ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic changed people's lives all over the world. While anxiety and stress decreased sleep quality for most people, an increase in total sleep time was also observed in certain cohorts. Dream recall frequency also increased, especially for nightmares. However, to date, there are no consistent reports focusing on pandemic-related changes in lucid dreaming, a state during which dreamers become conscious of being in a dream as it unfolds. Here we investigated lucid dreaming recall frequency and other sleep variables in 1,857 Brazilian subjects, using an online questionnaire. Firstly, we found that most participants (64.78%) maintained their lucid dream recall frequency during the pandemic, but a considerable fraction (22.62%) informed that lucid dreams became more frequent, whereas a smaller subset (12.60%) reported a decrease in these events during the pandemic. Secondly, the number of participants reporting lucid dreams at least once per week increased during the pandemic. Using a mixed logistic regression model, we confirmed that the pandemic significantly enhanced the recall frequency of lucid dreams (p = 0.002). Such increase in lucid dreaming during the pandemic was significantly associated with an enhancement in both dream and nightmare recall frequencies, as well as with sleep quality and symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder. Pandemic-related increases in stress, anxiety, sleep fragmentation, and sleep extension, which enhance REM sleep awakening, may be associated with the increase in the occurrence of lucid dreams, dreams in general, and nightmares. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Aim: Despite concerns about cardiovascular implications in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients, not all COVID-19 patients are visited by cardiologists and recommended to perform comprehensive cardiovascular assessments including measurement of biomarkers and echocardiography. We aimed to investigate the reasons for seeking cardiology care and to assess our cardiologists' diagnostic approaches to COVID-19 patients with potential cardiovascular involvement. Methods and Results: In this prospective, observational study, data of all consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to six designated hospitals for COVID-19 in Iran in whom bedside cardiology consultation was requested were collected. A total of 148 patients including 105 (71%) males were included. The mean age was 57 ± 17 years. The most common reasons for cardiology consultation were dyspnea (56.7%), chest pain (12.8%), and suspected arrhythmias (10.8%). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (40.5%), diabetes mellitus (19.6%), and coronary heart disease (18.9%). A 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) was obtained in all patients. Point-of-care ultrasonography or limited transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed in 106 (71.6%) patients, and complete TTE was performed in 35 (23.4%) patients. Cardiac troponin was measured in 63 (42.6%) patients, and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide level was measured in 34 (23%) patients. Overall, 51 (34.5%) patients underwent invasive mechanical ventilation, inotropes were used in 29 (19.6%) patients, and 40 (27%) patients died. Conclusions: While preventing unnecessary investigations, the cardiologists should not overlook the lifesaving role of ubiquitous diagnostic modalities (such as ECG and TTE) in early detection and management of cardiac involvement in COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Objective: to analyze the Brazilian scientific production on COVID-19. Method: bibliographic, descriptive, quantitative and bibliometric analysis research. The source of information was PubMed, with a period between November 17, 2019 and May 18, 2020. RSudio and VOSviewer software, bibliometrix and biblioshiny bibliometric packages, and Word Cloud Art were used for data analysis. Results: the Brazilian authors identified in the 248 articles are mostly from the medical area, working in institutions in the Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil and maintain international collaboration, mainly with the United States, Italy and Canada. There is publication in several journals, especially those of Brazilian origin. The keywords and published articles refer to biomedical themes. Conclusion: Brazilian scientific production lacks researches on COVID-19 that reflect on the impacts of the pandemic on society, workers and health economy in Brazil. © 2020 Universidade Federal da Bahia. All rights reserved.