Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

7 questions · 7 findings · 1 reviews

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No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 0 · 0%Very low 3 · 42.9%Low 1 · 14.3%Moderate 3 · 42.9%High 0 · 0%

Medical/surgical masks vs no masks

Viral respiratory illness ‐ influenza/COVID‐like illness · general population

Medical/surgical masks showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ influenza/COVID‐like illness compared with no masks (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.95 [0.84, 1.09]
9 studies · 276917 participants
Moderate

Medical/surgical masks vs no masks

Viral respiratory illness ‐ laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 · general population

Medical/surgical masks showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared with no masks (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.01 [0.72, 1.42]
6 studies · 13919 participants
Moderate

Medical/surgical masks vs no masks

Adverse events · general population

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
3 studies · 3 participants
Very low

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

Viral illness ‐ clinical respiratory illness · general population and healthcare workers

It is very uncertain whether N95 respirators changes viral respiratory illness ‐ clinical respiratory illness compared with medical/surgical masks (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.7 [0.45, 1.1]
3 studies · 7799 participants
Very low

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

Viral respiratory illness ‐ influenza‐like illness · general population and healthcare workers

N95 respirators showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ influenza‐like illness compared with medical/surgical masks (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.82 [0.66, 1.03]
5 studies · 8407 participants
Low

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

Viral respiratory illness ‐ laboratory‐confirmed influenza · general population and healthcare workers

N95 respirators showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ laboratory‐confirmed influenza compared with medical/surgical masks (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.1 [0.9, 1.34]
5 studies · 8407 participants
Moderate

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

Adverse events · general population and healthcare workers

1 finding from 1 review

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
5 studies · 5 participants
Very low