Psychological Health of Surgeons in a Time of COVID-19: A Global Survey

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of psychological impact among surgical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively impacted global healthcare systems. We hypothesized that the degree of psychological impact would be higher for surgical providers deployed for COVID-19 work, certain surgical specialties, and for those who knew of someone diagnosed with, or who died, of COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a global web-based survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19. The primary outcomes were the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores. RESULTS: 4283 participants from 101 countries responded. 32.8%, 30.8%, 25.9% and 24.0% screened positive for depression, anxiety, stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) respectively. Respondents who knew someone who died of COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD (OR 1.3, 1,6, 1.4, 1.7 respectively, all p < 0.05). Respondents who knew of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, stress and PTSD (OR 1.2, 1.2 and 1.3 respectively, all p < 0.05). Surgical specialities that operated in the Head and Neck region had higher psychological distress among its surgeons. Deployment for COVID-19-related work was not associated with increased psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic may have a mental health legacy outlasting its course. The long-term impact of this ongoing traumatic event underscores the importance of longitudinal mental health care for healthcare personnel, with particular attention to those who know of someone diagnosed with, or who died of COVID-19

High-resolution, high sensitivity detectors for molecular imaging with radionuclides: The coded aperture option RID F-8402-2011

Molecular imaging with radionuclides is a very sensitive technique because it allows to obtain images with nanomolar or picomolar concentrations. This has generated a rapid growth of interest in radionuclide imaging of small animals. Indeed radiolabeling of small molecules, antibodies, peptides and probes for gene expression enables molecular imaging in vivo, but only if a suitable imaging system is used. Detecting small tumors in humans is another important application of such techniques. In single gamma imaging, there is always a well known tradeoff between spatial resolution and sensitivity due to unavoidable collimation requirements. Limitation of the sensitivity due to collimation is well known and affects the performance of imaging systems, especially if only radiopharmaceuticals with limited uptake are available. In many cases coded aperture collimation can provide a solution, if the near field artifact effect can be eliminated or limited. At least this is the case for "small volumes" imaging, involving small animals. In this paper 3D-laminography simulations and preliminary measurements with coded aperture collimation are presented. Different masks have been designed for different applications showing the advantages of the technique in terms of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The limitations of the technique are also discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Psychological Health of Surgeons in a Time of COVID-19: A Global Survey

Objective: To assess the degree of psychological impact among surgical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Summary background data: The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively impacted global healthcare systems. We hypothesized that the degree of psychological impact would be higher for surgical providers deployed for COVID-19 work, certain surgical specialties, and for those who knew of someone diagnosed with, or who died, of COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a global web-based survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19. The primary outcomes were the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores. Results: 4283 participants from 101 countries responded. 32.8%, 30.8%, 25.9% and 24.0% screened positive for depression, anxiety, stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) respectively. Respondents who knew someone who died of COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD (OR 1.3, 1,6, 1.4, 1.7 respectively, all p &lt; 0.05). Respondents who knew of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, stress and PTSD (OR 1.2, 1.2 and 1.3 respectively, all p &lt; 0.05). Surgical specialities that operated in the Head and Neck region had higher psychological distress among its surgeons. Deployment for COVID-19-related work was not associated with increased psychological distress. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic may have a mental health legacy outlasting its course. The long-term impact of this ongoing traumatic event underscores the importance of longitudinal mental health care for healthcare personnel, with particular attention to those who know of someone diagnosed with, or who died of COVID-1