Selecting models for a respiratory protection program: what can we learn from the scientific literature

Details

• Personal Author:
  Janssen LL ; Shaffer RE
• Description:
  Background: An unbiased source of comparable respirator performance data would be helpful in setting up a hospital respiratory protection program. Methods: The scientific literature was examined to assess the extent to which performance data (respirator fit, comfort and usability) from N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) models are available to assist with FFR model selection and procurement decisions. Results: Ten studies were identified that met the search criteria for fit, whereas 5 studies met the criteria for comfort and usability. Conclusion: Analysis of these studies indicated that it is difficult to directly use the scientific literature to inform the FFR selection process because of differences in study populations, methodologies, and other factors. Although there does not appear to be a single best fitting FFR, studies demonstrate that fit testing programs can be designed to successfully fit nearly all workers with existing products. Comfort and usability are difficult to quantify. Among the studies found, no significant differences were noted. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: N95 Face-masks Filtering Facepiece Respirator Health-protection Medical-facilities Medical-monitoring Respiration Respirator Fit Testing Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment
• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  127-132
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045578
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2015 Feb; 43(2):127-132
• Contact Point Address:
  Ronald E. Shaffer, National Institute for Occupational Safety Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd, PO Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  RShaffer@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:daef2995f6a703b5b39bb3edfb3dc24d3033d877fe5ab64818063ba7f12968dba8eee13fbb089ac958dfc5d1c09957c6192297bfd2ac1fa980a9b83296c2664d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200950/cdc_200950_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 229.34 KB ]