Training and Fit Testing of Health Care Personnel for Reusable Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators Compared With Disposable N95 Respirators

Lisa A Pompeii; Colleen S Kraft; Erik A Brownsword; Morgan A Lane; Elisa Benavides; Janelle Rios; Lewis J Radonovich Jr

doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4806

Training and Fit Testing of Health Care Personnel for Reusable Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators Compared With Disposable N95 Respirators

JAMA. 2020 May 12;323(18):1849-1852. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.4806.

Authors

Lisa A Pompeii¹, Colleen S Kraft², Erik A Brownsword³, Morgan A Lane³, Elisa Benavides¹, Janelle Rios⁴, Lewis J Radonovich Jr⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
² Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston.
⁵ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Abstract

This study examines the feasibility of rapidly training and fit testing health care workers to use elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMRs), widely used in construction and manufacturing, as an alternative to N95 respirators during periods of shortage.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Disposable Equipment*
Elastomers
Equipment Design
Equipment Reuse*
Feasibility Studies
Female
Health Personnel*
Humans
Male
Masks*
Occupational Exposure
Respiratory Protective Devices / standards*

Substances

Elastomers