Major articleEffectiveness of facemasks for pediatric populations against submicron-sized aerosols
Graphical abstract
Section snippets
PPE selection
In the absence of any studies covering existing brands of facemasks for pediatric use, a literature search was undertaken. Using the key words children's face masks, kids face mask, and pediatric face masks, at least 6 facemasks brands marketed for pediatric populations were identified based on the number of references appearing in the search. Three of these could be conveniently ordered and were selected for the study. These facemasks are subsequently referred to as P1, P2, and P3.
To validate
Results
Figure 3 shows the penetration of the different brands as a function of particle size. In Figure 3, the average values and the upper end of the standard deviation for 3 samples are shown. Because the penetration was found to vary by several orders of magnitude for different brands, different logarithmic scale limits are used for each brand in Figure 3.
Beginning with the validation experiments involving adult respirators, the average (for the 3 samples tested) maximum penetration of A1 at
Discussion
Although low penetration is important, facemasks also need to be designed keeping subject comfort in mind. This is particularly true in children to ensure compliance. Fibers that capture aerosols also resist the flow, resulting in a pressure drop across the PPE. In our studies, for any single PPE, pressure drop increased with the flow rate (Table 1). Student t test revealed no significant difference in pressure drop across A1 and A2 (P > .05). Performing a 1-way analysis of variance analysis on
References (38)
- et al.
Do N95 respirators provide 95% Protection level against airborne viruses, and how Adequate are surgical masks?
Am J Infect Control
(2006) - et al.
Performance evaluation of filtering facepiece respirators using virus aerosols
Am J Infect Control
(2013) - et al.
The role of particle size in Aerosolised pathogen transmission: a Review
J Infect
(2011) - et al.
Characterization of expiration air jets and droplet size distributions immediately at the mouth opening
J Aerosol Sci
(2009) - et al.
Size distribution of exhaled particles in the size range from 0.01 to 2.0 microns
J Aerosol Sci
(2010) - et al.
Evaluation of the Survivability of MS2 Viral aerosols Deposited on filtering face Piece respirator samples Incorporating Antimicrobial Technologies
Am J Infect Control
(2010) - Food and Drug Administration. Masks and N95 respirators. 2014. Available from:...
- FDA News Release. FDA clears first single use face mask for children. 2014. Available from:...
- US Food and Drug Administration. CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. Available from:...
- et al.
Botulinum toxin As a biological Weapon: medical and public health Management
JAMA
(2001)
Impact of Inhalation exposure Modality and particle size on the respiratory Deposition of ricin in BALB/c Mice
Inhal Toxicol
Influenza virus in human exhaled Breath: an Observational study
PLoS One
Measurements of airborne influenza virus in aerosol particles from human coughs
PLoS One
Review of aerosol transmission of influenza a virus
Emerg Infect Dis
Concentrations and size distributions of airborne influenza A viruses measured indoors at a health centre, a day-care centre and on aeroplanes
J R Soc Interface
Fitting characteristics of Eighteen N95 filtering-facepiece respirators
J Occup Environ Hyg
Anthropometric reference data for children and adults: United States, 2007–2010
Cited by (0)
This study was funded by 2 Medical Countermeasures Initiative projects (MCM2DXXXXX205 and MCM2JXXXXX270HT) from the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats of the US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Md. Dr. Guha is a research participant in the Food and Drug Administration via Oak Ridge Associated Universities. The contents of this article do not necessarily represent policy of the US Food and Drug Administration or the Department of Health and Human Services.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.