HDL in COVID-19 Patients: Evidence from an Italian Cross-Sectional Study.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Papotti B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8708284 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:We investigated the prevalence rate and sociodemographic correlates of COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and COVID-19-related acute stress disorder (ASD) among Italian adolescents, their level of stress, perception of parental stress, and connection with mental health. Adolescents aged 12-18 years compiled an online questionnaire designed through validated diagnostic instruments. We enrolled 1262 adolescents who declared that they had not experienced any previous traumatic events. Participants were divided into two groups: 118 adolescents with psychiatric problems (APP+) and 1144 without (APP-). In total, 79.52% reported isolated COVID-19-related ASD (29.48%) or PTSD symptoms (50.04%). One adolescent met the diagnosis of COVID-19-related ASD and two met the diagnosis of COVID-19-related PTSD, according to DSM-5. Adolescents with subthreshold COVID-19-related ASD and PTSD symptoms referred the highest levels of personal stress and adolescents with psychiatric/psychological conditions experienced higher stress. Health measures should be urgently employed prioritizing psychosocial stressors among adolescent population.
| S-EPMC8251292 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNursing education has been disrupted by the onset of the COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, potentially impacting learning experiences and perceived competencies at the time of graduation. However, the learning experiences of students since the onset of COVID-19, their perceived competences achieved and the employment status one month after graduation, have not been traced to date.MethodsA cross sectional online survey measured the individual profile, the learning experience in the last academic year and the perceived competences of the first COVID-19 new nursing graduates in two Italian universities. Details relating to employment status and place of employment (Covid-19 versus non-COVID-19 units) one month after graduation were also collected and the data compared with those reported by a similar cohort of new graduates pre-pandemic in 2018-2019. All those who graduated in November 2020 and attended their third year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were eligible. The online survey included individual, nursing programme and first working experience variables alongside the Nurse Competence Scale (NCS). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed.ResultsA total of 323 new graduates participated. In their last academic year, they experienced a single, long clinical placement in non-COVID-19 units. One month after graduation, 54.5% (n = 176) were working in COVID-19 units, 22.9% (n = 74) in non-COVID-19 units and 22.6 (n = 73) were unemployed. There was no statistical difference among groups regarding individual variables and the competences perceived. Fewer new graduates working in COVID-19 units experienced a transition programme compared to those working in non-COVID-19 units (p = 0.053). At the NCS, the first COVID-19 new graduate generation perceived significantly lower competences than the pre-COVID-19 generation in the 'Helping role' factor and a significant higher in 'Ensuring quality' and 'Therapeutic interventions' factors.ConclusionsThe majority of the first COVID-19 new graduate generation had been employed in COVID-19 units without clinical experience and transition programmes, imposing an ethical debate regarding (a) the role of education in graduating nurses in challenging times with limited clinical placements; and (b) that of nurse managers and directors in ensuring safe transitions for new graduates. Despite the profound clinical placement revision, the first COVID-19 new graduate generation reported competences similar to those of the pre-COVID-19 generation, suggesting that the pandemic may have helped them to optimise the clinical learning process.
| S-EPMC9062856 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Medical students are in close contact with patients and should adhere to the same recommendations as healthcare workers. The study aimed to explore medical students' hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccine and evaluate fear of COVID-19 and its relationship with hesitancy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst a sample of medical students attending clinical years (November 2020-February 2021, Italy). Multivariable regressions were performed (p < 0.05 as significant). A total of 929 students participated (58.6% of eligible students). Hesitancy was reported by 6.7%; extreme fear of COVID-19 by 42.0%. Among hesitancy predictors, there were the survey completion before COVID-19 vaccine authorisation (adjOR = 6.43), adverse reactions after a vaccination (adjOR = 3.30), and receiving advice against COVID-19 vaccination from a relative (adjOR = 2.40). Students who received the recommended paediatric vaccinations (adjOR = 0.10), students with higher adherence to preventive measures (adjOR = 0.98), and students with fear of contracting COVID-19 with regard to the health of loved ones (adjOR = 0.17) were less likely to be hesitant. Females (adjOR = 1.85), students with poor health (adjOR = 1.64), students who had a loved one severely affected by COVID-19 (adjOR = 1.68), and students with fear of contracting flu (adjOR = 3.06) had a higher likelihood of reporting extreme fear. Hesitancy was remarkably lower than in similar studies. However, there is room for improvement in university activities that could deepen the competence in vaccines. Our focus on fear should not be overlooked, since the extent of extreme fear that we found might represent a substantial burden, considering the associations between fear and other health outcomes.
| S-EPMC9160103 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown orders adopted to prevent the spread of the disease had a huge impact on a personal, social, and economic level for the world population. In Europe, Italy was one of the frontrunner countries dealing with an emergency that significantly affected people's lives. Previous research on the psychological impact of the pandemic revealed an increase in anxiety, depression, and feelings of distress; however, these studies were conducted on non-representative samples of the population reached through social media channels, a method that is likely to lead to many forms of statistical and methodological bias. For the first time to our knowledge, we assessed the psychological impact of COVID-19 on 6700 Italian individuals, representative of the Italian population in terms of age, gender, and geographical areas revealing higher scores of depressive symptoms in females, younger adults, people reporting professional uncertainty and lower socio-economic status. A positive correlation was also found for individuals living alone, those who could not leave home for going to work, and people with a case of COVID-19 in the family, whereas the region of residence was not a significant predictor of depressive symptoms. These findings underline the importance of considering the psychological effects of COVID-19 and providing support to individuals seeking mental health care.
| S-EPMC7775443 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAn important feature of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pathogenesis is COVID-19-associated coagulopathy, characterised by increased thrombotic and microvascular complications. Previous studies have suggested a role for endothelial cell injury in COVID-19-associated coagulopathy. To determine whether endotheliopathy is involved in COVID-19-associated coagulopathy pathogenesis, we assessed markers of endothelial cell and platelet activation in critically and non-critically ill patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.MethodsIn this single-centre cross-sectional study, hospitalised adult (≥18 years) patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were identified in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) or a specialised non-ICU COVID-19 floor in our hospital. Asymptomatic, non-hospitalised controls were recruited as a comparator group for biomarkers that did not have a reference range. We assessed markers of endothelial cell and platelet activation, including von Willebrand Factor (VWF) antigen, soluble thrombomodulin, soluble P-selectin, and soluble CD40 ligand, as well as coagulation factors, endogenous anticoagulants, and fibrinolytic enzymes. We compared the level of each marker in ICU patients, non-ICU patients, and controls, where applicable. We assessed correlations between these laboratory results with clinical outcomes, including hospital discharge and mortality. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to further explore the association between biochemical markers and survival.Findings68 patients with COVID-19 were included in the study from April 13 to April 24, 2020, including 48 ICU and 20 non-ICU patients, as well as 13 non-hospitalised, asymptomatic controls. Markers of endothelial cell and platelet activation were significantly elevated in ICU patients compared with non-ICU patients, including VWF antigen (mean 565% [SD 199] in ICU patients vs 278% [133] in non-ICU patients; p<0·0001) and soluble P-selectin (15·9 ng/mL [4·8] vs 11·2 ng/mL [3·1]; p=0·0014). VWF antigen concentrations were also elevated above the normal range in 16 (80%) of 20 non-ICU patients. We found mortality to be significantly correlated with VWF antigen (r = 0·38; p=0·0022) and soluble thrombomodulin (r = 0·38; p=0·0078) among all patients. In all patients, soluble thrombomodulin concentrations greater than 3·26 ng/mL were associated with lower rates of hospital discharge (22 [88%] of 25 patients with low concentrations vs 13 [52%] of 25 patients with high concentrations; p=0·0050) and lower likelihood of survival on Kaplan-Meier analysis (hazard ratio 5·9, 95% CI 1·9-18·4; p=0·0087).InterpretationOur findings show that endotheliopathy is present in COVID-19 and is likely to be associated with critical illness and death. Early identification of endotheliopathy and strategies to mitigate its progression might improve outcomes in COVID-19.FundingThis work was supported by a gift donation from Jack Levin to the Benign Hematology programme at Yale, and the National Institutes of Health.
| S-EPMC7326446 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:A COVID-19 outbreak started in Wuhan, China, last December and now has become a global pandemic. The clinical information in caring of critically ill patients with COVID-19 needs to be shared timely, especially under the situations that there is still a largely ongoing spread of COVID-19 in many countries. METHODS:A multicenter prospective observational study investigated all the COVID-19 patients received in 19 ICUs of 16 hospitals in Wuhan, China, over 24?h between 8?AM February 2h and 8?AM February 27, 2020. The demographic information, clinical characteristics, vital signs, complications, laboratory values, and clinical managements of the patients were studied. RESULTS:A total of 226 patients were included. Their median (interquartile range, IQR) age was 64 (57-70) years, and 139 (61.5%) patients were male. The duration from the date of ICU admission to the study date was 11 (5-17) days, and the duration from onset of symptoms to the study date was 31 (24-36) days. Among all the patients, 155 (68.6%) had at least one coexisting disease, and their sequential organ failure assessment score was 4 (2-8). Organ function damages were found in most of the patients: ARDS in 161 (71.2%) patients, septic shock in 34 (15.0%) patients, acute kidney injury occurred in 57 (25.2%) patients, cardiac injury in 61 (27.0%) patients, and lymphocytopenia in 160 (70.8%) patients. Of all the studied patients, 85 (37.6%) received invasive mechanical ventilation, including 14 (6.2%) treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the same time, 20 (8.8%) received noninvasive mechanical ventilation, and 24 (10.6%) received continuous renal replacement therapy. By April 9, 2020, 87 (38.5%) patients were deceased and 15 (6.7%) were still in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS:Critically ill patients with COVID-19 are associated with a higher risk of severe complications and need to receive an intensive level of treatments. COVID-19 poses a great strain on critical care resources in hospitals. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000030164. Registered on February 24, 2020, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=49983&htm=4.
| S-EPMC7223395 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe latest novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic shows a significant health concern. We aimed to study the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms among COVID-19 Egyptian patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out on 860 patients with COVID-19 infection classified according to Ministry of Health Program (MOHP) into three groups (280 patients with mild infection, 258 patients with moderate disease and 322 patients with severe disease). All patients were subjected to medical history, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, high-resolution computed tomography chest (HRCT chest) and other investigations when needed in some patients e.g., upper gastro-intestinal (GI) endoscopy, abdomino-pelvic ultrasound and ECHO.ResultsGastro-intestinal symptoms were present in 27.2% of the studied patients. The most common reported GIT symptoms were vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal/gastric pain, followed by nausea. GIT symptoms presence was significantly higher in severe cases in comparison to mild or moderate cases. C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin, Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), bilirubin, and creatinine were significantly associated with the presence of GI symptoms.ConclusionsGI symptoms are prevalent among COVID-19 patients, the most common were vomiting and diarrhea and were associated with COVID-19 severity.
| S-EPMC8748210 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIn January 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started to spread in Italy. The Italian government adopted urgent measures to slow its spread. Enforcing compliance with such measures is crucial in order to enhance their effectiveness. Engaging citizens in the COVID-19 preventive process is urgent today both in Italy and around the world. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the role of health engagement in predicting citizens' compliance with health emergency containment measures.MethodAn online survey was administered between February 28 and March 4, 2020 on a representative sample of 1000 Italians. The questionnaire included a measure of health engagement (Patient Health Engagement Scale), a 5-item Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, resulting in 4 positions that describe the psychological readiness to be active in one's own health management, and a series of ad hoc items intended to measure citizens' perceived susceptibility and severity of the disease, orientation towards health management, trust in institutional bodies, health habits and food consumption. To investigate the relationship between health engagement and these variables, ANOVA analysis, logistic regression and contingency tables with Pearson's chi-squared analysis have been carried out.ResultsLess engaged people show higher levels of perceived susceptibility to the virus and severity of the disease; they are less trustful of scientific and healthcare authorities, they feel less self-effective in managing their own health-both in normal conditions and under stress-and are less prone to cooperate with healthcare professionals. Low levels of health engagement also are associated with a change in the usual purchase behavior.ConclusionsThe Patient Health Engagement model (PHE) provides a useful framework for understanding how people will respond to health threats such as pandemics. Therefore, intervention studies should focus on raising their levels of engagement to increase the effectiveness of educational initiatives intended to promote preventive behaviors.
| S-EPMC7485890 | biostudies-literature
Project description:After the first lockdown, Italian dentists resumed their practice while handling several challenges. Reducing contagion risk by complying with the stringent measures recommended by the Italian Ministry of Health for dental activity while also balancing patient needs was a difficult task. This work aims to understand the procedures that were adopted in the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (5 May-30 September 2020) and the dentists' expectations and concerns about returning to normalcy. A national survey with 38 questions was conducted from November 2020 to January 2021 and comparisons were performed among the five main Italian geographic areas. Located mainly in northwest Italy, 1028 dentists were included in the survey. About 83% of the Italian dentists fully restarted their activities after the lockdown. The resumption was significantly marked in North Italy and the Center than in the South (p < 0.01). Over 80% adopted the recommended precautional guidelines, modifying them according to the specific dental treatment executed. Fifty percent of dentists were confident in returning to normalcy after the COVID-19 crisis. Many precautions adopted during the pandemic will be continued, especially in South Italy and the Islands (p < 0.01). Italian dentists reported excellent autonomous organizational skills and the maintaining of high-quality precautions during the reopening phase.
| S-EPMC8391335 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of the present study was therefore to characterize the oral microbiome in a cohort of COVID-19 patients with different symptom levels, to evidence the eventual association between virus induced disease and the microbial environment of the oral cavity.
| PRJEB42999 | ENA