Conclusion
In conclusion, surgical/procedure masks are intended to help put a barrier between the wearer and the work environment or sterile field. They may help keep spit and mucous generated by the wearer from reaching a patient or medical equipment. They can also be used as a fluid barrier to help keep blood splatter from reaching the wearer’s mouth and nose. However, surgical/procedure masks cannot provide certified respiratory protection unless they are also designed, tested, and government-certified as a respirator. If a wearer wants to reduce inhalation of smaller, inhalable particles (those smaller than 100 microns), they need to obtain and properly use a government-certified respirator, such as a NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepiece particulate respirator. If the wearer needs a combination surgical/procedure mask and a particulate respirator, they should use a product that is both cleared by FDA as a surgical/procedure mask and tested and certified by NIOSH as a particulate respirator. Such products are sometimes called a "medical respirator," "health care respirator," or "surgical N95.
Background
Since certain disposable filtering facepiece particulate respirators are similar in appearance to many surgical/procedure masks, their differences are not always well understood. However, respirators and surgical/procedure masks are very different in intended use, fit against the face, wear time, testing and approval. The purpose of this document is to highlight some of these differences, particularly for healthcare workers. Surgical/procedure masks may be provided to patients to help protect healthcare workers and other patients from particles being introduced into the room as a patient talks, sneezes or coughs.
Wear Time
Respirators must be properly selected and carefully donned (put on) and doffed (taken off) in a clean area, and worn the entire time in the contaminated area to have a significant effect on reducing exposure. Having the respirator off even 10% of the time in a contaminated area significantly reduces the protective effect of the respirator. Surgical/procedure masks are typically donned (put on) for a specific procedure. For infection control purposes, masks are typically disposed of after each procedure/patient activity.
