An Evaluation of the Efficiency of Face Masks in the Resuscitation of Newborn Infants

Palme C, Nystrom B, Tunell R Lancet 1985 Pages 207-210

The authors tested five widely used neonatal face masks on 44 healthy, spontaneously breathing babies for their efficiency in terms of degree of leakage and ease of cleaning. Leakage was measured indirectly. The mean peak pressure of ten breaths when babies were ventilated from a respiratory via a mask was recorded; a low pressure was taken to indicate leakage. A triangular moulded rubber mask (Rendell-Baker) leaked most and a circular silicone rubber mask (Laerdal) leaked least. Other masks tested were the Ambu OA, Puritan-Bennett, and Ohio styles. The ease of cleaning the masks was measured as the amount of bacteria removed from contaminated masks by wiping them with 70% ethanol. The Laerdal mask was significantly more effectively cleaned than the others. It was also the only mask tested that could be boiled and autoclaved. The smallest dead space was found with the Rendell-Baker mask, but the importance of dead space in resuscitation is unclear and needs further investigation.