ABSTRACT
Introduction: Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by the presence of sadness or loss of the ability to feel pleasure, with a high incidence in patients with COVID 19. The investigations have focused on patient care and little on the care of health personnel, these being the ones with the highest mortality rate, so the objective of the study was to investigate the prevalence of depression symptoms and suicide risk and understand the association of depressive disorder and suicide risk with levels of serum cholesterol and low levels of serum cortisol among internal medicine fellows in a specialist medical hospital in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, before and after COVID-19. Methods: In this longitudinal study, internal medicine residents were initially monitored for 2months before starting to care for patients with COVID-19. Participants were asked to fill out depression symptoms and suicide risk surveys. We measured the serum cholesterol and cortisol of each participant, and again after 11months of treating COVID-19 patients. Results: Depression symptoms and suicide risk were assessed; significant differences were found between the two time periods for depression (p < 0.01), and no difference was found for suicide risk (p = 0.182). We found a significant correlation between serum cholesterol levels and suicide risk (r = 0.366, p < 0.01); we also found differences in serum cortisol levels (p < 0.01) and cholesterol (p < 0.0001) before and after the pandemic. Conclusion: Caring for patients with COVID-19 in the hospital contributed to an increase in levels of depression symptoms and suicidal ideation, as well as differences in levels of cortisol and cholesterol in resident physicians of internal medicine; among the possible reasons for this change could be the conditions of personal protection while treating patients, the uncertainty in the first months of not knowing how the virus was transmitted and not having or knowing when vaccinations would be available, as well as the lack of a strategy of adequate mental health support from the institutions dedicated to their academic training.
ABSTRACT
The appearance of a new coronavirus, which has caused the collapse of health systems around the world, has led to the emergence of numerous investigations looking for the ideal treatment and proper management of this new entity, since its control has become impossible and its cure an international necessity. To date, there are hundreds of articles and clinical trials to review. For this reason, in an attempt to facilitate the reader's knowledge of the new evidence and in summary form, the different therapies studied so far are presented in this article: their antiviral and adverse effects. Without forgetting that there are still doubts to be resolved and this process of new knowledge is just beginning.
La aparición de un nuevo coronavirus, causante del colapso de los sistemas de salud de todo el mundo, ha provocado el surgimiento de cuantiosas investigaciones en busca del tratamiento ideal y un adecuado manejo a esta nueva entidad, ya que su control se ha vuelto imposible y su cura una necesidad internacional. Hasta la fecha existen cientos de artículos y ensayos clínicos por revisar. Por ello, en un intento por facilitar al lector el entendimiento de la nueva evidencia y en forma de resumen, se exponen en el presente artículo las distintas terapias estudiadas hasta el momento: sus efectos antivirales y adversos. Sin olvidar que aún quedan varias incógnitas por resolver y este proceso de nuevo conocimiento apenas comienza.
