Face masks are still a good idea at the doctor’s office, study finds

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Signs urging everyone to wear masks have largely disappeared from places like supermarkets and schools in the third year of the covid-19 pandemic. But they remain in many medical offices, and a study published Monday he says it might still be a good idea.

Even after the expiration of the US public health emergency declaration and with many Americans moving away from pandemic precautions, masks continue to offer some protection, reducing the risk of contracting covid-19 in a community setting like in a close interaction between doctor and patient, according to the study, which reviewed the latest science on the protective quality of masks.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also found that there was no significant difference in protection between surgical masks and N95 respirators in a health facility. N95s may be slightly more beneficial, but that wasn’t entirely clear from the research.

The researchers reviewed three randomized trials and 21 observational studies from around the world to understand what the evidence says about the effectiveness of N95, surgical, and cloth masks in reducing the transmission of Covid-19.

Some of the research they used had limitations. The evidence on surgical versus cloth masks, for example, or more or less consistent mask use was “insufficient,” the researchers wrote.

In an editorial published along with the new study, Drs. Tara Palmore of the George Washington University School of Medicine and David Henderson of the National Institutes of Health point out that mask use has become a politicized issue during the pandemic. Because no gold-standard evidence on their protection is available, they say, masks for patients and healthcare personnel should be considered a good safety measure.

Laboratory studies show that surgery masks and respirators are good at limiting the spread of aerosols and droplets from people sick with the flu, coronavirus, and other respiratory viruses. Although they are not 100% effective, they substantially reduce the amounts of virus that are expelled when someone talks or coughs.

There can still be transmission of a virus from patient to staff or from staff to patient when both people are masked, but it is rare.

Palmore and Henderson say one of the main reasons they believe people should wear masks in healthcare settings is because the people who work in these places, for a variety of reasons, are “notorious for coming to work when they’re sick.”

previous investigations has shown that between half and two-thirds of people working in healthcare settings have worked while having some form of respiratory symptoms. People who are pre-symptomatic can also spread the virus, or it can be hard to tell if someone is sick if they’ve been vaccinated and have milder symptoms, so asking people who are sick to wear a mask may not stop the spread. . .

“Unnecessarily exposing patients to infections that can be prevented by masking seems directly contrary to the principles of patient safety,” the commentary reads. “For all these reasons, we recommend remaining masked during interactions with patients.”

Dr. Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairsagrees that it is important that health systems do everything possible to prevent the transmission of Covid-19, including that workers wear a mask during interactions with patients, “especially among our most vulnerable patients, and sometimes it is It’s hard to know who is more vulnerable and immunocompromised,” said Madad, who was not involved in the new research.

He said people don’t necessarily have to wear them in elevators or hallways, but during clinical encounters, it’s good to play it safe.

Now that people have gotten used to masks, he says, with flu season and RSV season coming up this fall, more healthcare workers should consider wearing them.

“We all realize the importance and usefulness of a mask,” Madad said. “A safety culture shows that you are being respectful of your patients.”

She added that if a patient would prefer the provider not wear a mask, such as if they have difficulty hearing or understanding the other person, that should be fine as well. But she says the default should be a mask in clinical interactions.

“As much as we want to downplay it, it’s no longer an emergency, but it certainly is a threat.”