Table 2.
RCTs testing the efficacy of different protective masks in term of laboratory‐confirmed influenza, ILI, laboratory‐confirmed other respiratory viruses and CRI
| Author | Participants | Medical mask | N95 fit tested | N95 not fit tested | N95 fit tested targeted use | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loeb et al., 2009 |
442 nurses 8 Hospitals |
Laboratory‐confirmed influenza |
50/212 (23.6%) | 48/210 (22.9%) |
Absolute risk difference: −0.73%; 95% CI [−8.8 to 7.3]; p = .86 |
||
| Laboratory‐confirmed other respiratory viruses | 20/212 (9.4%) | 22/210 (10.5%) |
Absolute risk difference: 1.04%; 95% CI [−4.67 to 6.76]; p = .72 |
||||
| ILI | 9/212 (4.2%) | 2/210 (1.0%) |
Absolute risk difference: −3.29%; 95% CI [−6.31 to 0.28]; p = .6 |
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| MacIntyre et al., 2011 |
1,441 HCW 15 hospitals |
Laboratory‐confirmed influenza |
5/492 (1%) | 3/461 (0,7%) | 0/488 (0%) | OR N95 fit‐tested versus medical mask: 0.64; 95% CI [0.15 to 2.68]; p = .54 | |
| Laboratory‐confirmed other respiratory viruses | 13/492 (2.6%) | 8/461 (1.7%) | 5/488 (1%) | OR N95 fit‐tested versus medical mask: 0.69; 95% CI [0.24 to 2.03]; p = .5 | |||
| ILI | 3/492 (0.6%) | 1/461 (0,2%) | 2/488 (0.4%) | OR N95 fit‐tested versus medical mask: 0.35; 95% CI [0.04 to 3.42]; p = .37 | |||
| CRI | 33/492 (6.7%) | 21/461 (4.6%) | 16/488 (3.3%) | OR N95 fit‐tested versus medical mask: 0.76; 95% CI [0.27 to 2.13]; p = .6 | |||
| MacIntyre et al., 2013 |
1669 HCW 19 Hospitals |
Laboratory‐confirmed influenza |
1/572 (0.2%) | 3/581 (0.5%) | 2/516 (0.4%) | p = .3241 | |
| Laboratory‐confirmed other respiratory viruses | 19/572 (3.3%) | 13/581 (2.2%) | 17/516 (3.3%) | p = .4394 | |||
| ILI | 4/572 (0.7%) | 6/581 (1.0%) | 2/516 (0.4%) | p = .5416 | |||
| CRI | 98/572 (17.1%) | 42/581 (7.2%) | 61/516 (11.8%) | p = .0238 | |||
| Radonovich et al., 2019 | 2,862 HCW a |
Laboratory‐confirmed influenza |
207/2512 (8.2%) | 193/2668 (7.2%) |
Difference: 1.0% per 1,000 HCW season 95% CI [−0.5 to 2.5]; p = .18 |
||
| Laboratory‐confirmed other respiratory viruses |
371/2512 (14.8%) |
417/2668 (15.2%) |
Difference: −8.6%, per 1,000 HCW season 95% CI [−28.2 to 10.9]; p = .39 |
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| ILI | 128/2512 (8.2%) | 166/2668 (7.2%) |
Difference: −11.3%, per 1,000 HCW season 95% CI [−28.2 to 10.9]; p = .08 |
Abbreviations: CRI, clinical respiratory illness; HCW, healthcare worker; ILI, influenza‐like illness; OR, odds ratio.
Out of 2,868 HCWs, 1,416 participated more than 1 year for a total of 5,180 HCW season.