Fear and depression among health care professionals: a cross-sectional study during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Background: COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern that can result in severe mental health conditions like depression and fear in health-care professionals (HCPs). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, where 834 HCPs were self-recruited via social media. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify predicting factors. Results: Approximately one-third of the total participants were depressed (27.3%) and those with depressive symptoms had significant fear of COVID-19. Significant risk factors for depressive symptoms were being female, being married, having no children, having high risk elderly persons at home, being afraid of death due to COVID-19 and having comorbid diseases. Fear of death due to COVID-19 was the most common significant contributing factor the scales for depression model, ?=0.397, for fear of COVID-19 model and ?=0.478 respectively. Quality of PPE played a vital role for depression as majority of HCPs. About 65.3% of HCPs who were restless while examining a patient with flu symptoms and majority of HCPs who felt insecure about their family members. Conclusions: Most of the HCPs faced several challenges during COVID-19 and psychological impacts of frontline HCPs were associated with interventions and rehabilitations to improve the mental health.

Upper limit of anti-streptolysin O level in normal children in behera area

Antistreptolysin O [ASO] levels vary with age group of the study population and geographical location. The aim of the present work was to measure the upper limit of normal [ASO] titer as a referent value among healthy children of age up to 12 years living in El-Behera governorate and near areas. It was undertaken to 300 normal children of age 0-12 years, with no history of recent sore throat infection, they were attending the pediatric and ENT outpatient clinics of Damanhour Medical National Institute [DMNI] during the period from February 2004 to January 2005. The modified Randall method was used for estimating ASO titers. The results showed that the upper limit of normal [ULN] ASO level for the children of age 0 - < 2 years was 147 IU. The ULN, ASO level for the children of age 2- < 6 years was 336.8 IU and that for children of age 6-12 years was 353.2 IU. There were statistically significant difference among the three groups [ANOVA, F=160, P = 0.00]. By multiple comparison, the least significant difference [LSD] showed that the mean difference between children of age group 2 to < 6 years and those of 2 months to < 2 years was 138.6 IU [p= 0.000 and 95% confidence interval was ranging from 120.4 IU to 156.8 IU], and the mean difference between children of age group 6 to 12 years and those of 2 months to < 2 years was 148.2 IU [p= 0.000 and 95% confidence interval was ranging from 129.9 IU to 166.4 IU]. On the other hand the mean difference between children of age group 6 to 12 years and those of 2 to < 6 years was 9.6 IU [p = 0.301 and 95% confidence interval was ranging from] -8.6 [0] IU to 27.8 IU]

Is Laryngeal mask airway safe to be used in patients undergoing intranasal surgery?

This study aimed to evaluate safety of laryngeal mask airway [LMA] in patients undergoing intranasal surgery. Forty adult patients ASA I and II scheduled for elective endoscopic intranasal surgery and/or septoplasty were included in this study and divided randomly into two equal groups. The blood pressure in both groups showed a drop in both systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure after induction of anesthesia, it was more in group I compared with group II. The heart rate and oxygen saturation were comparable. The fiberoptic endoscopic findings in both groups showed no blood in airway of both groups