The Physiological Impact of N95 Masks on Medical Staff

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00173017

Enrollment

Registered

2005-09-15

Start date

2003-08-31

Completion date

2005-06-30

Last updated

2005-09-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hypercapnia, Hypoxemia

Keywords

N95 mask, medical staff, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, neurological study

Brief summary

Wearing N95 masks may have adverse physical effect on medical staff

Detailed description

Wearing N95 masks results in hypooxygenemia and hypercapnia which reduce working efficiency and the ability to make correct decision. Medical staff are at increased risk of getting 'Severe acute respiratory syndrome'(SARS), and wearing N95 masks is highly recommended by experts worldwide. However, dizziness, headache, and short of breath are commonly experienced by the medical staff wearing N95 masks. The ability to make correct decision may be hampered, too. The purpose of the study was therefore to evaluate the physiological impact of N95 mask on medical staff.

Interventions

DEVICEwearing N95 masks

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

SINGLE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* medical staff

Exclusion criteria

* pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
EEG change, ABG change, change in scores of attention test, etc	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
symptoms wearing N95 masks	—

Countries

Taiwan

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026