IJTID, p-ISSN 2085-1103, e-ISSN 2356-0991 Open access under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License Available online at IJTID Website: https://e-journal.unair.ac.id/IJTID/ Vol. 10 No. 3 September–December 2022 Review Article Prolonged Use of Protective Masks Induced Facial Skin Injury in Primary Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review Alvian Mohamad Yapanto 1* , Aulia Rahma Isnaeni 1 , Khairani Ayu Lestari 1 , Agung Bagus Sista Satyarsa 2 1 Faculty of Medicine, Universitas YARSI, Jakarta, Indonesia 2 Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Udayana, Bali, Indonesia Received: June 15 th , 2022; Revised: August 12 th , 2022; Accepted: November 23 rd , 2022 ABSTRACT COVID-19 transmission necessitates health workers to use personal protective equipment (PPE), especially protective masks when delivering medical services. Long-term use of protective masks might cause facial skin injuries. Our study aims to provide a systematic review to explore the phenomenon and incidence of protective masks induced facial skin injuries in primary healthcare workers. This systematic review was created by obtaining articles from the PubMed database and the Cochrane library from 2020 to 2021, using the keywords "Face skin injury," "Wearing protective masks for a long time," and "Wearing protective masks and facial skin disorders." Inclusion criteria were studies that fully report the phenomenon of wearing protective masks and the incidence of facial skin injuries. One hundred and sixty-eight studies were obtained, but only 14 articles matched the inclusion criteria with more than 10,430 participants from different countries that covered various characteristics of facial skin injuries in primary healthcare workers. The findings obtained dominant characteristics of health workers who experienced facial skin injuries: women, N95 masks, and daily N95 coverage for more than 6 hours (p<0.05). Facial skin injuries are often seen after using protective face masks, as it is used for an extended period as part of a defensive effort during work. Therefore, measures that protect health workers from COVID-19 and prevent health workers from potential injuries of protective masks must be taken into account. Keywords: COVID-19; facial skin injury; long duration; primary health workers; protective masks ABSTRAK Penularan COVID-19 mengharuskan tenaga kesehatan untuk menggunakan alat pelindung diri (APD), khususnya masker pelindung saat memberikan pelayanan medis. Penggunaan masker pelindung jangka panjang dapat menyebabkan cedera kulit wajah. Penelitian kami bertujuan untuk memberikan tinjauan sistematis untuk mengeksplorasi fenomena dan kejadian cedera kulit wajah terkait penggunaan masker pelindung pada tenaga kesehatan primer. Tinjauan sistematis ini dibuat dengan memperoleh artikel dari database PubMed dan perpustakaan Cochrane dari tahun 2020 hingga 2021, menggunakan kata kunci "Face skin injury," "Wearing protective masks for a long time," dan "Wearing protective masks and facial skin disorders". Kriteria inklusi adalah penelitian yang secara lengkap melaporkan fenomena pemakaian masker pelindung dengan kejadian luka pada kulit wajah. 168 penelitian diperoleh, tetapi hanya 14 artikel yang sesuai dengan kriteria inklusi dengan lebih dari 10.430 peserta dari berbagai negara yang mencakup berbagai karakteristik cedera kulit wajah pada petugas kesehatan primer. Temuan didapatkan karakteristik dominan tenaga kesehatan yang mengalami cedera kulit wajah: perempuan, masker N95, dan cakupan N95 harian lebih dari 6 jam (p<0,05). Cedera kulit wajah sering terlihat setelah menggunakan masker pelindung, karena digunakan dalam * Corresponding Author: alvian.mohamad@students.yarsi.ac.id