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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Jan 2;26(1):1.
doi: 10.1186/s40001-020-00475-6.

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of face mask to prevent it: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Seyed-Amir Tabatabaeizadeh  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of face mask to prevent it: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Seyed-Amir Tabatabaeizadeh. Eur J Med Res. .

Abstract

Background and aims: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), belonging to the Coronaviridae family, is agent of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, in early December 2019 and is now considered a pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of face mask to prevent it.

Methods: A systematic search for English-language literature was done via PUBMED/Medline and Google Scholar up to October 2020. There was two search strategy; for airborne transmission and the role of face mask for prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on a fixed and random effects model, the RR and 95% CI were used to evaluate the combined risk. This meta-analysis followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) Guidelines.

Results: After eligibility assessment, four articles with a total of 7688 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The result of this meta-analysis has shown significant reduction in infection with face mask use; the pooled RR (95%CI) was 0.12 [0.06, 0.27] (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggests that there is association between face mask use and reduction of COVID-19. However, COVID-19 spreads primarily with contact routes and respiratory droplets, but its transmissibility has many mysteries yet and there is controversy about airborne transmission of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Masks; Meta-analysis; SARS-CoV-2; Transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Airborne transmission
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flow chart of literature search for meta-analysis. RR, relative risk
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Meta-Analysis showing the association of face mask use with COVID-19 infection. RR, relative risk
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Funnel plot for publication bias
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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