ABSTRACT
Aim/Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess the presence of lymph node uptake (LNU) in patients who had received a COVID-19 vaccine and to evaluate its association with patient characteristics, type of vaccines, and PET/CT radiotracers. Material(s) and Method(s): 361 patients who underwent a PET/CT scan with 18F-FDG (FDG), 68Ga-PSMA (PSMA), or 11C-Choline (CHOL) performed in two EARL PET/CT accredited centers, from May to July 2021, and who had received single or double dose of COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-based and viral-vector) were selected. Data from age, tumor histology, type of vaccine, location of LNU and time from vaccination (time- Vacc) were prospectively collected. A retrospective analysis of scans was conducted evaluating the presence/absence of LNU (chisquare test). Additionally we performed a semiquantitative analysis (SUVmax of LNU), to explore possible differences according to type and number of vaccination doses, time-Vacc, patient age and tumor hystologies (independent t-tests). Result(s): From the 361 eligible subjects (median age: 67 years), 319 (88%) underwent PET/CT with FDG, 23 (6.3%) with PSMA, 19 (5,2%) with CHOL. 296 (82%) subjects received mRNA-based vaccine, 62 (17%) viral-vector (V-V) and 3 (1%) received mixed vaccines. Positive LNU was seen in 203 subjects (56.2%) independently of vaccine types (mRNA=59.68, V-V=55.7, p=0.74) and number of doses (1 dose: V-V=56.76%, mRNA=58.62 p=0.83;2 doses: mRNA=55%). Similar frequency of LNU positivity was observed using FDG and CHOL (57.6% and 57.8%, respectively), while with PSMA only 34.8% showed LNU positivity. LNU limited to ipsilateral axillar region was the most frequent location (global: 70.44%;FDG:69.6%;CHOL:63.6%;PSMA:100%), followed by both ipsilateral axillar and retropectoral region (global: 18.72%;CHOL: 36.4%). Positive LNU was less frequent in older patients (p=0.007), and ranged between 40 to 68% among the neoplastic pathologies, with the exception of multiple myeloma (15.8%;p=0.001). Positive LNU appeared in most cases in the first week post-vaccination (82%), persisted in second and third week (68.49%, 62.64%), and decreased after the fourth week (38.8%). Moreover, an inverse correlation between the time-Vacc and the SUVmax value calculated in the LNU using FDG (2.82 +/- 1.44;p=0.008) was observed. Conclusion(s): Patients referred to a FDG or CHOL PET scan due to diverse neoplastic diseases displayed high percentage of axillar LNU one week after COVID-19 vaccination, independently of vaccine type and number of doses. Our results also suggest a lower percentage of positive LNU in older subjects, patients with multiple myeloma, and when using PSMA-PET.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to determine the emotional, psychological and social well-being in Argentinian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic context. The applied methodological design was cross-sectional not experimental, under descriptive study and group difference modalities. It was used a sample of 888 participants residing in different Argentina provinces, rating ages between 18 and 84 years old (Mage = 36.98;SD = 15.37;51.2 % Female, 48.8 % Male). The results reported a majority susceptibility to experiencing languishing levels of mental health. People who were at the languishing pole of the mental health continuum presented lower levels of psychological well-being. 56.2 % of the participants reported that most of the time they seek to express their emotions within their close circle, and 43 % reported maintaining contact with beloved ones virtually. A higher level of emotional, psychological and social wellbeing was found in people who was able to express their emotions and kept in contact with their beloved ones virtually. In the face of the epidemiological situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentinean adults presented significant alterations in the levels of emotional, psychological and social well-being with a predominance of a state of languishing mental health. © 2020 Psychologia Society. All rights reserved.