Personal Protective Equipment and Headaches: A Cross-sectional Study among Healthcare Professionals in A Military Hospital in Bangladesh.

Acta neurologica Taiwanica Pub Date : 2025-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-03-28 DOI:10.4103/ANT.ANT_112_0106

Muhammad Rezeul Huq, Ahad Mahmud Khan, Ghulam Kawnayn, Md Musab Khalil, Md Ismail Chowdhury, Mahin Binte Anwar, Timir Ranjan Mahanta

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Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals took various protective measures including personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, eyewear, and protective jumpsuits. These protective devices may pose certain health hazards, such as headaches.

Objectives: This study aims to find out the association between new-onset headaches (de novo) or exacerbation of preexisting headaches in military healthcare professionals using PPE.

Materials and methods: A total of 209 healthcare professionals participated in this cross-sectional observational study. Data were collected on headaches before and after using PPE through a self-administered questionnaire.

Results: Most participants were young with a mean age of 26.7 ± 5.6 years. The number of male participants was almost twice that of females (64.6%). de novo headache occurred in 88 participants (47.6%). Previous primary headaches were present in 24 patients, of whom 83.3% experienced exacerbation of primary headaches after using PPE. Doctors and nurses suffered from headaches significantly more than the other healthcare workers (P < 0.001). N95 mask usage was significantly associated with headaches (P < 0.001). In addition, the combination of masks, specifically surgical and N95 combination, was also associated with headaches (P = 0.019 and P < 0.001, respectively). Use of eye protection, irrespective of type was found to be associated with headaches (P < 0.05). Additional PPE, such as the protective jumpsuits, was also associated with headaches (P < 0.001). Our study did not find any significant association between headaches and the duration of hours of usage of masks or protective eyewear (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Masks, eye protective gear, and additional protective gown use are associated with new-onset headaches or exacerbation of previous headaches. These protective devices should be redesigned not compromising safety and to increase comfort and compliance.

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个人防护装备与头痛：孟加拉国某军事医院医护人员的横断面研究

背景：在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，医护人员采取了各种防护措施，包括佩戴口罩、眼镜和防护连体衣等个人防护装备。这些防护装置可能会造成某些健康危害，例如头痛。目的：本研究旨在了解使用PPE的军事卫生保健专业人员新发头痛（de novo）或原有头痛恶化之间的关系。材料和方法：共有209名卫生保健专业人员参加了本横断面观察性研究。通过自行填写的问卷收集了使用个人防护装备前后的头痛数据。结果：大多数参与者为年轻人，平均年龄为26.7±5.6岁。男性参与者的数量几乎是女性的两倍（64.6%）。88名参与者（47.6%）出现从头头痛。24例患者既往有原发性头痛，其中83.3%的患者在使用PPE后原发性头痛加重。医生和护士的头痛发生率明显高于其他医护人员（P < 0.001）。N95口罩的使用与头痛显著相关（P < 0.001）。此外，口罩的组合，特别是外科口罩和N95口罩的组合，也与头痛有关（P分别= 0.019和P < 0.001）。使用任何类型的护眼设备均与头痛相关（P < 0.05）。额外的个人防护装备，如防护连体衣，也与头痛有关（P < 0.001）。我们的研究没有发现头痛与使用口罩或防护眼镜的时间有任何显著关联（P < 0.05）。结论：口罩、护目镜和额外防护服的使用与新发头痛或既往头痛加重有关。这些保护装置应重新设计，不损害安全性，并增加舒适性和依从性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Acta neurologica Taiwanica

CiteScore

1.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量