidermal water loss and skin hydration were assessed pre- and post-respirator application, and after 20 minutes of recovery. Statistical analysis assessed differences between respirator designs and associations between demographics, interface conditions and parameters of skin health. RESULTS: Results showed a statistically significant negative correlation (p < 0.05) between the alar width and interface pressures at the nasal bridge, for three of the respirator designs. The nasal bridge site also corresponded to the highest pressures for all respirator designs. Temperature and humidity significantly increased (p < 0.05) during each respirator application. Significant increases in transepidermal water loss values (p < 0.05) were observed after the application of the respirators in females, which were most apparent at the nasal bridge. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that specific facial features affected the distribution of interface pressures and depending on the respirator design and material, changes in skin barrier function were evident. The development of respirator designs that accommodate a diverse range of face shapes and protect the end users from skin damage are required to support the long-term use of these devices.
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spelling pubmed-93432572022-08-03 Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application Caggiari, Silvia Bader, Dan L Foxell, Finn Pipe, Nicholas Couch, Seana Turner, Abbie Worsley, Peter R Med Devices (Auckl) Original Research PURPOSE: Respiratory protective equipment is widely used in healthcare settings to protect clinicians whilst treating patients with COVID-19. However, their generic designs do not accommodate the variability in face shape across genders and ethnicities. Accordingly, they are regularly overtightened to compensate for a poor fit. The present study aims at investigating the biomechanical and thermal loads during respirator application and the associated changes in local skin physiology at the skin–device interface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen healthy volunteers were recruited and reflected a range of gender, ethnicities and facial anthropometrics. Four single-use respirators were evaluated representing different geometries, size and material interfaces. Participants were asked to wear each respirator in a random order while a series of measurements were recorded, including interface pressure, temperature and relative humidity. Measures of transepidermal water loss and skin hydration were assessed pre- and post-respirator application, and after 20 minutes of recovery. Statistical analysis assessed differences between respirator designs and associations between demographics, interface conditions and parameters of skin health. RESULTS: Results showed a statistically significant negative correlation (p < 0.05) between the alar width and interface pressures at the nasal bridge, for three of the respirator designs. The nasal bridge site also corresponded to the highest pressures for all respirator designs. Temperature and humidity significantly increased (p < 0.05) during each respirator application. Significant increases in transepidermal water loss values (p < 0.05) were observed after the application of the respirators in females, which were most apparent at the nasal bridge. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that specific facial features affected the distribution of interface pressures and depending on the respirator design and material, changes in skin barrier function were evident. The development of respirator designs that accommodate a diverse range of face shapes and protect the end users from skin damage are required to support the long-term use of these devices. Dove 2022-07-26 /pmc/articles/PMC9343257/ /pubmed/35928220 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/MDER.S370142 Text en © 2022 Caggiari et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . The license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Caggiari, Silvia
Bader, Dan L
Foxell, Finn
Pipe, Nicholas
Couch, Seana
Turner, Abbie
Worsley, Peter R
Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title_full Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title_fullStr Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title_full_unstemmed Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title_short Biomechanical and Physiological Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment Application
title_sort biomechanical and physiological evaluation of respiratory protective equipment application
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9343257/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35928220
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/MDER.S370142
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