Evaluation of rapid antigen test for detection of SARS-COV2 Virus in comparison with real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread worldwide. Antigen point-of-care tests are needed to help speed up the testing of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection assay to the SARS-CoV-2 real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Materials and Methods: COVID-19 infection suspected patients and contact individuals provided 185 respiratory samples (mostly nasopharyngeal and throat swabs) during the study from April to June 2021. The rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test was compared to the real-time RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 detection in respiratory specimens. Results: By real-time RT-PCR testing, 80 (43.2%) of 185 respiratory samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, while 105 (56.8%) were negative. The sensitivity and specificity of the fast SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test were 63.1% and 90.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of the fast assay for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection were comparable to those of the real-time RT-PCR assay. As a result, the rapid and easy SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test could be used as a screening assay. © 2022 Journal of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University ;Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow.

Beneficial effects of a program of Mindfulness by remote during COVID-19 lockdown.

OBJECTIVE: In the emergency context of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, mindfulness relaxation techniques can provide a safe and effective strategy to obtain in a reasonably short time some degree of relief from suffering and to guarantee a greater confidence with emotional reactions in the general population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for coping with COVID-19 emergency was designed as an 8-week program during the early phase of lockdown consisting in practice meditation exercises at least once a day guided and structured by certified instructors entered on a free online platform. At the end of the program all participants completed a survey. RESULTS: A total of 108 surveys were completed (67.6% male; 32.4% female). Despite the difficult moment of lockdown and the fear linked to the pandemic, 61.9% of interviewed subjects declared a state of general well-being from fair to good linked to the practice of mindfulness. Female subjects (p=0.001), married subjects (p=0.05) and people taking pharmacologic therapy demonstrated (p=0.009) significant improvement in daily management of emotions and practical requests during the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness meditation may be effective in helping people to regulate emotions and to support their mental health during this period of worry and uncertainty.

How to monitor the public opinion response to unforeseen events? The ResPOnsE COVID-19 project

Faced with an unforeseen event such as the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, social research is called to monitor its consequences on public opinion. The article briefly describes the ResPOnsE COVID-19 project (Risposta dell’Opinione Pubblica all’Emergenza COVID-19) that the SPS TREND laboratory at the State University of Milan developed with this aim. To reconstruct the overall context of the ResPOnsE COVID-19 project, we first review various European experiences of survey research on the pandemic. Then, the article introduces the Rolling Cross-Section (RCS) research design which characterizes the project and its application to the case of the COVID-19 crisis in Italy. Finally, in the light of such a challenge, we discuss the opportunities and limitations of the project, broadening the look to survey research in general. © 2021 Societa Editrice il Mulino. All rights reserved.

Online group psychotherapy for patients with binge eating disorder during COVID-19 emergency

IntroductionOn March 13th 2020, in execution of the Law Decree 14/2020 regarding the reorganization of National Health Care related to COVID-19 emergency, all non-urgent outpatient healthcare services were suspended in Italy. The present work describes remote support and online group psychotherapy set in motion during COVID-19 emergency for outpatients with Binge Eating Disorder.ObjectivesAim of the present work is to describe and evaluate online support and group psychotherapy for outpatients with Binge Eating Disorder during lockdown due to COVID-19 emergency. Outcomes were evaluated by remote administration of questionnaires.Methods20 outpatients with Binge Eating Disorder, treated by psychotherapists of Hospital Psychology Unit in Psychiatry Day Hospital of an Italian General Hospital, received remote support by phone calls and online group psychotherapy from march to may 2020. During the first two weeks, patients were supported via phone calls. From the third week on, they took part to online group psychotherapy sessions, held every week at the same day and time. Pre-post remote administration of Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and the Questionnaire of Eating Behaviours (Scheda dei Comportamenti Alimentari, SCA) was used to evaluate outcomes. Data were analyzed by Student’s t-test.ResultsNo significant difference was found, thus indicating stability of symptomatology.ConclusionsLockdown was a highly stressful period, in which many people lost control on eating behaviours and those with Binge Eating Disorder were expected to have an exacerbation of symptoms. Remote support and online group psychotherapy proved effective in protecting patients from a possible aggravation of their condition.

Is Democracy Effective Against Coronavirus? An Analysis of Citizens' Opinions in Italy

The social and political implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are receiving increasing attention in the literature. This article aims to contribute to this fast-growing research programme by focusing on the degree to which Italian citizens perceive democratic institutions as effective in coping with crises like the COVID-19 emergency. We put forward a set of hypotheses whereby negative evaluations of the effectiveness of democracy can be associated with social proximity to the disease and with perceived health and economic threats. We also argued that political factors can interact with such threats. Moreover, we hypothesised that certain factors dealing with the concepts of social capital and civic culture can help inhibit negative opinions about the effectiveness of democracy. To test these hypotheses, we analysed public opinion data collected in Italy between April and July 2020 using a Rolling Cross-Section survey design. The data showed that evaluations of democracy became more negative with social proximity to the disease and with individual perceived vulnerability, understood in health and economic terms. Our findings also highlighted that certain social factors which "underpin" democracy moderated negative evaluations. Finally, political factors like ideology and government appraisal shaped the relationship between individual threats and evaluations of democracy.

Where does the Coronavirus come from? On the mechanisms underlying the endorsement of conspiracy theories on the origin of SARS-CoV-2

While official science has given its answer to the question on the origin of the Coronavirus (animal to human transmission), alternative theories on human creation of the virus-purposely or inadvertently-have flourished. Those alternative theories can be easily located among the family of conspiracy theories, as they always assume some secretive activity of some groups acting on their self-interest and against the good of the many. The article assesses the prevalence of these beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, studies its development during the pandemic, and investigates its potential determinants. In particular, it analyses the relationship between beliefs in alternative theories on the origin of the virus and political orientation, by arguing that the association cannot be attributed to (politically) motivated reasoning, as the issue has not been highly politicized in the Italian context. Alternatively, the article suggests that the main factor driving beliefs in alternative accounts on the origins of the virus is institutional trust. Political orientation moderates its effects, depending on specific conditions (e.g. cue taking, position of the supported party either in government or opposition), and eventually reinforcing scepticism towards epistemic authorities for those with low trust in institutions. Data come from the ResPOnsE COVID-19 survey, carried out with daily samples from April to July 2020 (N > 15.000) to monitor the development of the Italian public opinion during the Coronavirus pandemic. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Società Italiana di Scienza Politica.

What about heart and mind in the COVID-19 era?

From the time of Hippocratic medicine, heart-brain interactions have been recognized and contributed to both mental and physical health. Heart-brain interactions are complex and multifaceted and appear to be bidirectional. Exposure to chronic and daily stressors such as quarantine, or severe psychological trauma like a significant person in danger of life can affect the cardiovascular system and the emotional experience of the individual, leading to an increased risk of developing a cardiovascular disease or mental illness. Subjects with comorbidities between mental disorders and heart diseases are obviously more susceptible to be influenced by emotional burden due to the spread of COVID-19, with emotional responses characterized by fear, panic, anger, frustration. Psychological services and crisis interventions are needed at an early stage to reduce anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in such a stressful period, with a special attention to special groups of patients, such as women, children, or the elderly.

Web-mediated counseling to counteract the emotional impact of COVID-19 for women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Interstitial Cystitis (IC) is a chronic and rare disease, more frequent in women. Symptoms of continuous pain can produce psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression. The spread of COVID-19 pandemic added to distress experienced by patients with IC emotions, such as fear, sadness, boredom, frustration and anger. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A research on very recent literature outlines the necessity for patients facing the complexity of IC during the COVID-19 outbreak to prevent the temporary crisis, to broaden perspectives, to deal with confusion, to support in struggling with unpleasant and unexpected events. CONCLUSIONS: People affected by IC have a psychological vulnerability that needs tailored support interventions, particularly in the COVID era. A multidisciplinary approach offers a personalized treatment through a web-mediated counseling intervention for patients and their caregivers: a space for continuous discussion and reflection can favour a relationship-based process of change aimed at an improvement in quality of life.

Public acceptability of containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: how institutional confidence and specific political support matter

Purpose: This article contributes to a better theoretical and empiric understanding of mixed results in the literature investigating the relationship between institutional confidence and adherence to recommended measures during a pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The article relies on structural equation models (SEMs) based on data from ResPOnsE COVID-19, a rolling cross-section (RCS) survey carried out in Italy from April to June 2020. Findings: The authors’ findings show the existence of multiple pathways of confidence at the national and local level. Confidence in the institutions is positively associated with support for the performance of the Prime Minister and that of the regional institutions in the North West, which in turn, raises the likelihood of following the restrictive measures. However, in the same regions, a good appraisal of the regional system's performance also had a direct positive effect on the perception of being safe from the virus, decreasing adherence to the restrictive measures. Finally, the direct effect of confidence in the institutions on compliance is negative. Social implications: The result enlightens the crucial role both of national and local institutions in promoting or inhibiting adherence to restrictive measures during a pandemic and suggests that “one size fits all” measures for increasing overall institutional confidence might not be sufficient to reach the desired goal of achieving compliance in pandemic times. Originality/value: The authors theorize and test three cognitive mechanisms – (1) the “cascade of confidence”;(2) the “paradox of support” and (3) the “paradox of confidence” – to account for both the positive and negative links between measures of political support and public acceptability of COVID-19 containment measures. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Mental health and counseling intervention for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from Italy.

OBJECTIVE: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an inherited disorder of fibrovascular tissue, transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. This rare disease can involve one or more organs and clinical manifestations interest several medical specialties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of recent literature and our clinical experience shows that COVID-19 pandemic greatly influences the autonomy and psychic sphere of patients with HHT, causing them further distress. RESULTS: Often patients affected by HHT experience a sense of loneliness due to the rarity of this pathology and COVID-19 pandemic adds a burden for them and their caregivers who have to face emotional experiences that interfere with personal, social and working functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Multidisciplinary approach and web-mediated counseling intervention could offer a valid and personalized support for patients affected by HHT and their caregivers during quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic disturbances in the COVID-19 crisis and their gendered impact on unpaid activities in Germany and Italy

This article investigates whether changes in women’s and men’s contributions to household income in Germany and Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with changes in unpaid work. The current health crisis represents a unique opportunity to explore these topics, because the restrictive measures imposed during the lockdown are likely to have generated an unexpected shock to both domestic work and individual ability to contribute to household income. Using data from two novel datasets collected in Germany and Italy during the pandemic, this article shows that changes to both contribution to household income and unpaid activities during the crisis have been gendered, affecting women more negatively than men. In addition, we suggest that economic disturbances during the pandemic are associated with gendered changes in unpaid work that seem to be driven by changes in bargaining power in both countries. Our results also show some support for enhanced traditionalization of domestic life among German couples during the crisis, as predicted by gender display theories, albeit only regarding childcare. © 2020 European Sociological Association.