Headaches Associated With Personal Protective Equipment – A Cross‐Sectional Study Among Frontline Healthcare Workers During COVID‐19

Ong, Jonathan; Chandra, Bharatendu; Goh, Yihui; Tang, Jonathan Zhe Ying; Sooi, Kenneth W.X.; Tan, Y. H.; Tan, Benjamin Yq; Teoh, Hock Luen; Ong, Shi Ting; Allen, David Michael; Sharma, Vijay K.

doi:10.1111/head.13811

Cited by 385 publications

(519 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…40 Furthermore, a recent study highlighted that, healthcare workers in Singapore, mandated to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 face mask and protective eyewear develop de novo PPEassociated headaches or exacerbation of their preexisting headache disorders. 41 There is also the possibility that COVID-19 as a trigger for headache may induce chronic headache disorders such as new daily persistent headache. Therefore, the careful follow-up of the COVID-19 patients will be more important in the next months.…”

Section: Angiotensin II (Ang Ii) Produced By Ace Acts Through At1mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 is a Real Headache!

2020

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After the emergence of a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was initially characterized by fever, sore throat, cough, and dyspnea, mainly manifestations of respiratory system. However, other manifestations such as headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell were added to the clinical spectrum, during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reports on the neurological findings are increasing rapidly and headache seems to be the leader on the symptom list. Headache was reported in 11%-34% of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but clinical features of these headaches were totally missing in available publications. According to our initial experience, significant features of headache presentation in the symptomatic COVID-19 patients were new-onset, moderate-severe, bilateral headache with pulsating or pressing quality in the temporoparietal, forehead or periorbital region. The most striking features of the headache were sudden to gradual onset and poor response to common analgesics, or high relapse rate, that was limited to the active phase of the COVID-19. Symptomatic COVID-19 patients, around 6%-10%, also reported headache as a presenting symptom. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms of headache include activation of peripheral trigeminal nerve endings by the SARS-CoV-2 directly or through the vasculopathy and/or increased circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and hypoxia. We concluded that as a common non-respiratory symptom of COVID-19, headache should not be overlooked, and its characteristics should be recorded with scrutiny.

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Section: Angiotensin II (Ang Ii) Produced By Ace Acts Through At1mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 is a Real Headache!

2020

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“…As of July 30, 2020, 44% of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. occurred in nursing homes, which translates into 62,925 lives lost in total [25]. Research also indicates that between 61.3-90.0% frontline healthcare professionals are women [1,23,26] and, in addition to an elevated risk of direct exposure to con rmed cases of COVID-19, most of these healthcare professionals often face substantial mental health issues, such as anxiety, insomnia, and depression [27,28].…”

Section: Study Protocol Registration: Prospero Crd42020194003mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-based health solutions for challenges women face during pandemics like COVID-19: A systematic review protocol

Wagers

Lopez

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background One of the most vulnerable populations to COVID-19 is women. Multiple factors associated with violence against women (i.e. sexual assault, domestic violence, homelessness) create an increased vulnerability for women during the COVID pandemic. Women also constitute the majority of older nursing home residents and healthcare workers (e.g., nurses), who have the most pronounced exposure to COVID-19. These factors combined with resource restraints like rationing and lack of access to healthcare can further exacerbate women’s physical and psychological health issues. While literature has well-documented challenges that women face during COVID-19, there is a lack of evidence-based solutions that have the potential to mitigate these difficulties. Therefore, to address this issue, we aim to conduct a systematic review of the literature to: (1) identify interventions designed for women in the context of pandemics, (2) describe the characteristics and effects of these interventions concerning the distinctive traits of women and pandemics, and (3) present evidence-based health solutions for women to mitigate challenges they face amid and beyond COVID-19. Methods A systematic review of literature will be conducted on databases including PubMed, PsycINFO on the EBSCO platform, CINAHL on the EBSCO platform, and Scopus, based on a search strategy developed in consultation with an experienced medical librarian. Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles will be screened against eligibility criteria developed a priori. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses procedures will be adopted as the reporting framework, and data extracted (e.g., intervention details) will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary research team. Results NA for now—This is a protocol study. Conclusions Findings of this study will fill an important void in the literature. Considering that, in times of pandemic, women are especially subject to grim health disparities, like pronounced exposure to COVID-19, reproductive health issues, elevated domestic violence, increased mental health challenges, and lack of access to healthcare services, the need for evidence-based health solutions that could address these unique challenges is of paramount importance. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and effects of health solutions available to women in the context of pandemics can also help researchers identify areas of improvement regarding intervention design and development. This may further safeguard women’s health and wellbeing amid pandemics like COVID-19 and beyond. Study Protocol Registration: PROSPERO CRD42020194003

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“…On the other hand, donning of the PPE often associates with uncomfortable and cumbersome. It was reported that PPE can cause headache and difficulty breathing, indicating PPE itself may potentially harm to healthcare professionals in some situations [10] , thus PPE-associated harms can not be neglected during COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of goggle-associated harms to health and working status of nurses during management of COVID-19

Feng²,

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background To investigate the impact of goggles on their health and clinical practice during management of patients with COVID-19.Methods 231 nurse practitioners were enrolled who worked in isolation region in designated hospitals to admit patients with COVID-19 in China. Demographic data, goggle-associated symptoms and underlying reasons, incidence of medical errors or exposures, the effects of fog in goggles on practice were all collected. Data were stratified and analyzed by age or working experience. Risk factors of goggle-associated medical errors were analyzed by multivariable logistical regression analysis.Findings Goggle-associated symptoms and foggy goggles widely presented in nurses. The most common symptoms were headache, skin pressure injury and dizziness. Headache, vomit and nausea were significantly fewer reported in nurses with longer working experience while rash occurred higher in this group. The underlying reasons included tightness of goggles, unsuitable design and uncomfortable materials. The working status of nurses with more working experience was less impacted by goggles. 11.3% nurses occurred medical exposures in clinical practice while 19.5% nurses made medical errors on patients. The risk factors for medical errors were time interval before adapting to goggle-associated discomforts, adjusting goggles and headache.

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Headaches Associated With Personal Protective Equipment – A Cross‐Sectional Study Among Frontline Healthcare Workers During COVID‐19

Cited by 385 publications

References 31 publications

COVID‐19 is a Real Headache!

COVID‐19 is a Real Headache!

Evidence-based health solutions for challenges women face during pandemics like COVID-19: A systematic review protocol

The impact of goggle-associated harms to health and working status of nurses during management of COVID-19

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