Prevalence of COVID-19 in Egyptian Children With Hemoglobinopathies and Inherited Anemias.

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) to be a pandemic, children's COVID-19 cases were generally less severe than adults. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 cases among children with hemoglobinopathies and other inherited anemias living in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt, who are at high risk of exposure to infection. This cross-sectional study evaluated data from 258 children with hemoglobinopathies and inherited anemias. A questionnaire was used to collect data about COVID-19 symptoms coupled with appropriate investigations (complete blood count, d-dimer, anti-COVID antibodies, chest computed tomography scans, and polymerase chain reaction). We found 38 of 258 (14.7%) children had mild to moderate COVID-19, while there were no cases with severe form of COVID-19. COVID-19 cases were significantly older (8.63±3.37 vs. 6.71±3.56 y, P =0.01), noncompliant to iron chelators (63.2% vs. 11.8%, P =0.01), had higher serum ferritin (2639.47±835.06 vs. 1038.95±629.87 ng/mL, P <0.0001) and serum iron levels (803.68±261.36 vs. 374.18±156.15 µg/dL, P <0.0001) and more frequently had undergone splenectomy (78.9% vs. 25.5%; P <0.0001) than non-COVID-19 cases. In conclusion, only 14.7% of children with hemoglobinopathies and inherited anemias were recorded to have contracted mild to moderate COVID-19, with no reported severe cases.

Psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the university students in Egypt.

University students are at elevated risk for mental health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent public health measures taken to combat it burdened the students' life with additional dramatic psychological impacts. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impacts that affected the university students in Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was sent to the Egyptian university students via all means of online communication during the first week of May 2020 by using a non-probability snowball sampling. A survey included a short version Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and socio-demographic data. Overall, 70.5, 53.6 and 47.8% of Egyptian students had depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Being a female, having a relative or acquaintance infected with COVID-19, having a preexisting chronic disease and lacking of psychological support from families, community and universities increase the risk of depression, anxiety and stress among Egyptian students. Being a medical student is associated with depression while, spending more time to follow news of COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increased anxiety. Egyptian students experience varying levels of psychological disturbance during COVID-19 pandemic. This study suggests that mental health of the university students should be carefully, monitored during the crisis and the universities should provide psychological-oriented services, adapted to these circumstances to mitigate its emotional impact on the students.