Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus was discovered in China in late 2019 and subsequently triggered a global pandemic. Dentists, like many other health professionals, are at an increased risk of contracting the virus as they work in close proximity to patients, especially when performing aerosol-generating procedures. Thus, in order for dentists to protect themselves and their patients, it is recommended that practitioners wear filtering facepiece 2 (FFP2) respirators. The prolonged use of these FFP2 respirators has been linked to several side effects. The aim of this paper is to assess the perceived experience associated with N95/FFP2 respirators based on the available literature and data collected through an online survey completed by Italian dental professionals. Articles were included up to May 2020 and literature searches were conducted through The National Library of Medicine, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase databases. The search terms included COVID-19, respirators, masks, and discomfort. An online survey was administered to 256 Italian dentists. The results from this survey were in agreement with the available literature. The findings concurred that the prolonged use of respirators was associated with headaches (47.5%), severe exertion and discomfort (50.8%), moderate concentration problems (54.3%), moderate breathing difficulties (63.5%), and consequently, an impaired work ability (85.5%). These findings were not influenced by the number of hours spent wearing the respirator. Despite several side effects, FFP2 respirators are fundamental in protecting dentists and their importance was acknowledged.
Subject
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference30 articles.
1. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding
2. Advice on the Use of Masks in the Community, During Home Care and in Healtcare Settings in the Context of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Outbreak
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/advice-on-the-use-of-masks-2019-ncov.pdf
3. Communicable Disease Threats Report
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases
4. Time Kinetics of Viral Clearance and Resolution of Symptoms in Novel Coronavirus Infection
Cited by
30 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献