The Association of the Prolonged Use of Personal Protective Equipment and Face Mask During COVID-19 Pandemic With Various Dermatologic Disease Manifestations: A Systematic Review.

Ghassan M Barnawi,Azhar M Barnawi,Sahal Samarkandy

doi:10.7759/cureus.16544

Abstract

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that represents a great global health concern. It is transmitted between individuals through respiratory particles, and as there is no established effective treatment currently for the virus, it is necessary to use protective strategies such as face masks. Healthcare providers and individuals serving outdoors are required to work for long durations wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Wearing such protective equipment may have short- or long-term effects on the skin health of these individuals. We aim to assess the prevalence and types of dermatological manifestations associated with wearing PPE for a long time during the COVID-19 pandemic period by reviewing the previous studies conducted on this subject.The medical literature, including the databases of PubMed and Google Scholar, from 2019 to 2021 was explored. The search terms included a combination of "Impact of PPE and dermatological outcome," "Wearing PPE for a long time and dermatological manifestations," "Face mask-wearing and dermatological complications," and "Wearing PPE and dermatological manifestations." The inclusion criteria are original full-text articles that reported the association of wearing PPE and dermatological manifestations and outcomes.A total of 70 articles were obtained, among which only 10 articles were eligible for the inclusion criteria. These 10 studies included a total number of 7,643 participants and covered different countries of the world. The extracted data were summarized in a table to facilitate the collection of the important findings.Dermatological complications are frequently reported in people wearing PPE and face masks, especially the ones caused due to PPE among healthcare providers as they tend to use these protective measures for longer durations.

Highlights

BackgroundThe novel strain of coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in late November 2019 [1]
*Moderate eczema 91%, mild eczema 9%, moderate acne 33%, and mild acne 67%. *The most prevalent dermatoses were irritant contact hand dermatitis (45%), acne/folliculitis (24%), and eczema flare-up (28%). *One patient was diagnosed with Darier’s disease, exacerbated by protective equipment (PPE). *Hand eczema is one of the most common occupational diseases, and given the ongoing use of PPE and increased hand hygiene in both hospitals and public settings, we are likely to see an increase in these conditions, in both primary and secondary care. *With the use of PPE, there
The prevalence of the dermatological adverse reaction varied from 42.8% to 95.1% [17,18]. The prevalence of such conditions and their types vary between the different studies included, and this returns to the variation in the study populations and their skin susceptibility, the time investigated for the usage of PPE, and the risk factors

Summary

Introduction

BackgroundThe novel strain of coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in late November 2019 [1]. In the majority of cases, PPE is restricted to respiratory protective equipment, most commonly a surgical or cotton mask, some visors are available [6]. These have been shown to offer the highest preventive capabilities by serving as an immediate barrier between the respiratory tract and the surrounding environment [7]. The efficacy of face masks is highly reliant on how well it fits the contours of each individual face, the material, and the health of the individual in question [7] This has led to increased popularity in respirator masks, which are being designed to create an adaptable facial seal, while being recyclable - a definite improvement in traditional surgical masks [7]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion