Respiratory protection: what SARS-CoV-2 has taught us.

Abstract

This review summarizes the epidemiological evidence for respiratory personal protective equipment for SARA-CoV-2, a topic of considerable controversy. The main findings are that the observational studies and non-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) randomized trials do not provide clear evidence that the N95 respirators offer superior protection over surgical masks. A randomized controlled trial on COVID-19 provides evidence that the absolute risk to healthcare workers over time using surgical masks is similar to N95 respirators. The implications of the findings are that surgical masks and N95 respirators can be considered for respiratory protection in healthcare workers.