Korean J Pain.  2021 Apr;34(2):241-245. 10.3344/kjp.2021.34.2.241.

Headache related to mask use of healthcare workers in COVID-19 pandemic

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurology, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University School of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
  • 2Department of Internal Medicine, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University School of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

Abstract

Background
It has been reported that a new type of headache may develop as a result of face mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features of face mask-related headache during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study carried out on healthcare workers at the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University. The number of workers at our university was established. Sample size was calculated using the G*Power program. A questionnaire consisting of questions relating to pre-existing headache, an aggravation in headache, and de-novo headache was filled out by 3 neurologists with all participants.
Results
Data was collected from a total of 375 participants, after the exclusion of 5 individuals who refused to participate. Out of all participants, 26 (6.9%) used a filtering mask, 274 (73.1%) used a surgical mask, 75 (20.0%) participants used a combination of both masks. The number of participants with preexisting headache was 114 (30.4%) had pre-existing headache. Of those with pre-existing headache, 77 (67.5%) healthcare workers had reported an aggravation in their headache after mask use. De-novo headache was observed in 116 (30.9%) of participants. De-novo headache characteristics included throbbing in 17 (14.7%) participants and pressing in 99 (85.3%) participants. In addition, symptoms such as tachypnea, sleep disturbance, and fatigue were found to be significantly higher.
Conclusions
This study indicates that healthcare workers develop headaches due to use of masks during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Keyword

COVID-19; Eyeglasses; Fatigue; Headache; Health Personnel; Masks; Pandemics; Personal Protective Equipment; Sleep Wake Disorders; Tension-Type Headache

Figure

  • Fig. 1 De-novo headache localizations.


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