Turk J Med Sci
-
Review Meta Analysis
How efficient are facial masks against COVID-19? Evaluating the mask use of various communities one year into the pandemic.
Face masks are devices worn over the mouth and nose to protect against splashes, infectious respiratory droplets, or aerosols generated during breathing or coughing according to their filtering capacity. Medical masks, respirators, or cloth masks have been used for source control and for the protection of the exposed. After the first case on March 11, 2020, in Turkey, National COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board published various contents for the correct use of masks. ⋯ Metaanalysis, case control, cross sectional, cohort, retrospective, retrospective cross sectional, research, randomized controlled, and controlled comparison studies were reviewed on the protective effect of masks on COVID-19 with laboratory evidence. Optimum use of face masks with additional precautions has been found to be useful controlling the spread of the respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 in most of the studies and metaanalyses. As a conclusion, the recent evidence in COVID-19 pandemic is consistent with the previous studies which have shown association between face mask use and decreased risk of viral infections, and medical face mask use should be encouraged both for the community and healthcare facilities along with other infection control measures such as hand hygiene, during outbreaks when there is widespread community transmission.
-
This meta-analysis comprehensively investigated the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). ⋯ Treatment of IMN with RTX has comparable efficacy to other immunosuppressive treatments (ISTs). RTX has the advantages of no requirement for steroids and lower rates adverse event and relapse rates. Patients who relapse or are resistant to other IST agents also respond to RTX. RTX-based regimens and other B-cell-targeted therapies may represent the future of IMN therapy.