Perceived Need for Mental Health Services Among Healthcare Workers During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic in Turkey: A Multicenter Cross-sectional Study

Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has contributed to work-related psychosocial risks in healthcare workers. Aims: To evaluate the perceived need for mental health services and related factors in Turkish healthcare workers practicing in pandemic hospitals. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with healthcare workers at 19 pandemic hospitals in 13 provinces between September and November 2021. The study survey included the evaluation of the perceived need for and utilization of mental health services in the previous year, as well as sociodemographic, health-related, and work-related characteristics, the General Health Questionnaire-12, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire, and the Fear of coronavirus disease-2019 scale (FCV-19S). Results: Of 1,556 participants, 522 (33.5%) reported a perceived need for mental health services, but only 133 (8.5%) reported receiving these services. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the perceived need for mental health services revealed significant relationships with lower age, female sex, being a current smoker, having a chronic disease, having a mental disorder, coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months in settings other than the home or workplace, a positive coronavirus disease-2019 vaccination history, being a physician, being a non-physician healthcare professional, and coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months at work. After adjustment for these characteristics, higher General Health Questionnaire-12 and FCV-19S scores and lower WHOQoL-BREF domain scores were related to the perceived need for mental health services in logistic regression analyses. Conclusion: The findings indicate a substantial need for mental health services amongst Turkish healthcare workers during the pandemic and outline participants' characteristics regarding high-priority groups for the intervention. Future research may focus on developing actions and evaluating their efficiency.

'COVID-Somnia' in healthcare workers during the pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep disorders associated with COVID-19 pandemic are termed as 'COVID-somnia.' In this study, we sought to assess the prevalence of COVID-somnia in healthcare workers, establish the factors that trigger this condition, and to investigate its relationship with anxiety and depression symptoms. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2021 and June 2021, and it included healthcare workers who served during the pandemic. Participants' demographic data, Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were used, and the results were statistically analyzed. Multiple analyses of factors affecting ESS and ISI scores were evaluated using binary logistic regression model and PSQI score were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model. RESULTS: A total of 1,111 healthcare workers who served during the pandemic voluntarily enrolled to the study. The mean age was 37.3 ± 8.48 years, and 63.5% were females. Our study showed that the healthcare workers, evaluated with the PSQI, experienced a deterioration of sleep quality. Primary factors affecting this are working on the front line, the presence of chronic diseases, depression, and anxiety. Regression analyses identified depression and anxiety as the common factors affecting ESS, ISI, and PSQI scores. CONCLUSION: Raising awareness regarding COVID-somnia among healthcare workers, who play a leading role in curbing the pandemic, would reduce sleep disturbances, depression, and anxiety. It would also contribute to the planning and implementation of preventive and therapeutic mental health programs with a multidisciplinary approach.

Turkish Thoracic Society Early Career Members Task Force Group's Virtual Congress Notes: European Respiratory Society International Congress 2020.

In this article, Early Career Task Force Group members of the Turkish Thoracic Society summarize the European Respiratory Society 2020 virtual congress. Current developments in the field of respiratory diseases were compiled with the addition of sessions specific to coronavirus disease 2019 this year. Almost all of the congress sessions were examined, and the important and striking results of the congress were highlighted. Congress sessions were attended by expert researchers, and the prominent messages of each session were highlighted in short summaries. They were then grouped under relevant titles and ranked in order of meaning and relation. It was finalized by a team of researchers.

The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)/ Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history in healthcare workers: a multi-center study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought countries' health services into sharp focus. It was drawn to our group's attention that healthcare workers (HCWs) had a lower mortality rate against higher COVID-19 incidence compared to the general population in Turkey. Since risk of exposure to tuberculosis bacillus among healthcare workers are higher than the population, we aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history with COVID-19 severity in infected HCWs. This study was conducted with 465 infected HCWs from thirty-three hospitals to assess the relationship between COVID-19 severity (according to their hospitalization status and the presence of radiological pneumonia) and BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure history. HCWs who required hospital admission had significantly higher rates of chronic diseases, radiological pneumonia, and longer working hours in the clinics. Higher rates of history of contact and care to tuberculosis patients, history of tuberculosis, and BCG vaccine were observed in hospitalized HCWs. HCWs who had radiological pneumonia had a significantly increased ratio of history of care to tuberculosis patients and a higher family history of tuberculosis. The findings from our study suggest that the lower mortality rate despite the more severe disease course seen in infected HCWs might be due to frequent exposure to tuberculosis bacillus and the mortality-reducing effects of the BCG vaccine.

The value of the platelet count and platelet indices in differentiation of COVID-19 and influenza pneumonia.

It is difficult to distinguish coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) from other viral respiratory tract infections owing to the similarities in clinical and radiological findings. This study aims to determine the clinical importance of platelet count and platelet indices in the differentiation of COVID-19 from influenza and the value of these parameters in the differential diagnosis of COVID-19. The medical records of the patients and the electronic patient monitoring system were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic characteristics, admission symptoms, laboratory findings, radiological involvement, comorbidities, and mortality of the patients were recorded. Forty-three patients diagnosed with influenza and 54 diagnosed with COVID-19 were included in the study. The average age of the COVID-19 patients was lower than that of the influenza patients (influenza: 60.5 years, COVID-19: 52.4 years; pp = 0.024),.024), and the male gender was predominant in the COVID-19 group (influenza: 42%, COVID-19: 56%). According to laboratory findings, the mean platelet volume (MPV) and MPV/platelet ratio were statistically significantly lower, whereas the eosinophil count and platelet distribution width levels were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the COVID-19 group. It was found that the most common symptom in both groups was dyspnea and that the symptom was more prevalent among influenza patients. In the diagnosis of COVID-19, the platelet count and platelet indices are easily accessible, inexpensive, and important parameters in terms of differential diagnosis and can help in the differentiation of COVID-19 from influenza during seasonal outbreaks of the latter.

Effect of coronaphobia on smoking habits.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic had exhibited negative effects on patients with a nicotine use disorder because of social stress situations. The objective of this study is to investigate the changes that occurred in the smoking habits of the patients who applied to our smoking cessation clinic because of the COVID-19 outbreak's effect (coronaphobia) on their mental health. METHOD: In this study, we included the patients who applied to our smoking cessation clinic between January 1 and June 30, 2020. We conducted telephonic and face-to-face interviews with the patients during the outbreak, and inquired about the changes in their smoking habits. RESULTS: In total, 114 volunteers (mean age: 41.2 years [min-max: 18-82 years], M/F: 70/44 [61.4/38.6%]) who registered in the smoking cessation clinic of Chest Diseases Clinic were included in the study. The number of people with and without coronaphobia was 64 (56.1%) and 50 (43.9%), respectively. The analyses of the changes in smoking behaviors because of coronaphobia demonstrated that people with coronaphobia exhibited a significantly higher decrease or cessation of smoking as compared to no change in smoking behavior or increase in the number of cigarettes (p: .006). CONCLUSIONS: Success in smoking cessation can be increased with the accurate analyses of the anxiety effects caused by coronaphobia after COVID-19 outbreak on the desire of smoking cessation. This resolution depends on the solution-oriented strategies that will increase the awareness of physicians and patients, a close follow-up of patients with tools such as telemedicine, and a quick determination of their needs.

COVID-19 Pregnant Patient Management with a Case of COVID-19 Patient with An Uncomplicated Delivery.

Pregnancy has always been a concern in epidemics all over the world. While coronavirus (COVID-19) disease ravages the world, it is a big curiosity how pregnant women will be affected by this disease. There are a few published case series and commentary of COVID-19 occurring during pregnancy. In this study, we discussed how to manage this disease in pregnant women. A 38-week pregnant, 37-year-old woman whose father passed away from COVID-19 admitted to the hospital with dyspnea, nonproductive cough, and fever. She had positive radiological features for COVID-19, and her rapid antibody test was positive. Lopinavir-ritonavir combination and azithromycin treatments were given, and the patient's symptoms regressed with treatment. The patient was taken to cesarean by providing isolation conditions, and she had a healthy baby with an uncomplicated delivery. There are no certain data about whether COVID-19 infection is worse in pregnant patients or not. On the basis of the limited data in the literature, we cannot see intrauterine transmission from infected mother to baby. However, we know that there would be serious pulmonary complications for the infected mother. Fortunately, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection did not progress more severely in pregnant women than in the normal population compared with the previous severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak.

Unclear Issues Regarding COVID-19.

Scientists from all over the world have been intensively working to discover different aspects of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since the first cluster of cases was reported in China. Herein, we aimed to investigate unclear issues related to transmission and pathogenesis of disease as well as accuracy of diagnostic tests and treatment modalities. A literature search on PubMed, Ovid, and EMBASE databases was conducted, and articles pertinent to identified search terms were extracted. A snow-ball search strategy was followed in order to retrieve additional relevant articles. It was reported that viral spread may occur during the asymptomatic phase of infection, and viral load was suggested to be a useful marker to assess disease severity. In contrast to immune response against viral infections, cytotoxic T lymphocytes decline in SARS-CoV-2 infection, which can be partially explained by direct invasion of T lymphocytes or apoptosis activated by SARS-CoV-2. Dysregulation of the urokinase pathway, cleavage of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein by FXa and FIIa, and consumption coagulopathy were the proposed mechanisms of the coagulation dysfunction in COVID-19. False-negative rates of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction varied between 3% and 41% across studies. The probability of the positive test was proposed to decrease with the number of days past from symptom onset. Safety issues related to infection spread limit the use of high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in hypoxic patients. Further studies are required to elucidate the challenging issues, thus enhancing the management of COVID-19 patients.