Safety and Comfort of Wearing Medical Masks in Adult Surgical Patients After General Anesthesia During the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Retrospective, Observational Cohort Study.
Feng Lv, Qiuju Xiong, Su Min and 7 others
PMID 35227589WHAT IT FOUND
Oxygen levels after anesthesia were not lower when patients wore medical masks in recovery.
Masks were associated with lower comfort scores and a shorter time in recovery.
Key findings
01Patients wearing masks had similar oxygen saturation to patients not wearing masks, both on 40% oxygen and on room air.
02No patient had oxygen saturation below 90% in either group.
03Comfort scores were lower with masks, 6 versus 7 on a 0 to 10 scale.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Patients were not randomised; the groups came from different calendar periods, so changes in staffing, infection control, and airway care may have affected the results. The masked group received several measures together: a medical mask, oxygen through an anesthetic face mask, dexmedetomidine, thorough airway aspiration, personal protective equipment, and closer monitoring, so the contribution of the mask alone cannot be separated. Patients at higher risk of postoperative hypoxemia were excluded, including those with preoperative hypoxemia, emergency thoracic anesthesia, surgery longer than 3 hours, direct ICU transfer, and BMI over 35 kg/m2. Headache, breathlessness, nose pressure, and rash were not recorded, so mask-related symptoms may have been missed. No patients had confirmed COVID-19, so the findings do not address mask use in infected patients.
Declared interests
Not reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that masks are safe for all postoperative patients. This study excluded higher-risk patients and did not record several mask-related symptoms, and the masked group also received other pandemic precautions.