3D-Printed Face Mask with Integrated Sensors as Protective and Monitoring Tool

The outbreak of the recent Covid-19 pandemic changed many aspects of our daily life, such as the constant wearing of face masks as protection from virus transmission risks. Furthermore, it exposed the healthcare system's fragilities, showing the urgent need to design a more inclusive model that takes into account possible future emergencies, together with population's aging and new severe pathologies. In this framework, face masks can be both a physical barrier against viruses and, at the same time, a telemedical diagnostic tool. In this paper, we propose a low-cost, 3D-printed face mask able to protect the wearer from virus transmission, thanks to internal FFP2 filters, and to monitor the air quality (temperature, humidity, CO2) inside the mask. Acquired data are automatically transmitted to a web terminal, thanks to sensors and electronics embedded in the mask. Our preliminary results encourage more efforts in these regards, towards rapid, inexpensive and smart ways to integrate more sensors into the mask's breathing zone in order to use the patient's breath as a fingerprint for various diseases. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Characterization of Disposable Facemasks for COVID-19 Through Colorimetric Analysis

Many aspects of the world population’s daily life have been recently changed by the events following the SARS-COV-2 pandemic outbreak. Among all the consequences, wearing face masks has become a common routine to protect from virus transmission risks. This work presents a simple colorimetric system able to detect the carbon dioxide (CO2) saturation inside a disposable face mask, which is useful to determine the level of wear and degradation and to visually provide indications on its disposal time. The experiments were carried out by wearing a FFP2 face mask externally treated with a phenolphthalein solution and including in its breathing zone a CO2 sensor. Changes in face mask color were recorded by a camera and analyzed with ImageJ. A strong correspondence was found between the high values of CO2 detected by the sensor and the analyzed data. The results are promising and suggest further efforts in developing easy-to-use colorimetric methods as a visual indicator of the life cycle of a disposable face mask.

FP06.04 Psychological Distress in Outpatients with Lymphoma, Lung and Breast Cancer during COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The psychological impact of the lockdown experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has been found detrimental for the general population, but it has still not been evaluated in cancer patients. We have investigated the psychological status of outpatients receiving anti-neoplastic treatmentduring the lockdown in a non-COVID Cancer Center, with the following aims: to measure the levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression and anxiety, to compare patients with different diagnosis. A further objective was to compare the anxiety and depression levels between cancer patients before and after the emergency assuming an increase in distress in cancer patients in this period due to the health emergency. Methods: Outpatients attending the IRCCS "Giovanni Paolo II" in Bari for their therapy were asked to complete these questionnaires: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADs) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-r).Worries regarding the COVID-19 on patients’ lives, socio-demographic and clinical details were investigated using a brief structured questionnaire. Results: One-hundred seventy-six outpatients (n.59 with lung cancer, n.40 with breast cancer, n.77 with lymphoma) were enrolled. Mean age was 57.9 y.o. (SD ±14);48% were male. We found that 54,4% of patients were above the cut-off (score≥16) for HADS general scale. The mean-IES-R score of patients was 25 (SD±17), with 22.8% indicating severe level of PTDS. The HADS-D has been found significantly correlated with IES-R (r= 0.35;p<0.005). The 70% of patients declared that their worries have increased during the pandemic;their bigger concerns were: the risk of getting infected while at hospital (51.4%);the risk of infecting relatives coming back home (38.7%), andthe risk of delaying therapy (35.3%).When comparing the level of anxiety and depression in different diagnosis it has been found that patients with lung cancer have higher distress(HADs-general scale) than patients with lymphoma (F=17.3, p<0.005) and breast cancer (F=8.86, p<0.005). Finally, cancer patients who experienced the health emergency showed higher levels of anxiety Hads-A, t (237) = 3.73 p<0.001), and general distress (Hads-G, t (237) = 2.51) than those measured 2 years ago (fig 1). Conclusion: This study focused on the psychological aspects of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that one quarter of patients has severe post-traumatic stress symptoms, and has psychological distress. Patients with lung cancer have higher distress compared to the other groups. This condition risks being overlooked by clinical concerns, so we underline the importance to place even more attention to the psychological needs of patients. Keywords: cancer, COVID, Psychological distress

P40.01 Tobacco use in Adolescence and Associated Factors: Products, School, Family, Peers and Movies in Pandemic Period

Introduction: Tobacco smoking among adolescents is still frequent and stalling in the last decades, so the main purpose of this research is to know if the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on adolescents' perceptions regarding smoking. We investigated: 1) the prevalence of active cigarette smoking;2) if smoking of parents and friends and school environment influences the choice to smoke;3) if the students capture the presence of images of smoking in films;4) the level of concern of the younger people regarding the association between Covid-19 disease and smoke. Methods: 719 students (65% boys, aged 13-19 years, from the high school, technical and professional institutes) filled an anonymous questionnaire (31-item), during Covid-lockdown. Results: The students have been subdivided into the following categories: daily smokers (12.8%), occasional (30.3%), former (8.8%) and never smokers (48.1%). 52% of students have smoked at least once (n.s. for gender). Interestingly, over time the probability of starting to smoke decreases (fig1). Furthermore, the students who start smoking early tend to smoke daily (r=-0.13;p < 0.01) and more cigarettes (r=-0.30;p < 0.01). 83% of students start smoking out of curiosity and a spirit of adventure, consuming 1 to 4 cigarettes daily. Moreover 30% of them would want to quit but failed;27% never thought about it;while 44% report that they will quit smoking in a few years. 59% consume manufactured cigarettes, 36% smoke rolling tobacco;3% use HNB and 2% e-cigarettes. The type of cigarettes considered less harmful are electronic cigarettes. 68% of the student smokers have in turn someone in the family who smokes, on the contrary only 37.5% of non-smoking students have parent smokers. Considering only the students who smoked at least once, 65% replied that someone among friends smoke, while only 4% of no-smokers have smoking friends. Finally, the adolescents attending professional institutes smoke daily and more cigarettes (F (2, 368)=5.32;p<0.05) compared to the other. Moreover, it emerged that 48% do not pay attention to smoking scenes in the movies. About the coronavirus epidemic, 80% reported a upper-middle concern and 84% think that is very dangerous for smokers, while 76,3% consider that the respiratory symptoms of smokers Covid-19 patients could have a worse outcome and that being a smoker can become very dangerous for the clinical complications that can occur (84%). [Formula presented] Conclusion: These data, even more meaningful during COVID-19 pandemic, highlight the importance and the need of primary prevention as well as of suitable secondary prevention programs. Keywords: Tobacco use, adolescents, Pandemic period

Psychological distress in outpatients with lymphoma, lung and breast cancer during covid-19 pandemic

Background: The psychological impact of the lockdown experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has been found detrimental for the general population, but it has still not been evaluated in cancer patients. We have investigated the psychological status of outpatients receiving anti-neoplastic treatmentduring the lockdown in a non-COVID Cancer Center, with the following aims: to measure the levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression and anxiety, to compare patients with different diagnosis. An additional aim was to offer a psychological on-line support to patients who need it. Material and methods: Outpatients attending the IRCCS 'Giovanni Paolo II' in Bari for their therapy were asked to complete these questionnaires: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADs) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-r).Worries regarding the COVID-19 on patients' lives, socio-demographic and clinical details were investigated using a brief structured questionnaire. Results: One-hundred seventy-six outpatients (n.59 with lung cancer, n.40 with breast cancer, n.77 with lymphoma) were enrolled. Mean age was 57.9 y.o. (SD ±14);48% were male. We found that 54,4% of patients were above the cut-off (score≥16) for HADS general scale. The mean-IES-R score of patients was 25 (SD±17), with 22.8% indicating severe level of PTDS. The HADS-D has been found significantly correlated with IES-R (r= 0.35;p<0.005). The 70% of patients declared that their worries have increased during the pandemic;their bigger concerns were: the risk of getting infected while at hospital (51.4%);the risk of infecting relatives coming back home (38.7%), andthe risk of delaying therapy (35.3%).When comparing the level of anxiety and depression in different diagnosis it has been found that patients with lung cancer have higher distress(HADs-general scale) than patients with lymphoma (F=17.3, p<0.005) and breast cancer (F=8.86, p<0.005). Conclusions: This study focused on the psychological aspects of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that one quarter of patients has severe post-traumatic stress symptoms, and has psychological distress. Patients with lung cancer have higher distress compared to the other groups. This condition risks being overlooked by clinical concerns, so weunderline the importance to place even more attention to the psychological needs of patients, especially for those who have symptoms similar to COVID-19 as in lung cancer, in order to offer adequate support.