Implementing fit testing for N95 filtering facepiece respirators: practical information from a large cohort of hospital workers.
Qualitative fit testing for N95 respirators was conducted on 1271 health care workers. All male participants were fitted with a respirator. Six females, all under age 40 years, were not successfully fitted. The first-choice respirator provided a successful fit in 95.1% of the men and 85.4% of the women. Gender and age in women were significant factors associated with successful fitting. These differences should be considered when implementing a respiratory protection program.
McMahon
Elizabeth
E
Occupational Health Services, St Mary's Hospital Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada. elizabeth.mcmahon@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
Wada
Koji
K
Dufresne
André
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000592:standards; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000592:standards; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices / Q000592:standards*