A Research on Home Workers' Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Pandemic Period

Working life has been transformed and its dynamics experienced a new break with the Covid-19 outbreak which made working home model as a new normal. Coronavirus caused significant changes in all aspects of life, which an important one was compelling people staying and working home. Hence, increasing sedentary lifestyle and spending more time on internet and television affected musculoskeletal health negatively. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of working home arrangements on work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) during Covid-19 pandemic. Research was conducted with a group of 424 participants who experienced working home style in pandemic period in Turkey. A questionnaire containing demographic questionnaire and Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was sent to participants. The findings of this study showed that the working home arrangements during pandemic period worsened the musculoskeletal health of the participants. It is predicted that this deterioration will continue to increase with the continuation of working from home. Consequently, in order to decrease this negative situation, organizations and individuals should take the necessary precautions, regulations and training.

Performance Comparison of Oral, Laryngeal and Thoracic Sounds in the Detection of COVID-19 by Employing Machine Learning Techniques

COVID-19 can directly or indirectly cause lung involvements by crossing the upper airways. It is essential to quickly detect the lung involvement condition and to follow up and treat these patients by early hospitalization. In recent COVID-19 diagnosis procedure, PCR testing is applied to the samples taken from the patients and a quarantine period is applied to the patient until the test results are received. As a complement to PCR tests and for faster diagnosis, thin-section lung computed tomography (CT) imaging is used in COVID-19 patients. In this study, it is aimed to develop a method that is as reliable as CT, and compared to CT, less risky, more accessible, and less costly for the diagnosis of COVID-19 disease. For this purpose, first speech and cough sounds from the oral, laryngeal and thoracic regions of COVID-19 patients and healthy individuals were obtained with the multi-channel voice recording system we proposed, the obtained data were processed with machine learning methods and their accuracies in COVID-19 diagnosis were presented comparatively. In our study, the best results were obtained with the features extracted from the cough sounds taken from the oral region. © 2022 IEEE.

Measuring Physical Activity in Children With Cochlear Implants Using Self-Reported PAQ-C Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Physical inactivity is common during periods of self-isolation, but for children with special needs, there are crucial benefits to be gained from maintaining moderate to vigorous physical activity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to compare the physical activity levels of children with cochlear implants and their typically developed peers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample included 135 children with cochlear implants and 105 typically developed peers. We compared the daily activity levels of the two groups, measured by a 10-item questionnaire and the triangulation method. Results of this study showed that the girls were less active than the boys. Most items had adequate variance, and their means were close to the center of the range of values. The PAQ-C scores for the children with cochlear implants were distributed across a wider range than the scores for the typically developed children. Children with cochlear implants were physically active during school hours but were less active outside school, spending 3 to 6 hours per day using digital media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children with cochlear implants need to increase their physical activity in and out of school by increasing their level of independence and their ability to adapt to social life. Giving information about physical activity opportunities to parents of children with cochlear implants is an important issue. School presents an opportunity for children to engage in regular physical activity, which is beneficial for their health status.

Delayed presentation of head and neck cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare is huge. We intended to demonstrate how COVID-19 pandemic affected primary head and neck oncology patient's referral and admission to a tertiary center by comparing the retrospective patient data in March-September 2020 and the same period in 2019. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, from March 15th, 2020 to September 15th, 2020, medical records of 61 patients (Group 1) diagnosed and scheduled for surgery for head and neck cancer in our tertiary care center were revised and compared with 64 head and neck cancer patients treated in the same institution in the same time period of the previous year (Group2). Surgical site, TNM stages, need for reconstruction with flap, time from first symptom occurrence to first admission to our institution, and time to surgery were noted. RESULTS: In Group 1, out of 56 patients, 26 were diagnosed with T1-2 tumor, while 30 had T3-4 tumor. In Group 2, 43 of 60 patients had T1-2 tumor, while only 17 of them were diagnosed with T3-4 tumor. The rate of T3-4 tumors had significantly increased in 2020 when compared to 2019 (p = 0.049). In oral cavity cancer patients, N stage was significantly increased in Group 1 when compared to Group 2 (p = 0.024). Need for reconstruction with regional or free flaps were significantly increased in oral cavity cancer patients (p = 0,022). The mean time from the beginning of the first symptom to the admission was 19.01 ± 4.6 weeks (ranging between 11 and 32 weeks) in Group 1, while it was 16.6 ± 5.9 weeks in Group 2 (ranging between 6 and18 weeks); with significant increase (p = 0,02). The time to surgery from first admission was 3.4 ± 2.5 and 2.9 ± 1.2 weeks in Group 1 and 2, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused delay in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases as such in head and neck cancers. Admission with advanced stage disease and the need for more complex reconstructive procedures were increased. During the pandemic, the management of other diseases that cause mortality and morbidity should not be neglected and priorities should be determined.

Evaluation of Olfactory Function With Objective Tests in COVID-19-Positive Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: Olfactory dysfunction is relatively high in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of olfactory disorder objectively in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study included 31 healthy controls and 59 COVID-19 patients who were diagnosed and treated in the COVID departments in a tertiary hospital. The patients with corona virus infection were screened by a questionnaire and were classified into 2 groups as either group 2 (patients without self-reported smell loss) or group 3 (patients with self-reported smell loss). Age and gender matched healthy controls who do not have chronic nasal condition or nasal surgery history comprised the control group (group 1). All of the patients and subjects in the control group were tested by the Sniffin' Sticks test. All of the answers and scores were recorded, and the comparisons were made. RESULTS: The rate of self-reported smell and taste loss in all COVID-19 patients in this study was 52.5% and 42%, respectively. There was a significant difference in threshold, discrimination, identification, and Threshold, Discrimination, Identification (TDI) scores between groups 1 and 2. When the comparisons between group 1 and 3 were made, again threshold, discrimination, identification, and TDI scores were significantly different. The comparison between groups 2 and 3 demonstrated a significant difference in discrimination, identification, and TDI scores, but threshold score was not different statistically. With questionnaire, the rate of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients was 52.5%, but with objective test, the rate was calculated as 83%. CONCLUSION: Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are common in COVID-19 patients. According to findings with the objective test method in this study, smell disorder in COVID-19 patients was much higher than those detected by questionnaires.