Physiological Burdens of Prolonged Use of Surgical Face Masks among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

: Context: All healthcare attendees, including staff, patients, and visitors, were to wear universal masks when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 as a global pandemic in March 2020. Objective: Assess physiological burdens of prolonged use of surgical face masks among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Settings: The study was conducted at Alexandria University Hospitals and El-Hadra University Hospital. Subjects: A convenience sample of 160 healthcare workers from the above-mentioned settings. Method: A descriptive, research design was used to achieve this study. Tool of this study: Physiological burdens of the prolonged use of surgical face masks for healthcare workers interview questionnaire. It was used to assess the physiological burdens of the prolonged use of face masks for healthcare workers. Results: 70% of the studied healthcare workers were experienced blurred vision, two-thirds of them (66.7%) had a burning nose, more than two-thirds (70%) experienced dry mouth ,and two-thirds ( 66.7%) of them had a strong sensation of thirst, Also, nearly two third of them (60%) experienced pain behind the ears. nearly two-thirds (60%) noticed skin rashes/redness on the bridge of the nose. More than half (53.3%) experienced dizziness. The majority of the studied healthcare workers (86.7%) experienced headaches following prolonged use of face masks, and 76.7% experienced shortness of breath on exertion. Additionally; it was found that the prolonged use of face masks slightly interfered with food intake during work hours in more than half of them (53.3%). In addition, the need for drinking adequate fluids slightly interfered among nearly two-thirds of them (63%). There was a statistically significant relation between oxygen saturation after four hours of wearing surgical masks and health care workers' occupation with favor to physicians than nurses and paramedical over physicians. Furthermore; there was a statistically significant relation between oxygen saturation after eight hours of wearing surgical masks and health care workers' occupations with favor for physicians over nurses. Moreover; there was statistically significant relation between oxygen saturation after eight hours of wearing surgical masks and health care workers' area of practice in favor of the emergency room over than the operating room . Conclusion: The use of a facemask plays a crucial role in causing significant discomfort in all the participants during its prolonged usage including blurred vision, burning nose, hot nose, dry nose and mouth, pain behind the ears, rashes/redness on the bridge of the nose, dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath on exertion and decrease on oxygen saturation.