Acupuncture in Multidisciplinary Treatment for Post-COVID-19 Syndrome.

Background: Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is a complex, multisystem illness that may follow SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 infection. As there is limited evidence for individual therapies and no singular treatment for PCS, guidelines endorse a multidisciplinary approach. This is a case report of a patient with PCS benefiting from a comprehensive approach including acupuncture with symptom-titrated physical activity (STPA). Case: A 50-year-old woman presented from a Long-COVID Clinic referral to an outpatient hospital-affiliated acupuncturist. She had 8 months of fatigue, anosmia, chest pressure, palpitations, and other symptoms following mild assay-confirmed COVID-19. Prior/concurrent medical testing revealed multisystem-inflammatory involvement (pericardial effusion, thyroid dysfunction, and elevated d-dimers). Cardiology/pulmonology cleared the patient for exercise to tolerance considering that serious pathology was absent. The acupuncturist's Traditional Chinese Medicine impression was of Qi Deficiency of the Heart, Lung, Spleen, and Kidney. This patient received 7 sessions of scalp, auricular, and body acupuncture. Physical-therapist (PT)-led STPA began 1-week post-acupuncture, involving 6 30-minute exercise sessions while monitoring her heart rate, with as-needed rest. Results: The patient's chest pressure and palpitations resolved after 1 acupuncture treatment. With 6 additional treatments, spanning 9 weeks, overlapping with PT-led SPTA, she recovered completely and resumed her normal exercise. Conclusions: Acupuncture appeared to facilitate PCS recovery. However, the independent effects of acupuncture are less clear, given the concurrent STPA/exercise therapy, and should be explored using large study designs. Acupuncture is an attractive potential PCS therapy, considering its holistic approach and that it may be added to a multidisciplinary, guideline-concordant regimen.

Assessment of Healthcare Professionals' Wellbeing During a Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Healthcare System in Ohio.

Objective: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate multiple indices of wellbeing in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Healthcare professionals were invited to participate across the University Hospitals healthcare system in Ohio, USA. Participants (N = 6397) completed online questionnaires on their wellbeing, including healthy behaviors, safety and security, mental and physical health concerns, and social support. Differences in wellbeing across demographics were also assessed. Results: Overall, healthcare professionals' mean subjective wellbeing was 7.98 (1.50) and their future health score was 3.98 (1.13). Room for improvement was noted for diet, sleep, and positive thinking. Males reported significantly higher levels of overall wellbeing and future health scores, including fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity, and alcohol use, whereas females reported higher levels of positive thinking and tobacco use. Of the three largest racial groups, White and Asian employees scored significantly higher on future health, M = 4.00 (1.17) and M = 4.10 (1.13), than Black or African American employees, M = 3.74 (1.10). Conclusions: This cross-sectional study assessed the wellbeing of healthcare workers during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic prior to vaccine delivery. Future work will implement strategies to improve healthcare workers' wellbeing in an individualized way based on our findings, as well as evaluate changes in wellbeing and future health scores across time.