June 4, 2020

The Need of Health Policy Perspective to Protect Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic. A GRADE Rapid Review on the N95 Respirators Effectiveness

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• A systematic review of 4 randomized trials involving 8,736 healthcare workers showed that, compared to surgical masks, wearing N95 respirators was associated with a lower risk of clinical respiratory infections (RR=0.43, 95%CI 0.29-0.64), corresponding to 73 (46-91) fewer infections per 1000 persons. No direct high–quality evidence was found on whether N95 respirators were better than surgical masks for protection from SARS-CoV-2. 

Iannone et al. (June 3, 2020). The Need of Health Policy Perspective to Protect Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic. A GRADE Rapid Review on the N95 Respirators Effectiveness. PloS One.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234025