Anxiety and depression status prior to radioactive iodine therapy among differentiated thyroid cancer patients during the COVID­19 pandemic.

OBJECTION: The psychological health of thyroid cancer patients cannot be ignored; however, few studies have been conducted on the psychological status and influencing factors of thyroid cancer patients before radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors for anxiety and depression in thyroid cancer patients prior to RAI therapy. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients preparing for RAI therapy. Anxiety and depression were measured before RAI therapy using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We used the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis to identify independent risk factors for anxiety and depression. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients with thyroid cancer were included. Of these, 72.32% (n = 81) were female, with a mean age of 41.50 years. Anxiety and depression were reported by 46 (41.08%) and 38 (33.93%) patients, respectively. Based on the chi-square test and univariate logistic regression analysis, being female and having ever-experienced RAI therapy were significant risk factors for anxiety and depression among DTCs prior to RAI therapy. On multivariable analysis, the results of model 2 which included age, sex, education level, and ever suffering radioactive iodine therapy showed that being female was markedly associated with anxiety and depression in these patients, while having ever undergone RAI therapy was significantly related to anxiety but not depression. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of anxiety and depression among patients with DTC prior to RAI therapy were 41.08% and 33.93%, respectively. Being female and having ever experienced RAI therapy significantly influenced anxiety and depression. Based on these findings, anxiety and depression assessment should be an important part of pre-RAI therapy in patients with DTC, and appropriate psychological nursing intervention can be carried out for key patients.

Is there association of olanzapine and pulmonary embolism: A case report

Olanzapine is a second‐generation antipsychotic drug that is often used to treat schizophrenia and manic attacks. An increasing number of cases in recent years have shown that olanzapine is associated with vascular thromboembolic disease (VTD). Here, we reported a case of patient with history of taking aripiprazole, benzhexol, olanzapine, and sertraline for 5 years. He was admitted because of aggravated chest tightness, chest pain, and shortness of breath sustaining for 3 days. Laboratory examination and computed tomography angiography of the chest revealed new pulmonary embolus which involved the main trunk of the pulmonary artery and bilateral pulmonary arteries, with pneumonic infiltration in the left upper lobe. After thrombolytic therapy, the patient was out of danger. This case report described a 36‐year‐old man who developed pulmonary embolism with 5 years' oral antipsychotic drugs. 3 days before being admitted, he was vaccinated with COVID‐19 vaccine. He had risk factor of smoking, obesity, and hyperlipidemia for VTD.

Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes for Controlling Airborne Viruses: Present Status, Standardization of Aerosol Filtration Tests, and Future Development.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has raised great public concern about the airborne transmission of viral pathogens. Virus-laden aerosols with small size could be suspended in the air for a long duration and remain infectious. Among a series of measures implemented to mitigate the airborne spread of infectious diseases, filtration by face masks, respirators, and air filters is a potent nonpharmacologic intervention. Compared with conventional air filtration media, nanofibrous membranes fabricated via electrospinning are promising candidates for controlling airborne viruses due to their desired characteristics, i.e., a reduced pore size (submicrometers to several micrometers), a larger specific surface area and porosity, and retained surface and volume charges. So far, a wide variety of electrospun nanofibrous membranes have been developed for aerosol filtration, and they have shown excellent filtration performance. However, current studies using electrospinning for controlling airborne viruses vary significantly in the practice of aerosol filtration tests, including setup configurations and operations. The discrepancy among various studies makes it difficult, if not impossible, to compare filtration performance. Therefore, there is a pressing need to establish a standardized protocol for evaluating the electrospun nanofibrous membranes' performance for removing viral aerosols. In this perspective, we first reviewed the properties and performance of diverse filter media, including electrospun nanofibrous membranes, for removing viral aerosols. Next, aerosol filtration protocols for electrospun nanofibrous membranes were discussed with respect to the aerosol generation, filtration, collection, and detection. Thereafter, standardizing the aerosol filtration test system for electrospun nanofibrous membranes was proposed. In the end, the future advancement of electrospun nanofibrous membranes for enhanced air filtration was discussed. This perspective provides a comprehensive understanding of status and challenges of electrospinning for air filtration, and it sheds light on future nanomaterial and protocol development for controlling airborne viruses, preventing the spread of infectious diseases, and beyond.

Photosensitized Electrospun Nanofibrous Filters for Capturing and Killing Airborne Coronaviruses under Visible Light Irradiation.

To address the challenge of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, photosensitized electrospun nanofibrous membranes were fabricated to effectively capture and inactivate coronavirus aerosols. With an ultrafine fiber diameter (∼200 nm) and a small pore size (∼1.5 µm), optimized membranes caught 99.2% of the aerosols of the murine hepatitis virus A59 (MHV-A59), a coronavirus surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. In addition, rose bengal was used as the photosensitizer for membranes because of its excellent reactivity in generating virucidal singlet oxygen, and the membranes rapidly inactivated 97.1% of MHV-A59 in virus-laden droplets only after 15 min irradiation of simulated reading light. Singlet oxygen damaged the virus genome and impaired virus binding to host cells, which elucidated the mechanism of disinfection at a molecular level. Membrane robustness was also evaluated, and in general, the performance of virus filtration and disinfection was maintained in artificial saliva and for long-term use. Only sunlight exposure photobleached membranes, reduced singlet oxygen production, and compromised the performance of virus disinfection. In summary, photosensitized electrospun nanofibrous membranes have been developed to capture and kill airborne environmental pathogens under ambient conditions, and they hold promise for broad applications as personal protective equipment and indoor air filters.

Exploring the Anti-Pulmonary Fibrosis Mechanism of Jingyin Granule by Network Pharmacology Strategy.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a clinically common disease caused by many factors, which will lead to lung function decline and even respiratory failure. Jingyin granule has been confirmed to have anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects by former studies, and has been recommended for combating H1N1 influenza A virus (H1N1) infection and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. At present, studies have shown that patients with severe COVID-19 infection developed lung fibrotic lesions. Although Jingyin granule can improve symptoms in COVID-19 patients, no study has yet reported whether it can attenuate the process of PF. Here, we explored the underlying mechanism of Jingyin granule against PF by network pharmacology combined with in vitro experimental validation. In the present study, the active ingredients as well as the corresponding action targets of Jingyin granule were firstly collected by TCMSP and literature data, and the disease target genes of PF were retrieved by disease database. Then, the common targets were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, and then a PPI network and an ingredient-target network were constructed. Next, UPLC-MS was used to isolate and identify selected representative components in Jingyin granule. Finally, LPS was used to induce the A549 cell fibrosis model to verify the anti-PF effect of Jingyin granule in vitro. Our results indicated that STAT3, JUN, RELA, MAPK3, TNF, MAPK1, IL-6, and AKT1 were core targets of action and bound with good affinity to selected components, and Jingyin granule may alleviate PF progression by Janus kinase 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK2/STAT3), the mammalian nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathways. Overall, these results provide future therapeutic strategies into the mechanism study of Jingyin granule on PF.

Prevalence and influencing factors of anxiety and depression symptoms among surgical nurses during COVID-19 pandemic: A large-scale cross-sectional study.

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence and influencing factors of anxiety and depression symptoms in surgical nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic in Anhui, China. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multic'entre quantitative study was conducted among surgical nurses in Anhui province. SAS, SDS and SSRS scales were used for the investigation. Data were collected between 3 March 2020 to 19 March 2020. RESULTS: A total of 3,492 surgical nurses completed the survey. The average level of anxiety and depression of surgical nurses were higher than that of the Chinese norm. Levels of social support for surgical nurses were significantly negatively associated with the degree of anxiety and depression. Fertility status, participation in care for COVID-19 patients, likelihood of being infected with COVID-19 and social support were significantly influencing surgical nurses' anxiety degree. Similarly, these characteristics were significantly associated with the odds of depression symptoms in surgical nurses. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that targeted psychological interventions to promote mental health of surgical nurses need to be immediately implemented.

Effectiveness of remote continuous glucose monitoring on adverse outcomes among patients with diabetes complicated with COVID-19.

This prospective study provided an effective way of glucose monitoring for patients with diabetes complicated with coronavirus disease 2019. The use of an intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring system was significantly associated with better outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with pre-existing diabetes.

Glycemic fluctuations caused by COVID-19: Results from continuous glucose monitoring.

AIM: We aimed to address the potential impact of COVID-19 on glycemic patterns in a small pilot study. METHOD: 13 patients with mild COVID-19 who were confirmed without diabetes and another group of 18 healthy individuals with available CGM data were well matched and enrolled into the final analysis. RESULTS: We noticed significantly higher TARs of >140 mg/dL (median 13.9% vs. 2.3%, P = 0.006), >160 mg/dL (median 4.7% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.011) and >180 mg/dL (median 1.9% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.007) among non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 than those among healthy individuals. There was no significant difference in TBR of <70 mg/dL or <54 mg/dL (all P > 0.1). Consequently, the TIR of 70 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL was significantly lower in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 than that in healthy individuals (median 80.1% vs. 93.1%, P = 0.001). Significant postprandial glycemic fluctuations were observed among patients with COVID-19. There was a remarkable difference in CV in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 compared to healthy individuals (median 25.6% vs. 15.7%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Significant higher glycemic fluctuation and exposure to hyperglycemia was associated with COVID-19 among previously normoglycemic individuals, characterized with potentially impaired glucose tolerance.

Thresholds of Glycemia and the Outcomes of COVID-19 Complicated With Diabetes: A Retrospective Exploratory Study Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

OBJECTIVE: Although elevated glucose levels are reported to be associated with adverse outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the optimal range of glucose in patients with COVID-19 and diabetes remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the threshold of glycemia and its association with the outcomes of COVID-19. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Glucose levels were assessed through intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring in 35 patients for an average period of 10.2 days. The percentages of time above range (TAR), time below range (TBR), time in range (TIR), and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated. Composite adverse outcomes were defined as either the need for admission to the intensive care unit, need for mechanical ventilation, or morbidity with critical illness. RESULTS: TARs using thresholds from 160 to 200 mg/dL were significantly associated with composite adverse outcomes after adjustment of covariates. Both TBR (<70 mg/dL) and TIR (70-160 mg/dL), but not mean sensor glucose level, were significantly associated with composite adverse outcomes and prolonged hospitalization. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios of the CV of sensor glucose across tertiles for composite adverse outcomes of COVID-19 were 1.00, 1.18, and 25.2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetes and COVID-19 have an increased risk of adverse outcomes with glucose levels >160 mg/dL and <70 mg/dL and a high CV. Therapies that improve these metrics of glycemic control may result in better prognoses for these patients.