Are surgical masks manufactured from sterilisation wrap safe?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Due to regional shortages some health services have proposed using surgical masks manufactured from sterilisation wrap. However, there has been little assessment of the safety of this practice. Therefore, we developed our own prototypes and evaluated whether they met regulatory standards.

Methods

Surgical mask prototypes were manufactured from two thickness grades of commercial sterilisation wrap. Safety was assessed in the context of regulatory standards. As it was not previously reported, we developed and performed differential pressure and synthetic blood penetration resistance experiments in accordance with official methodology.

Results

Bacterial filtration efficiency was comparable between sterilisation wrap and commercial surgical masks. Both prototyp

SUBMITTER: Grigg SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7674969 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature