Role of Serum Amyloid A as a Biomarker for Predicting the Severity and Prognosis of COVID-19.

Objective: To detect biomarkers that can be used to predict COVID-19 severity to identify patients with high probability of disease progression and poor prognosis. Methods: Of the 102 patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were admitted to King Fahd General Hospital, Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia, from July 1, 2021 to August 5, 2021, 50 were included in this cross-sectional study to investigate the influence of serum amyloid A (SAA) on disease severity and survival outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Dynamic shifts in SAA, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC), lymphocytes, neutrophils, biochemical markers, and disease progression were examined. At admission, and at three, five, and seven days after treatment, at least four data samples were collected from all patients, and they underwent clinical status assessments. Results: Critically ill patients showed higher SAA and CRP levels and WBC and neutrophil counts and significantly lower lymphocyte and eosinophil counts compared to the moderately/severely ill patients, especially with regard to disease progression. Similarly, nonsurvivors had higher SAA levels than survivors. The moderately/severely ill patients and the survivors had significantly higher dynamic changes in SAA compared to the critically ill patients and nonsurvivors, respectively, with differences clearly noticed on the fifth and seventh day of treatment. ROC curve analysis revealed that the combination of SAA and CRP was valuable in evaluating the disease progression and prognosis of COVID-19 patients at different time points; however, a combination of SAA and lymphocyte counts was more sensitive for disease severity prediction on admission. The most sensitive parameters for predicting survival on admission were the combination of SAA/WBC and SAA/neutrophil count. Conclusions: The study findings indicate that SAA can be used as a sensitive indicator to assess the degree of disease severity and survival outcomes of COVID-19 patients.

The Effect of Curfew on the General Mental Well-Being of the Population in Saudi Arabia After the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Introduction Mental well-being is an essential aspect of general health. Assessing mental well-being is crucial to leading a healthy life. The global population is, presumptively, affected at a ratio of one out of four individuals with a mental or neurological disorder. This further emphasized the importance of the financial, social, and health implications that ensue. Methods and materials Data collection was performed using the symptoms checklist-90 (SCL-90) survey between March and April of 2021. The data collected included demographic data as well as nine domains that include some of the most common psychiatric symptoms. The collected questionnaires were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Non-parametric tests were utilized, as the SCL-90 dimensions and global index scores follow a non-normal distribution. Results The questionnaire yielded 387 responses. Females comprised the majority of the participants. The most prevalent symptom described as extremely common by females was waking up early in the morning. The most commonly described symptom described as not at all by females was hearing words that others do not hear. There was no statistical difference in mental well-being between males and females. Older participants (>40 years old) had better mental well-being in comparison to their younger counterparts. Conclusion During the fallout of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, much attention and resources were allocated toward the physical aspect of the pandemic, yet the psychological implications must not be understated. Multiple variables, such as age, marital status, and unemployment, may impact the mental well-being of the population and must be further assessed.