Performance of an N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator and a Surgical Mask Used by Home Attending Health-Care Workers (a Pilot Study)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Elmashae Y ; Grinshpun SA
• Description:
  Purpose: This study aimed at determining the Workplace Protection Factor (WPF) for one model of N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) and one model of surgical mask (SM) that are widely used by the home attending health-care workers to reduce their exposure to potentially hazardous agents during home visits, such as respiratory pathogens, aerosolized secretions originated during tracheal suctioning and nebulized medications. Background: Home-attending health-care workers are often exposed to various airborne hazards during care activities. This exposure can put them at a health risk. They often enter the homes environments unprotected or at best use SMs or N95 FFRs. Using the personal respiratory protection equipment may mitigate the problem; however, there is no data that would allow assessing whether existing N95 FFRs and SMs can provide an adequate protection to healthcare workers during home visits. Generally, workplace protection factor (WPF) is used to determine the protection provided by an N95 FFR and SM to a worker. The WPF is defined as a ratio of the concentration outside of the respirator (Cout) to the concentration inside the respirator while worn at a workplace (Cin). Methods: Three home-attending health-care workers serving in the Cincinnati area were recruited as subjects. Prior to the field experiment, each subject was cleared using the OSHA respirator medical clearance questionnaire and subsequently was fit tested with the selected N95 FFR using the standard OSHA protocol. At the workplace, the aerosol Cout and Cin of the tested N95 FFR or SM were measured on a subject using two simultaneously operating P-Trak condensation particle counters (Model 8525, TSI Inc., Shoreview, MN) within the particle size range of 20 to > 1,000 nm. The WPF was determined from multiple samples (scans) ranging from 100 to 279, depending on health care procedure. The WPF was determined from multiple samples (scans) ranging from 100 to 279, depending on health care procedure. Results: This pilot study demonstrated that the WPF of the N95 FFR consistently exceeded that of the tested SM (with the overall mean WPF values being 56 and 3 respectively). In all cases, the N95 FFR's WPF was above the OSHA's assigned protection factor of 10 whereas the SM often provided little protection (the WPF ranged from 3 to 9). The protection levels provided by both devices were affected by the activity; e.g., for subject #1 wearing the N95 FFR, the activity-specific WPF was as high as 94 during normal activity and 48 during nebulizer treatment. Conclusions: Wearing an N95-certified respirator significantly improves the respiratory protection of home-attending health-care workers (as compared to a SM). The WFP may depend on the activity or body movements or both. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Home Care Services Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Health Care Personnel Home Health Care N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Personal Protective Equipment PPE Respirators Surgical Masks Work Environment
• Publisher:
  University of Cincinnati
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052459
• Citation:
  17th Annual Pilot Research Project Symposium, University of Cincinnati Education and Research Center, October 13-14, 2016, Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, 2016 Oct; :1
• Email:
  elmashys@mail.uc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  17th Annual Pilot Research Project Symposium, University of Cincinnati Education and Research Center, October 13-14, 2016, Cincinnati, Ohio
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:76dc42d71c3f276d6cef997dca1443a1f35be07d1a19af4ce8a233a6ebc246d708ee08ceec994ce30049e6e9fe479b7a2a7599e6e9b2b67fca695763fa3c20ad
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211984/cdc_211984_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 89.34 KB ]