Assessment & mitigation of O2 therapy driven spread of COVID-19
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Abstract
BACKGROUND
Exhalation exposure from patients to healthcare workers (HCWs), while using a nasal cannula or simple O2 mask used in treating COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases, is a present and future risk. Little is known on exhalation dispersal through these devices, and on mitigating the viral exposure to those in the vicinity.
METHODS
Respiration through O2 therapy devices was studied with a supine manikin equipped with a controllable mechanical lung by measuring aerosol density and flow with direct imaging. Dispersal direction and distances were quantified while placing a surgical mask loosely over the devices and contrasted with unmitigated oxygenation device use. Exhalation jets were examined over the entire range of oxygenation rates used in treatment.
RESULTS
Exhalation jets travel 0.35 ± 0.02 m upward while wearing a nasal cannula, and 0.29 ± 0.02 m laterally while wearing a simple O2 mask posing significant inhalation risk. Placing a surgical facemask loosely over the oxygenation device is demonstrated to alleviate exposure by reducing and deflecting the exhalation jets from being launched forward, and by reducing exhalations from being launched directly higher over a supine patient. Less than 12% of the exhaled breath is observed to reach above a masked face where HCWs would be present, independent of oxygen flow rates.
CONCLUSIONS
Exhalation jets from both the nasal cannula or simple O2 mask were found to concentrate aerosol-laden exhalations directly in front of a patient’s face. Exposure is effectively mitigated with a surgical mask which reduces and redirects the exhalation downward away from HCWs.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2021.02.06.21251266: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar …
SciScore for 10.1101/2021.02.06.21251266: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
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