28 research outputs found

    How much Fear of COVID-19 is There in Latin America? A Prospective Exploratory Study in Six Countries

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    Introduction: During the unprecedented lockdown, COVID-19 is causing people to suffer from mental disorders in response to strict containment measures. Latin America is the third most severely affected continent, and restrictive measures can have many negative effects on mental health (such as anxiety, depression, and stress) that may arise with fear. We aimed to measure the spread of fear of COVID-19 in the Latin American population. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective study in 535 participants of six countries of Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru), and a country of Europe (Spain) as a control, during 2020. We used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Results: The mean age was 31.2±13.2 years (70.8% under 30 years) and the majority were women (57.9%) and 76.6% had a technical, university, or postgraduate studies. Seven percent of participants had high rates of fear of COVID-19, these high estimates of fear were observed in Argentines (14.3%, score range: 28-31%), of Peruvians (10.2%, score range: 27-35%), and Mexicans (5.7%, score range: 27-29%). Both Peru (p=0.003) and Mexico (p=0.0001) showed significant differences from the control country. We showed low levels of fear in 57.1%, 45.5%, 42.9%, and 41.2% of Argentines, Colombians, Bolivians, and Peruvians, respectively. No differences in low levelsof fear we found among age groups (p> 0.05), however, we find differences between genders (p=0.001). Conclusions: These results suggested low levels of fear in six Latin American countries, highlighting the need to contextualize fear behavior as a key element in people’s psychological well-being and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Depression in healthcare workers from the COVID-19 Care and Isolation Center - Villa Panamericana: a single-center prospective study in Peru

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    "Objective Depression is a mental problem that affects the well-being of healthcare workers, impacting the quality of care and even leading to commit suicide. We aim to the levels of depression in frontline healthcare workers during the first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in Peru. Methods A prospective cohort study was designed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Care and Isolation Center – Villa Panamericana in eastern Lima. Care and Isolation Center-Villa Panamericana houses about 150 healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale was used for depression assessment. Results A total of 96 participants (30±5.6 years) were analyzed: 15 (15.6%) physicians, 39 (40.6%) nurses, 14 (14.6%) medical technologists, and 28 (29.2%) nurse technicians. Mild, moderate, and severe depression were present in 35 (36.5%), 44 (45.8%), and 9 (9.4%) of the cases, respectively. The physicians and nurses reported more severe levels of depression: 8 (53.3%) physicians and 18 (46.2%) nurses presented moderate depression; and 2 (13.3%) physicians and 3 (7.7%) nurses presented severe depression (p=0.005). This study determined greater symptoms of depression according to years of work (p=0.001). Thirty-two healthcare workers had COVID-19, 4 (12.5%) physicians, 9 (28.1%) nurses, 7 (21.9%) medical technologists, and 12 (37.5%) nurse technicians. Twenty-four (75%) participants showed symptoms of COVID-19 and developed moderate (12 [37.5%]) and severe (3 [9.4%]) symptoms of depression (p=0.041). Conclusion This study clearly demonstrated a high prevalence of depression in the Care and Isolation Center-Villa Panamericana frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.

    Depression in healthcare workers from the COVID-19 Care and Isolation Center - Villa Panamericana: a single-center prospective study in Peru

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    "Objective Depression is a mental problem that affects the well-being of healthcare workers, impacting the quality of care and even leading to commit suicide. We aim to the levels of depression in frontline healthcare workers during the first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in Peru. Methods A prospective cohort study was designed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Care and Isolation Center – Villa Panamericana in eastern Lima. Care and Isolation Center-Villa Panamericana houses about 150 healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale was used for depression assessment. Results A total of 96 participants (30±5.6 years) were analyzed: 15 (15.6%) physicians, 39 (40.6%) nurses, 14 (14.6%) medical technologists, and 28 (29.2%) nurse technicians. Mild, moderate, and severe depression were present in 35 (36.5%), 44 (45.8%), and 9 (9.4%) of the cases, respectively. The physicians and nurses reported more severe levels of depression: 8 (53.3%) physicians and 18 (46.2%) nurses presented moderate depression; and 2 (13.3%) physicians and 3 (7.7%) nurses presented severe depression (p=0.005). This study determined greater symptoms of depression according to years of work (p=0.001). Thirty-two healthcare workers had COVID-19, 4 (12.5%) physicians, 9 (28.1%) nurses, 7 (21.9%) medical technologists, and 12 (37.5%) nurse technicians. Twenty-four (75%) participants showed symptoms of COVID-19 and developed moderate (12 [37.5%]) and severe (3 [9.4%]) symptoms of depression (p=0.041). Conclusion This study clearly demonstrated a high prevalence of depression in the Care and Isolation Center-Villa Panamericana frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.

    Where Do Medical Students Look for Information? A Study on Scientific Consultation Sources in Peru

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    "Introduction: Scientific consultation sources is essential in the quality of information during medical training worldwide. The sources of consultation should provide quality information to students who begin with clinical courses; however, it is unknown how and where students seek data in all medical schools in Peru. In this study, we determine the most frequent sources of scientific consultation of medical students at Norbert Wiener University. Materials and methods: We conducted a survey-based observational study in 148 volunteers (mean age 22.1±5.4 years) during 2019. A 21-items questionnaire was divided into three components: demographic data (10 questions), scientific consultation sources (7 questions), and Information search engines (4 questions). Results: Eighty (54.1%) students were between 20-30 years, and 26.8% worked < 20 hours per week. The scientific search sources considered very usefully were scientific articles (75.4%) and specialized books (49.3%), while 33% did not know Medscape. Regarding audiovisual sources, documentaries on the history of medicine and YouTube were considered useful in 41% and 48%, respectively. We found differences in the use of consultation sources (p =0.031), Medscape (p =0.001), documentaries (p=0.009), and YouTube (p=0.022) among medical years. Sixty-three percent considered Wikipedia useful, and 19.3% used PubMed, while Google was the most frequent information search engine, followed of Scielo and Google scholar. We found a correlation between year of students and SciELO (p=0.024) and Google (p=0.024) engine use. Conclusions: Our results suggest that scientific articles, specialized books and audiovisual sources (documentaries and YouTube) were convenient for medical students. In addition, we have found that as students’ progress through the years in medical school, they make less use of rigorous scientific reference sources.

    Can living with COVID-19 patients in a hospital increase anxiety levels? A survey-based single-center study in Peru

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    "Introduction: Anxiety can affect front-line healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic mainly in settings with influencing factors. Living with COVID-19 patients in hospital settings could affect mental health during lockdown. The present study aimed to estimate the anxiety levels of HCWs of the care center for COVID-19 Villa Panamericana during the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Peru. Methods: This is a descriptive and correlational study. Ninety-six HCWs were enrolled in this study (mean age 30±5.6 years). The care center for COVID-19 Villa Panamericana houses COVID-19 patients and HCWs in the same environment. We used the 14-item Hamilton anxiety rating scale questionnaire. Professionals were interviewed directly at the VP-19 rest towers. SPSS V.23 were used to analyze the data. Results: Fifty-four (56.3%) were male and the most frequent age group was 26-35 years (81.3%). Thirty-nine (40.6%) were nurses, 28 (29.2%) were nursing technicians, 15 (15.6%) were physicians, and 14 (14.6%) were medical technologists. Of the total, 66 (68.8%) HCWs had a mild level of anxiety, while 6 (6.3%) had severe anxiety. Medical technologists and nursing technicians had the highest level of severe anxiety (14.3% and 7.1%), while nurses had the highest level of mild anxiety (76.9%). We report that 32 (33.3%) HCWs had COVID-19 while 93.7% had symptoms of anxiety [3(9.4%) mild to moderate, 21(65.6 %) moderate to severe, and 6(18.8%) severe]. We found a significant difference in anxiety levels between HCWs with and without COVID-19 (p=0.001). Conclusions: Levels of moderate and severe anxiety significantly increased in HCWs infected with COVID-19 during their coexistence with COVID-19 patients in the health center that houses both at the same time.

    Quality of life in families under quarantine: a cross-sectional study in seven countries during the first outbreak of COVID-19

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    BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted human well-being worldwide in unforeseen ways. In early 2020, the spread of the virus left its mark on every affected country, impacting mental health by limiting daily activities and causing fatalities amidst public health strategies to mitigate its impact. The influence of COVID-19 on the quality of life (QoL) may vary between countries, underscoring the need to examine its effects on individuals and families during the mandatory home quarantine. We aimed to assess the QoL of individuals and families during home isolation by COVID-19 lockdown.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2020. We included adult partners (≥18 years) of families from Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Japan, Peru, Russia, and Venezuela. Using the 26-item World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire we assess the impact of COVID-19 on their partner/family member’s QoL.ResultsThe survey was completed by 466 participants (mean age = 38.59 ± 13.75 years; females = 298) and 76% worked mostly as health professionals from South America (69.2%), Europe (18.4%), and Asia (12.4%). The WHOQOL-BREF mean score from 38.38 ± 11.55 (range = 22.8–43.4). The average quality of life in South America (41.9 ± 1.2) was significantly higher than that of European countries (30.9 ± 11.5) (p = 0.002). The social relations dimension was the only one with values close to 100 (mean = 83.3) in 6/7 evaluated countries, where only Spain had a low score (41 ± 33.12). Women had a slightly lower quality of life than men, but it was not significant (40.2 ± 8.8 vs. 41.5 ± 9.9, p = 0.354), while we found differences in the overall QoL between young and older, and by employment type (p &lt; 0.05). According to family structure, we found differences on QoL between nuclear and siblings’ families (p = 0.024).ConclusionFamilies from seven countries of three continents reported poor QoL during the first outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic scenario has dramatically weakened the QoL in 3/4 dimensions, where social relationships have remained high. It is important to fully address the impact of this reduced QoL on families after several waves of infection and to provide comprehensive support in the post-COVID future

    Reference intervals of the sex hormonal profile in healthy women: A retrospective single-center study in Peru

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    The female hormonal profile is of utmost importance for the assessment of the endocrinological functional status and the diagnosis of diseases. The analysis must delimit their normality intervals based on the manufacturer's cut-off points. Due to not all intervals can be evaluated before use, it is imperative to verify the reference intervals to achieve uniformity in the interpretation of results in the female population. We determine the reference intervals of five female sex hormones [Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH), Estradiol, Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin, and progesterone] using electrochemiluminescence in the Cobas e411 (Roche). We included female patients >18 years old, between the 3rd and 15th day of the menstrual cycle (follicular phase) and had no previous medical history or recent medication. For reference intervals analysis, we followed the recommendations of the CLSI C28-A3 guideline. The average concentration for FSH, progesterone, LH, prolactin and estradiol were 11.48 ± 21.10 mIU/ml, 8.19 ± 11.90 ng/ml, 10.98 ± 11.55 ng/ml, 25.05 ± 32.74 ng/mL, and 147.08 ± 473.8 pmol/mL, respectively. Eighty per cent of parameters showed a satisfactory transfer for the manufacturer's reference intervals, except for estradiol, which had 85.5% of transferred values. Our results suggest that 4/5 sex hormones were found within the manufacturer's reference intervals and can be quantified in Peruvian women, ensuring the quality of their results. However, it is necessary to determine the estradiol with other reagents and assays since we show errors in the transfer of intervals

    Alterations in the coagulation markers did not showdifferences with the severity of COVID‐19 in Peruvianpatients: A cross‐sectional single‐center study

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    Background and Aims:COVID‐19 is a pandemic disease that can lead to alteredlung function, systemic inflammatory events, and altered coagulation. During severestages of the disease, changes in coagulation homeostasis increase, leading tothrombosis, and increased risk of death. In this cross‐sectional study, we aimedto assess coagulation markers by COVID‐19 severity in Peruvian adults.Methods:During the second wave of infections, we included 186 adults diagnosedwith COVID‐19 (mean age 53.3 ± 16.3 years). Patients were divided into mild,moderate, and severe stages of COVID‐19, and coagulation markers includedprothrombin time (PT), activated partial prothrombin time (aPTT), fibrinogen,D‐dimer, and platelet count.Results:Of the total, 120 (64.5%) were males and 39 (21%) were in the intensivecare unit. We determine 104 (55.9%), 43 (24.7%), and 36 (19.4%) patients in mild,moderate, and severe stages of COVID‐19, respectively. In the severe stage ofCOVID‐19, patients had an average concentration of PT, aPTT, fibrinogen,D‐dimer,and platelets of 13.2 ± 0.9 s, 28.9 ± 4.3 s, 679.4 ± 185.1 mg/dL, 1.9 ± 3.1 μg/mL, and272.8 ± 88.9 cel/10 mm,3respectively. We found no differences in the concentra-tion of each marker according to severity (p< 0.05). Patients with severe COVID‐19had altered the aPTT, fibrinogen,D‐dimer, and PT in 31 (57.4%), 48 (88.9%), 37(68.5%), and 15 (27.8%) cases, respectively.Conclusions:Our results showed that although there is an alteration in coagulationmarkers, mainly fibrinogen andD‐fiber, there are no differences in concentrationaccording to the severity of COVID‐19

    Other ways of communicating the pandemic - memes and stickers against COVID-19: a systematic review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

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    Background: In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there are many ways to communicate hygiene measures, such as memes and stickers that are widely used on social networks. We carried out a systematic review in order to determine the impact of stickers and memes as tools to face the COVID-19 pandemic, following the PRISMA guide. Methods: The search was carried out in scientific databases (MEDLINE / PubMed, ScientiDirect, Scielo, LILACS, and Latindex), and in public pre-publication servers (bioRxiv, SocArXiv, medRxiv and Preprints). The publications were identified using the terms (((meme) OR (sticker)) AND ((COVID-19) OR (SARS-COV-2)) AND (WhatsApp)) and the corresponding translations for Spanish and Portuguese. Results: In the initial search, 8434 studies were obtained, 7749 in Preprints, 446 in SocArXiv, 145 in ScientDirect, 82 in medRxiv, and 12 in PubMed. No studies were found in LILACS, Latindex, Scielo, or bioRxiv. Of the 51 studies included as eligible, all were eliminated for not meeting the study inclusion criteria. The majority (40 studies) were eliminated as studies were publications related to the social aspects related to COVID-19, but did not develop an analysis of stickers or memes. Conclusions: No studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria related to the role of stickers and memes as tools to face the COVID-19 pandemic. More studies are needed to estimate its role as a means of communication in health

    COVID-19 may lower quality of life when infections and deaths increase: A longitudinal study in the Peruvian jungle

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    "Background: Quality of life (QoL) is a multifactorial concept on the perception of the individual’s wellbeing underpinned by environmental, psychological, and physical factors. Several studies have shown changes in QoL in the COVID-19 pandemic and may be due to increases in mortality rates, however, no study has investigated this among Peruvian jungle dwellers. Here, we have sought to estimate the QoL of individuals before and after the increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19. Methods: A questionnaire-based longitudinal study was conducted in 102 inhabitants (mean 40.75 ± 7.49 years). The Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF was used in two stages: April and June. The first stage was accomplished before the first confirmed case of COVID-19, and the second stage was when the daily mortality rate was 3.5% with an incidence of 87%. Results: Sixty (54.8%) participants were women, 67 (61.9%) were >31 years, and 38 (34.5%) and 32 (29.1%) participants had primary and secondary education, respectively. In the first and second stage we obtained an overall mean QoL of 46.65 ± 23.2 and 35 ± 27.7 points, respectively. Individuals had significantly lower QoL in the face of increased deaths in physical (p = 0.001), mental (p = 0.028) and environmental (p = 0.001) health domains, with the latter having the greatest impact (51.84 ± 5.81 vs. 16.66 ± 5.55 points). Conclusion: Quality of life of Peruvian jungle dwellers is reduced during periods of increased mortality and incidence by COVID-19. Preventive strategies aimed at reducing the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and global wellbeing of individuals living in the Amazon are recommended to Peruvian authorities.
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