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OBJECTIVE: Recommendations for widespread use of face mask, including suggested type, should reflect the current published evidence and concurrently be studied. This review evaluates the preclinical and clinical evidence on use of cloth and surgical face masks in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and proposes a trial to gather further evidence. METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Studies of SARS-CoV-2 and face masks and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of n ≥ 50 for other respiratory illnesses were included. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included in this study. One preclinical and 1 observational cohort clinical study found significant benefit of masks in limiting SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Eleven RCTs in a meta-analysis studying other respiratory illnesses found no significant benefit of masks (±hand hygiene) for influenza-like-illness symptoms nor laboratory confirmed viruses. One RCT found a significant benefit of surgical masks compared with cloth masks. CONCLUSION: There is limited available preclinical and clinical evidence for face mask benefit in SARS-CoV-2. RCT evidence for other respiratory viral illnesses shows no significant benefit of masks in limiting transmission but is of poor quality and not SARS-CoV-2 specific. There is an urgent need for evidence from randomized controlled trials to investigate the efficacy of surgical and cloth masks on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and user reported outcomes such as comfort and compliance.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/jebm.12424

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Evid Based Med

Publication Date

05/2021

Volume

14

Pages

97 - 111

Keywords

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, face masks, systematic review, trial proposal, COVID-19, Humans, Masks, Pandemics, Pneumonia, Viral, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Respiratory Tract Infections, SARS-CoV-2, Textiles