The effect of wearing an N95 face mask on intraocular pressure

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the effect of wearing N95 mask on intraocular pressure Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled 34 medical staff volunteer. After baseline eye examinations, all participants were asked to wear an N95 mask for one hour. Then O2 saturation, pulse rate and blood pressure evaluation and sequential IOP measurements with Icare and Goldmann applanation tonometer were performed. Then one hour after removal of the mask all measurements were taken again. Finally, all information was collected for statistical analysis. Results A total of 34 participants (68 eyes) were included with mean (±SD) age of 38.97(12.41) years. The mean value of IOP/GAT increased significantly by 1.20 (mmHg) after wearing the mask (12.50 to 13.70, p-value<0.001) and then decreased significantly by 1.27 (mmHg) after removing the mask (13.70 to 12.43, p-value<0.001). The O2 saturation increased significantly from 96.4 with mask to 97.05 after mask removal (p-value<0.001). Although the mean Pulse Rate decreased about 1.5 unit after removing the mask but it was not significant. The mean Blood Pressure decreased after removing the mask but the change was not significant. Also, no significant relationship between IOP change and O2 saturation was found. Conclusion The use of N95 face masks could cause a marked increase in IOP and decrease in O2 saturation.