ABSTRACT
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the workload of healthcare workers managing the disease, increased significantly. The objective of this review is to determine the anxiety and depression prevalence among healthcare workers during the pandemic period. Methods: We searched systematically the literature in five electronic databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, and Cochrane COVID-19 study register. The last online research was performed in May 2022. We included only cross-sectional studies and performed a meta-analysis of pooled prevalence. Publication bias was assessed with a funnel plot and Egger's and Begg's tests. A random effect was applied and heterogenicity I2 was calculated. Quality assessment of included studies was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. Results: In this review, we included 14 cross-sectional studies comprising 7780 healthcare workers. Participants were from the whole spectrum of healthcare workers. The pooled prevalence of depression was 33.8% (95% CI: 24.6 - 43.6), heterogenicity I2: 98.69%. The pooled prevalence of anxiety was 41.3% (95% CI: 30.2 - 52.9), heterogenicity I2: 99.01%. Conclusion: One-third of healthcare workers suffered from depression, and more than one-third suffered from anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased measures of surveillance of mental health should have been taken, as well as the support of healthcare workers running a high risk of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The treatment of allergic rhinitis is important due to the burden that the disease causes globally. The objective of this review is to explore the efficiency of house dust mite and grass pollen extracts in allergic rhinitis treatment. METHODS: We performed research in electronic databases and searched relevant articles on PubMed, CINAHL, OVID, ScienceDirect, Cochrane CENTRAL, and MEDLINE. We used keywords such as 'allergic rhinitis', 'sublingual immunotherapy', 'randomized controlled trials', 'grass pollen', 'allergen immunotherapy', and 'house dust mite'. We included nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Quality assessment of included studies was performed independently by two authors. RESULTS: We included nine eligible RCTs in this review. Five RCTs were about grass pollen extracts and four RCTs were about house dust mite extracts. Most of the studies reported positive results and suggested further evaluation of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) treatment. Grass pollen extracts mostly used were Dactylis glomerata, Poa pratensis, Lolium perenne, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Phleum pratense, and Parietaria. House dust mite extracts used were from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farina. According to the quality assessment, no bias was observed in the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Although sublingual allergen immunotherapy shows a benefit compared to placebo in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and rhino-conjunctivitis in adults, the results are interpreted with caution due to the high heterogenicity among studies in treatment protocols and dosing. More standardization among studies is needed.
