Purpose of Review

Personal protection equipment (PPE)–associated headache is an unusual secondary headache disorder that predominantly occurs in healthcare workers as a consequence of the donning of protective respirators, face masks and/or eyewear. The appreciation of this entity is important given the significant ramifications upon the occupational health of healthcare workers and could additionally have an impact on persons living with pre-existing headache disorder(s).

Recent Findings

There has been a renewed interest and recognition of PPE-associated headaches amongst healthcare professionals, largely brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has besieged healthcare systems worldwide. De novo PPE-associated headaches may present with migrainous or tension-type features and can be viewed as a subtype of external compression headache. The prognosis of the disorder is generally favourable, given that most headaches are short-lived without long-term sequalae. Several aetiologies have been postulated to account for the development of these headaches. Notably, these headaches can affect the occupational health and work performance of healthcare workers.

Summary

In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, probable etiopathogenesis, management and prognosis of PPE-associated headaches in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future directions for research and PPE development are proposed.

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 大流行期间与 PPE 使用相关的头痛

审查目的

个人防护装备 (PPE) 相关性头痛是一种不寻常的继发性头痛疾病，主要发生在医护人员身上，原因是佩戴了防护呼吸器、口罩和/或眼镜。鉴于该实体对医护人员的职业健康产生重大影响，并且可能对患有预先存在的头痛疾病的人产生额外影响，因此该实体的赞赏很重要。

最近的发现

医疗保健专业人员对 PPE 相关的头痛重新产生了兴趣和认识，这主要是由持续的 COVID-19 大流行引起的，该大流行已经包围了全世界的医疗保健系统。新发 PPE 相关头痛可能表现为偏头痛或紧张型特征，可被视为外部压迫性头痛的一个亚型。鉴于大多数头痛是短暂的，没有长期后遗症，因此该疾病的预后通常是有利的。已经假设有几种病因可以解释这些头痛的发展。值得注意的是，这些头痛会影响医护人员的职业健康和工作绩效。

概括

在这篇综述中，我们讨论了 COVID-19 大流行背景下 PPE 相关头痛的流行病学、临床特征、可能的发病机制、管理和预后。提出了研究和 PPE 开发的未来方向。