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COVID-19 research briefs: Personal protective equipment prevents transmission of COVID-19 in Chinese healthcare workers
Clinical Question
Can personal protective equipment protect healthcare workers who are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 from developing COVID-19?
Bottom line
Healthcare workers in Wuhan who were wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when exposed to SARS-CoV-2 did not become infected. 2c
Reference
Study design: Cross-sectional
Funding: Unknown/not stated
Setting: Inpatient (any location)
Synopsis
Research Brief #44: These authors followed 420 healthcare workers who were "on loan" to Wuhan from two hospitals in Guangzhou. For 6 weeks, the healthcare providers worked 4 to 6 hours per day for an average of 5.4 days per week. On average, they worked about 16 hours per week in intensive care units. All had direct contact with patients and reported at least one aerosol-inducing encounter. All of them wore PPE: the full body armor of masks, goggles, face shields, gowns, gloves, and so forth. On returning home, they were quarantined for t2 weeks and tested. None developed symptoms of COVID-19, none had a positive polymerase chain reaction result, and none had IgG or IgM antibodies.
Reviewer
Henry C. Barry, MD, MS
Professor
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Comments
what type of masks were worn?
This is important information that is not discussed
N95s??
What is the data for surgical masks? Because this seems to be an airborne disease and here we are with droplet precautions, and, not surprisingly, a lot of outbreaks in hospitals.