Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”

<p>Wearing a mask for a long time, particularly N95, is sometimes uncomfortable, annoying, and confining, making catching breath difficult and reducing the oxygen level in the blood. The study aimed to investigate the change in blood oxygen level when wearing an N95 mask for three hours among...

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Main Authors: Amr Bayoumi, Maha Shawki, Amro Abdulaziz, Mohammed Allam, Mohamed Mosleh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy Publishing Center 2022-06-01
Series:Advances in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Dental Research
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Online Access:http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/AMPDR/article/view/470
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author Amr Bayoumi
Maha Shawki
Amro Abdulaziz
Mohammed Allam
Mohamed Mosleh
author_facet Amr Bayoumi
Maha Shawki
Amro Abdulaziz
Mohammed Allam
Mohamed Mosleh
author_sort Amr Bayoumi
collection DOAJ
description <p>Wearing a mask for a long time, particularly N95, is sometimes uncomfortable, annoying, and confining, making catching breath difficult and reducing the oxygen level in the blood. The study aimed to investigate the change in blood oxygen level when wearing an N95 mask for three hours among dental practitioners in dental clinics and the impact of low O2 levels on the general status of students while working in a stressful environment. <strong>Material and methods</strong>. The sample included 82 adult healthy senior dental students attending the student oral surgery clinical sessions. All Participants had their oxygen saturation Spo<sub>2 </sub>measured using a portable pulse oximeter before, 1hour, 2hours, and 3 hours after wearing the mask, and were allowed to describe their feeling of discomfort throughout the study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and heart rate (HR) were also measured before and 3 hours after wearing the mask. <strong>Results</strong>. 84.15% (n= 69) of the participants reported some discomfort affecting their general status and clinical performance. There was a statistically significant increase in mean heart rate after three hours (<em>P</em>-value = 0.001) while there was no statistically significant change in mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure after three hours (<em>P</em>-value = 0.630) and (<em>P</em>-value=0.407) respectively. On the other hand, the mean Oxygen saturation after three hours showed a statistically significantly lower value compared with baseline measurement. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. This study revealed a decrease in the oxygen saturation (SpO2) and a slight increase in pulse rate compared to baseline values in all students three hours after wearing an N95 face mask. In addition, the N95 mask induced discomfort in breathing, a decrease in physical performance, and increased fatigue not related to prolonged standing and stress. </p><p> </p>
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institution Kabale University
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series Advances in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Dental Research
spelling doaj-art-5a18fbc1fc9541f682ecbaabe8463aa92025-08-20T03:28:06ZengAcademy Publishing CenterAdvances in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Dental Research2812-488X2812-48982022-06-012101502110.21622/ampdr.2022.02.1.015206Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”Amr Bayoumi0Maha Shawki1Amro Abdulaziz2Mohammed Allam3Mohamed Mosleh4Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University and King Abdulaziz UniversityProfessor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA and Cairo UniversityGeneral practitioner at Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA.General practitioner at Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA.Assistant professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Beni-Suef University<p>Wearing a mask for a long time, particularly N95, is sometimes uncomfortable, annoying, and confining, making catching breath difficult and reducing the oxygen level in the blood. The study aimed to investigate the change in blood oxygen level when wearing an N95 mask for three hours among dental practitioners in dental clinics and the impact of low O2 levels on the general status of students while working in a stressful environment. <strong>Material and methods</strong>. The sample included 82 adult healthy senior dental students attending the student oral surgery clinical sessions. All Participants had their oxygen saturation Spo<sub>2 </sub>measured using a portable pulse oximeter before, 1hour, 2hours, and 3 hours after wearing the mask, and were allowed to describe their feeling of discomfort throughout the study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and heart rate (HR) were also measured before and 3 hours after wearing the mask. <strong>Results</strong>. 84.15% (n= 69) of the participants reported some discomfort affecting their general status and clinical performance. There was a statistically significant increase in mean heart rate after three hours (<em>P</em>-value = 0.001) while there was no statistically significant change in mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure after three hours (<em>P</em>-value = 0.630) and (<em>P</em>-value=0.407) respectively. On the other hand, the mean Oxygen saturation after three hours showed a statistically significantly lower value compared with baseline measurement. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. This study revealed a decrease in the oxygen saturation (SpO2) and a slight increase in pulse rate compared to baseline values in all students three hours after wearing an N95 face mask. In addition, the N95 mask induced discomfort in breathing, a decrease in physical performance, and increased fatigue not related to prolonged standing and stress. </p><p> </p>http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/AMPDR/article/view/470covid-19pandemicdental studentsn95 face maskoxygen saturation
spellingShingle Amr Bayoumi
Maha Shawki
Amro Abdulaziz
Mohammed Allam
Mohamed Mosleh
Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
Advances in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Dental Research
covid-19
pandemic
dental students
n95 face mask
oxygen saturation
title Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
title_full Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
title_fullStr Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
title_full_unstemmed Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
title_short Blood oxygen level with long-term use of N95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic “Covid-19”
title_sort blood oxygen level with long term use of n95 face mask in dental practice during the coronavirus pandemic covid 19
topic covid-19
pandemic
dental students
n95 face mask
oxygen saturation
url http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/AMPDR/article/view/470
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