Investigation of adverse reactions in healthcare personnel working in Level 3 barrier protection PPE to treat COVID-19.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of our study was to investigate potential adverse reactions in healthcare professionals working in Level 3 barrier protection personal protective equipment (L3PPE) to treat patients with COVID-19. STUDY DESIGN: By using a convenience sampling approach, 129 out of 205 randomly selected healthcare professionals from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine were invited to take part in a WeChat messaging app survey, Questionnaire Star, via a survey link. Healthcare personnel details were collected, including profession, years of professional experience and adverse reactions while wearing L3PPE. Survey results were divided by profession and years of professional experience; differences in adverse reactions were compared. RESULTS: Among the 129 healthcare professionals surveyed, 21 (16.28%) were doctors and 108 (83.72%) were nurses. A total of 122 (94.57%) healthcare professionals experienced discomfort while wearing L3PPE to treat patients with COVID-19. The main reasons for adverse reactions and discomfort include varying degrees of adverse skin reactions, respiratory difficulties, heat stress, dizziness and nausea. Doctors had a lower incidence of rashes (χ2=4.519, p=0.034) and dizziness (χ2=4.123, p=0.042) when compared with nurses. Junior (8.5 years of experience or fewer) healthcare personnel also experienced a higher rate of heat stress when compared with senior personnel (more than 8.5 years greater) (χ2=5.228, p=0.022). CONCLUSION: More attention should be offered to healthcare personnel wearing L3PPE to treat patients with COVID-19 because they are susceptible to developing adverse reactions.

[Interference of Lumican Regulates the Invasion and Migration of Liver Cancer Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of silencing lumican on the invasion and migration of liver cancer cells. METHODS: Lumican was silenced by shRNA in liver cancer cells (HepG2 and MHCC97H). The mRNA levels of lumican were detected by qRT-PCR. Cell invasion was measured by Transwell. Cell migration was tested via wound healing. The protein levels of lumican,MMP-9,VEGF,ERK1,JNK,p-ERK1 and p-JNK were measured by Western blot. RESULTS: Liver cancer cells (HepG2 and MHCC97H) had higher levels of mRNA and protein of lumican compared with normal hepatocyte L02 (P<0.01). shRNA lowered the levels of mRNA and protein of lumican (P<0.01),and weakened the invasion and migration of cancer cells (P<0.01). The expressions of MMP-9 and VEGF decreased with the shRNA silence (P<0.01). shRNA also reduced the protein level of p-ERK1 and p-JNK (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Silencing lumican by shRNA attenuates the invasion and migration of liver cancer cells via inhibiting the activation of ERK1/JNK pathway.