SynthesisReviews in medical virology2022
Comparative effectiveness of N95, surgical or medical, and non-medical facemasks in protection against respiratory virus infection: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Reviews in medical virology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of N95, surgical or medical, and non-medical facemasks in protection against respiratory virus infection: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Physiological impact of surgical masks and N95 masks on obese operating room staff.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Synthesis challenges in complex evidence: A critical analysis of systematic reviews of face mask efficacy.Research synthesis methods · 2026Article
- Assessment of KN95 Mask Filtering Degradation and Breathing Detection: A Pilot Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessment of occupational hazards, health effects, and personal protective equipment usage among motorcycle food delivery riders in Thailand: a cross-sectional survey.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025Article
- Do We Need Titanium Dioxide (TiOToxics · 2025Review
- Effects of Distance, Noise, and Personal Respiratory Protective Equipment on Speech Comprehension in Simulated Critical Care Setting.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antiviral Effect ofCurrent pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2025Review
- Article
- Comment to: Factors affecting SARS-CoV-2 transmission among face mask users.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Article
- Reevaluating Mask Effectiveness: Insights From Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Trials.Cureus · 2024Review
- Effect of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Flow on Intrapharyngeal Pressure During Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy Under Deep Sedation.Respiratory care · 2024Article
- Consistent FFP2-masking as part of reducing viral respiratory infections on medical wards for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Airborne Influenza Virus in Daycare Centers.Viruses · 2024Article
- Effect of Face Masking on Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- AMMI Canada 2023 update on influenza: Management and emerging issues.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2023Article
- Observed Mask Use in Kindergarten Through Grade 12 Schools in Georgia-Fall, 2021.The Journal of school health · 2023Article
- Influenza: seasonality and travel-related considerations.Journal of travel medicine · 2023Review
- Changes in the national prevalence of asthma and coronavirus disease 2019 fatality: A population-based cross-sectional study.Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
32 authors at 20 institutions in 11 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this systematic review and network meta-analysis is to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of N95, surgical/medical and non-medical facemasks as personal protective equipment against respiratory virus infection. The study incorporated 35 published and unpublished randomized controlled trials and observational studies investigating specific mask effectiveness against influenza virus, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar and medRxiv databases for studies published up to 5 February 2021 (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020214729). The primary outcome of interest was the rate of respiratory viral infection. The quality of evidence was estimated using the GRADE approach. High compliance to mask-wearing conferred a significantly better protection (odds ratio [OR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.82) than low compliance. N95 or equivalent masks were the most effective in providing protection against coronavirus infections (OR, 0.30; CI, 0.20-0.44) consistently across subgroup analyses of causative viruses and clinical settings. Evidence supporting the use of medical or surgical masks against influenza or coronavirus infections (SARS, MERS and COVID-19) was weak. Our study confirmed that the use of facemasks provides protection against respiratory viral infections in general; however, the effectiveness may vary according to the type of facemask used. Our findings encourage the use of N95 respirators or their equivalents (e.g., P2) for best personal protection in healthcare settings until more evidence on surgical and medical masks is accrued. This study highlights a substantial lack of evidence on the comparative effectiveness of mask types in community settings.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.