ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought great problems to mankind, including economic recession and poor health. COVID-19 patients are frequently reported with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting in clinical diagnosis. Maintaining intestinal health is the key guarantee to maintain the normal function of multiple organs, otherwise it will be a disaster. Therefore, the purpose of this review was deeply understanded the potential mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection threatening intestinal health and put forward reasonable treatment strategies. Combined with the existing researches, we summarized the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection threatening intestinal health, including intestinal microbiome disruption, intestinal barrier dysfunction, intestinal oxidative stress and intestinal cytokine storm. These adverse intestinal events may affect other organs through the circulatory system or aggravate the course of the disease. Typically, intestinal disadvantage may promote the progression of SARS-CoV-2 through the gut-lung axis and increase the disease degree of COVID-19 patients. In view of the lack of specific drugs to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, the current review described new strategies of probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics and nutrients to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection and maintain intestinal health. To provide new insights for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms and pneumonia in patients with COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Background: Studies showed that healthcare workers (HCWs) and pregnant women bore the burden of mental problems during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While, few studies have focused on the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women who work at healthcare settings. This study aimed to investigate and compare the prevalence difference of psychological symptoms between pregnant HCWs and pregnant non-HCWs during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey with anonymous structured questionnaires was conducted from February 15 to March 9, 2020. A total of 205 pregnant women in Chongqing, China were recruited. The mental health status was assessed using symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90). Results: Our sample was composed of 83 pregnant HCWs (mean age = 29.8) and 122 pregnant non-HCWs (mean age = 30.8). The results suggested the prevalence of psychological symptoms (the factor score ≥2) among all pregnant women ranged from 6.83% (psychosis symptoms) to 17.56% (obsessive-compulsive symptoms). Compared with pregnant non-HCWs, pregnant HCWs reported higher prevalence of psychological symptoms in 10 factors of SCL-90. After controlling the confounding variables, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that pregnant HCWs experienced higher prevalence of psychological symptoms of somatization (18.07 vs. 5.74%, p = 0.006, aOR = 4.52), anxiety disorders (16.87 vs. 6.56%, p = 0.016, aOR = 3.54), and hostility (24.10 vs. 10.66%, p = 0.027, aOR = 2.70) than those among pregnant non-HCW. Conclusion: Our study indicated that pregnant HCWs were more likely to suffer from mental health distress than pregnant non-HCWs during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital to implement targeted psychological interventions for pregnant women, especially for pregnant HCWs to cope with distress when facing the emerging infectious diseases.
ABSTRACT
Background: As an emerging infectious disease, COVID-19 has garnered great research interest. We aimed to explore the differences between English language and Chinese language Medical/Scientific journals publications, particularly aiming to explore the efficacy/contents of the literature published in English and Chinese in relation to the outcomes of management and characterization of COVID-19 during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Publications on COVID-19 research were retrieved from both English and Chinese databases. Bibliometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer 1.6.14, and CiteSpace V software. Network maps were generated to evaluate the collaborations between different authors, countries/provinces, and institutions. Results: A total of 143 English and 721 Chinese original research articles and reviews on COVID-19 were included in our study. Most of the authors and institutions of the papers were from China before March 1st, 2020, however, the distribution of authors and institutions were mainly in developed countries or more wealthy areas of China. The range of the keywords in English publications was more extensive than those in Chinese. Traditional Chinese Medicine was seen more frequently in Chinese papers than in English. Of the 143 articles published in English, 54 articles were published by Chinese authors only and 21 articles were published jointly by Chinese and other overseas authors. Conclusions: The publications in English have enabled medical practitioners and scientists to share/exchange information, while on the other hand, the publications in the Chinese language have provided complementary educational approaches for the local medical practitioners to understand the essential and key information to manage COVID-19 in the relatively remote regions of China, for the general population with a general level of education.