Resumen:
In response to the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers are
using common surgical masks and filtering respirators in conjunction with the presence of facial
hair, which could lead to a large number of particles passing into their respiratory system. The
purpose of this study was to determine the fit factor effectiveness of filtering respirators and surgical
masks in bearded versus non-bearded healthcare providers. A controlled randomized clinical trial
(NCT04391010) was carried out, analyzing a sample of 63 healthcare providers. The fit factors of
surgical masks and FFP3 filtering respirators for healthcare providers with (n = 32) and without
(n = 31) facial hair were compared. Fit factors were measured during an exercises protocol in which
healthcare providers wore surgical masks and FFP3 filtering respirators. Surgical mask fit factor
comparisons did not show significant differences (p > 0.05) between healthcare providers with
and without facial hair. In contrast, filtering respirator fit factor comparisons showed statistically
significant differences (p < 0.01) between both groups, indicating that healthcare providers with
facial hair showed lower fit factor...