Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan:119:182-186.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.09.005. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Universal use of surgical masks is tolerated and prevents respiratory viral infection in stem cell transplant recipients

D G Partridge  1 , A Sori  2 , D J Green  2 , R Simpson  2 , B Poller  3 , M Raza  4 , H Kaur  5 , H Jessop  5 , B Colton  5 , A Nield  5 , C M Evans  6 , A Lee  2
Affiliations

Universal use of surgical masks is tolerated and prevents respiratory viral infection in stem cell transplant recipients

D G Partridge et al. J Hosp Infect. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Prevention of respiratory viral infection in stem cell transplant patients is important due to its high risk of adverse outcome. This single-centre, mixed methods study, conducted before the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic, explored the barriers and facilitators to a policy of universal mask use by visitors and healthcare workers, and examined the impact of the first year of introduction of the policy on respiratory viral infection rates compared with preceding years, adjusted for overall incidence. Education around universal mask use was highlighted as being particularly important in policy implementation. A significant decrease in respiratory viral infection was observed following introduction.

Keywords: Barriers; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Facemask; Infection prevention and control; Influenza; Mask; Neutropenia; Parainfluenza; Qualitative; RSV; Respiratory virus; Rhinovirus; Stem cell transplant.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Fontana L., Strasfeld L. Respiratory virus infections of the stem cell transplant recipient and the hematologic malignancy patient. Infect Dis Clin N Am. 2019;33:523–544. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mikulska M. The EBMT handbook: hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies. 7th ed. Cham: Springer; 2019. infection control and isolation procedures. - PubMed
    1. Sung A.D., Sung J.A.M., Thomas S., Hyslop T., Gasparetto C., Long G., et al. Universal mask usage for reduction of respiratory viral infections after stem cell transplant: a prospective trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2016;63:999–1006. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ljungman P., de la Camara R., Mikulska M., Tridello G., Aguado B., Zahrani M Al, et al. COVID-19 and stem cell transplantation; results from an EBMT and GETH multicenter prospective survey. Leukemia. 2021 doi: 10.1038/s41375-021-01302-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Department of Health . National Health Service; London: 2009. Health Building Note 04-01. Supplement 1: isolation facilities for infectious patients in acute settings.