Effect of surgical mask on exercise capacity in COPD: a randomised crossover trial.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) infected with SARS-CoV-2 are more likely to require intensive care and have a higher risk of mortality [1, 2]. Vaccine strategies are critical in reducing the risk of COVID-19; however, vaccination alone cannot ensure prevention and control due to the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus [3, 4]. The use of masks in community settings is another strategy to prevent COVID-19 [5]. Therefore, it is reasonable for patients with COPD to use face masks in public places during the COVID-19 pandemic. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of Interest Disclosures: KH reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and GlaxoSmithKline outside of the submitted work. AT reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, KYORIN Pharmaceutical, and Sanofi outside of the submitted work. HS, YS, and YU have nothing to disclose. EI reports personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Nippontect systems, Pfizer, and RCR outside of the submitted work. HS reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Sanofi outside of the submitted work.