Does Prolonged FFP2 Mask Use Cause Changes in Nasal Cytology? A Pilot Observational Study on Healthcare Workers

TheCOVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread worldwide. Individual prevention approaches include FFP2/N95 mask use. Healthcare (HC) workers wear face masks for a long time during their work shifts and often complain of nasal symptoms. Current data on mask-associated symptoms or upper airway epithelium transformations are limited. Nasal cytology (NC) is a useful, non-invasive diagnostic method to assess cellular alterations. The aim of this study is to compare NC in HC workers before and after the continuous wearing of FFP2 face masks. We conducted a pilot observational study on 10 volunteer HC workers, who continuously used FFP2 masks during the work shift. All subjects underwent NC at the beginning (T0) and at the end of their workshift (T1) and the cytological findings were compared. Moreover, nasal symptoms were collected. Rare inflammatory cells were detected at T0 and, comparing cytological data about T0 and T1, no significant differences were observed. The most reported nasal symptoms were itching (70%) and a dry nose (60%). Difficulty of breathing and nasal blockage were not relevant. These preliminary data seem to suggest that wearing an FFP2 mask does not determine observable alterations in NC in daily work. However, further studies on a larger population for a longer period are needed.