Long-term effects of COVID-19 on lungs and the clinical relevance: a 6-month prospective cohort study.

Background: We aimed to explore the prevalence of prolonged symptoms, pulmonary impairments and residual disease on chest tomography (CT) in COVID-19 patients at 6 months after acute illness. Methods: In this prospective, single-center study, hospitalized patients with radiologically and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included. Results: A high proportion of the 116 patients reported persistent symptoms (n = 54; 46.6%). On follow-up CT, 33 patients (28.4%) demonstrated residual disease. Multivariate analyses revealed that only neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was an independent predictor for residual disease. Conclusion: Hospitalized patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 still had persistent symptoms and were prone to develop long-term pulmonary sequelae on chest CT. However, it did not have a significant effect on long-term pulmonary functions.

Detection of coronavirus in tear samples of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To assess the presence of viral RNA in conjunctival secretions and tears of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients in terms of a possible ocular transmission route and also to examine whether a difference between the patients with and without ocular surface positivity existed. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study of 70 consecutive patients who were hospitalized in Haseki Training and Research Hospital with SARS-CoV-2 from February 1 to April 1, 2021, was performed. Tears and conjunctival secretions were collected within 24 h of nasopharyngeal sample collection and examined for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The clinical data, results of blood tests and nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swabs, and CT findings were evaluated for all patients. RESULTS: Seventy patients (37 males, 33 females) were included in this study. Tear-conjunctival samples from eight patients (11.42%) yielded positive PCR results although these eight patients had no eye symptoms or conjunctivitis. In patients with positive conjunctival PCR results, cycle threshold values for conjunctival samples were higher than those for nasopharyngeal samples. All findings (except gender) were similar between patients with either positive or negative conjunctival swab samples. All patients with positive conjunctival swab samples were male; however, the male ratio in patients with negative conjunctival swab samples was only 46.77%. CONCLUSION: In our study, the rate of conjunctival swab PCR positivity was 11.42%. It appears that even in the absence of ocular symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 virus may be present on the ocular surface; therefore, the ocular surface may be a significant viral transmission route.

The Relationship between Nurses' Fear and Anxiety During the Covid-19 Pandemic Process and their Professional Commitment

Aims: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between nurses' fear and anxiety during the pandemic process and their professional commitment. Methods: The research population consisted of nurses working in hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Istanbul Province. The sample of the descriptive and correlational research included 315 nurses willing to participate in the study. The study was approved by the ethics committee and the written informed consent of the nurses participating in the study was obtained. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) were used in the analysis of the data, and Kruskal-Wallis H test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman Correlation test were used for comparisons. Results: It was found that there was a positive correlation between age, professional experience, work experience in the unit and fear of coronavirus and anxiety level;a negative correlation between age, professional experience, work experience in the unit and the level of professional commitment. It was determined that there was a moderate positive correlation between fear of coronavirus and anxiety level, and a weak negative correlation between professional commitment and anxiety level. Conclusion: Assessing and effectively managing nurses' fear of coronavirus and anxiety levels can be beneficial in increasing nurses' professional commitment and reducing resignations.

Analysis of mental health symptoms and insomnia levels of intensive care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic with a structural equation model.

BACKGROUND: Faced with this critical situation and directly involved in the treatment and care of COVID-19 patients, front-line healthcare workers are at high risk in terms of mental health symptoms. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia levels of intensive care nurses during the pandemic with a structural equation model. DESIGN: A multi-site survey study. METHODS: The study was performed with 194 nurses working in the intensive care units of five hospitals in Istanbul in July 2020. Data were collected using the Depression Anxiety Stress-21 Scale and Insomnia Severity Index electronically. The data were evaluated with descriptive statistics in SPSS package program. In order to test the structural model and hypotheses of the research, path analysis was performed with LISREL statistical software program. A validation study for the suitability of these scales to the study sample was done by the researchers using the confirmatory factor analysis method. The study conforms to the TREND checklist. RESULTS: In this study, the majority of the intensive care nurses had moderate to extremely severe depression (65.5%), anxiety (58.3%) and stress (72.3%) scores; in addition, 39.7% of the nurses experienced moderate or severe insomnia. Within the framework of a structural model; the effects of stress, anxiety and insomnia on depression, which is the dependent variable, were found to be statistically significant (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: It was found that the majority of the intensive care nurses fighting COVID-19 on the front-line experienced stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia at levels ranging from moderate to extremely severe; in addition, it was determined that there is a positive relationship between stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study, in which we have determined the mental health symptoms and insomnia levels of intensive care nurses, who are in the front-line during the COVID-19 pandemic, constitutes the scientific basis for the effective coping strategies that the authorities will take in this subject.