N95 respirator use during advanced pregnancy

Abstract

Background To determine the physiological and subjective effects of wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (N95 FFR) in advanced stages of pregnancy. Methods Healthy pregnant women (n = 22) and nonpregnant women (n = 22) had physiological and subjective measurements taken with and without wearing an N95 FFR during exercise and postural sedentary activities over a 1-hour period. Results There were no differences between the pregnant and nonpregnant women with respect to heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, transcutaneous carbon dioxide level, chest wall temperature, aural temperature, and subjective perceptions of exertion and thermal comfort. No significant effect on fetal heart rate was noted. Conclusions Healthy pregnant women wearing an N95 FFR for 1 hour during exercise and sedentary activities did not exhibit any significant differences in measured physiological and subjective responses compared with nonpregnant women.

Effect of wearing an N95 respirator on infrared tympanic membrane temperature measurements

“…Data for the current study were drawn from subjects in two separate Project BREATHE [11] reports (investigations a (not published) and b [12]) totaling 67 individuals. Investigation a subject demographic mean values (SD) for men (n = 12) were age 22.6 years (2.7), height 180.8 cm (7.9), weight 84.1 kg (16.5) and Body Mass Index (BMI) 25.7 kg/m 2 (4.8), and for women (n = 9) were age 23.7 years (3.3), height 166.4 cm (4.0), weight 65.6 kg (6.5) and BMI 23.7 kg/m 2 (2.6).…”

“…Investigation a subject demographic mean values (SD) for men (n = 12) were age 22.6 years (2.7), height 180.8 cm (7.9), weight 84.1 kg (16.5) and Body Mass Index (BMI) 25.7 kg/m 2 (4.8), and for women (n = 9) were age 23.7 years (3.3), height 166.4 cm (4.0), weight 65.6 kg (6.5) and BMI 23.7 kg/m 2 (2.6). Investigation b [12] mean values (SD) of non-pregnant women subjects (n = 22) were age 26.1 years (4.0), height 167.4 cm (5.9), weight 67.5 kg (9.5) BMI 24.0 kg/m 2 (3.2), and for pregnant women subjects (n = 22; 13–35 weeks gestation) were age 27.9 years (3.1), height 166.6 cm (5.4), weight 75.2 kg (18.9), BMI 26.8 kg/m 2 (6.3) and mean gestation period 20.6 weeks (4.6). All subjects underwent a screening medical examination by a licensed physician immediately prior to being studied and none had evidence of ear infection or was febrile.…”

“…All subjects underwent a screening medical examination by a licensed physician immediately prior to being studied and none had evidence of ear infection or was febrile. Studies a and b [12] were approved by the NIOSH Human Subjects Review Board, and all subjects provided oral and written informed consent.…”

“…Subjects first underwent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) respirator quantitative fit testing [14] to ensure adequate fit and all subjects passed fit testing on the N95 FFR models used in investigations a and b [12] (none equipped with an exhalation valve). TMT was measured with a Welch/Allyn Pro 4000 infrared thermometer (Braun GmbH, Kronberg, FRG), a factory-calibrated unit with a manufacturer-rated accuracy of 0.2 °C that has been previously validated [15].…”

“…The N95 class of FFR (N95 FFR) is the most commonly used respirator in U.S. healthcare [9], but limited scientific data is available about its impact on TMT [10]. This investigation is part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Project BREATHE (Better Respiratory Equipment using Advanced Technologies for Healthcare Employees), which is addressing respiratory protection needs of healthcare workers [11] and some of the results of which have previously been published [12, 13]. The current study was undertaken to assess the impact of wearing N95 FFRs on infrared TMT measurements.…”