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Effect of N-95 Mask on Oxygen Saturation Level in Health Care Workers and Their Experience While Using N-95 Mask
Author: Devika Sinha, Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, Rajeshwary Aroor, Rashmitha Reddy, Shravan Alva
Publication: Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU
Publisher:Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Date:Jan 1, 2022
Copyright © 2022, Rights Managed by Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart • New York
Abstract
Background N-95 masks are in high demand during this COVID-19 pandemic but wearing an N-95 mask is a real challenge to the health workers during their duty hours. The present study aims to measure the effect of the N-95 mask on oxygen saturation level in the blood and the discomforts experienced while using it.
Materials and Methods Oxygen saturation was measured in 80 health care workers before and after wearing the N-95 mask continuously for more than 6 hours. The participants were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding various discomforts of N-95 mask usage, which consisted of 14 questions.
Results The most common discomfort was pain around the pinna followed by difficulty in breathing and fogging of spectacles or goggles. In addition, 71% of them had decreased oxygen saturation by 1%.
Conclusion N-95 mask can alter the oxygen saturation but it does not produce significant effects in healthy individuals. It can significantly affect patients with compromised airways.
Keywords
N-95 mask - health care workers - oxygen saturation - SpO2 - COVID-19 - discomfort
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Results
The results revealed that 51% of the participants were familiar with the N-95 mask. The majority (67%) did not get acclimatized to wearing the mask and continued to face the same discomforts. Pain around the pinna (70%), difficulty in communication (58%), fogging of glasses/spectacles (55%), difficulty in breathing (50%), itching over the face (41%), and mouth breathing (33%) were the most common complaints ([Fig. 1A, B]). Pain over the dorsum of the nose and frequent thirst were some of the other reported complaints. The mean pretest oxygen saturation was 98.4%, and the value at the end was 97.33%. In addition, 71% of the participants showed a decrease in the blood oxygen saturation level, whereas the remaining 29% did not change. The majority of them had only a 1% decrease in oxygen saturation ([Fig. 2]). The majority of the participants (76%) complained of decreased work efficiency at the end of 6 to 8 hours of duty after continuously wearing the mask. There was no statistical difference between 8-hour duty and 6-hour duty participants ([Table 1]). The participants were asked to rate the effectiveness of the N-95 mask in protecting them from getting infected. The majority of them gave a score of 3 out of 5. Those who did 8 hours of duty felt that they were more exhausted at the end of the duty than those who did 6 hours. Most participants felt that masks of variable sizes should be available to suit one's facial structure. People with a smaller facial structure felt the need to readjust the mask repeatedly as the mask kept becoming loose....