•Commonly reported symptoms are headache, throat pain and lethargy.•A large number of healthcare workers report more than four symptoms.•Those with physical symptoms had higher rates of depression, ...anxiety, stress, PTSD.•Those with physical symptoms had higher mean scores in the IES-R, DASS subscales.•Association between physical symptoms and psychological outcomes may be bidirectional.
Since the declaration of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as pandemic, there are reports on the increased prevalence of physical symptoms observed in the general population. We investigated the association between psychological outcomes and physical symptoms among healthcare workers.
Healthcare workers from 5 major hospitals, involved in the care for COVID-19 patients, in Singapore and India were invited to participate in a study by performing a self-administered questionnaire within the period of February 19 to April 17, 2020. Healthcare workers included doctors, nurses, allied healthcare workers, administrators, clerical staff and maintenance workers. This questionnaire collected information on demographics, medical history, symptom prevalence in the past month, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) instrument. The prevalence of physical symptoms displayed by healthcare workers and the associations between physical symptoms and psychological outcomes of depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were evaluated.
Out of the 906 healthcare workers who participated in the survey, 48 (5.3%) screened positive for moderate to very-severe depression, 79 (8.7%) for moderate to extremely-severe anxiety, 20 (2.2%) for moderate to extremely-severe stress, and 34 (3.8%) for moderate to severe levels of psychological distress. The commonest reported symptom was headache (32.3%), with a large number of participants (33.4%) reporting more than four symptoms. Participants who had experienced symptoms in the preceding month were more likely to be older, have pre-existing comorbidities and a positive screen for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD. After adjusting for age, gender and comorbidities, it was found that depression (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.54–5.07, p = 0.001), anxiety (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.36–3.48, p = 0.001), stress (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.27–7.41, p = 0.13), and PTSD (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.12–4.35, p = 0.023) remained significantly associated with the presence of physical symptoms experienced in the preceding month. Linear regression revealed that the presence of physical symptoms was associated with higher mean scores in the IES-R, DASS Anxiety, Stress and Depression subscales.
Our study demonstrates a significant association between the prevalence of physical symptoms and psychological outcomes among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. We postulate that this association may be bi-directional, and that timely psychological interventions for healthcare workers with physical symptoms should be considered once an infection has been excluded.
Forest fires in South Asia lead to widespread haze, where many healthy individuals develop psychosomatic symptoms. We investigated the effects of haze exposure on cerebral hemodynamics and new ...symptoms. We hypothesised that vasoactive substances present in the haze, would lead to vasodilation of cerebral vasculature, thereby altering cerebral hemodynamics, which in turn may account for new psychosomatic symptoms.
Seventy-four healthy volunteers were recruited, and serial transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography was performed to record blood flow parameters of bilateral middle cerebral arteries (MCA). The first TCD was performed in an air-conditioned environment. It was repeated outdoors after the participants spent 30-minutes in the haze environment. The prevailing level of pollutant standards index (PSI) was recorded. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed to compare cerebral hemodynamics at baseline and after haze exposure in all participants. Subgroup analyses were then employed to compare the findings between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants.
Study participants' median age was 30 years (IQR 26-34), and new psychosomatic symptoms were reported by 35 (47.3%). There was a modest but significant decrease in pulsatility index (PI) and resistivity index (RI) in the left MCA after haze exposure (PI: p = 0.026; RI: p = 0.021). When compared to baseline parameters, haze exposure resulted in significantly lower mean PI (p = 0.001) and RI (p = 0.001) in symptomatic patients, but this difference was not present in asymptomatic patients (PI: p = 0.919; RI: p = 0.970).
Haze causes significant alterations in cerebral hemodynamics in susceptible individuals, probably responsible for various psychosomatic symptoms. The prognostic implications and health effects of haze require evaluation in a larger study.
In the fight against COVID-19, vaccination is vital in achieving herd immunity. Many Asian countries are starting to vaccinate frontline workers; however, expedited vaccine development has led to ...hesitancy among the general population. We evaluated the willingness of healthcare workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
From 12 to 21 December 2020, we recruited 1720 healthcare workers from 6 countries: China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Bhutan. The self-administrated survey collected information on willingness to vaccinate, perception of COVID-19, vaccine concerns, COVID-19 risk profile, stigma, pro-socialness scale, and trust in health authorities.
More than 95% of the healthcare workers surveyed were willing to vaccinate. These respondents were more likely to perceive the pandemic as severe, consider the vaccine safe, have less financial concerns, less stigmatization regarding the vaccine, higher pro-socialness mindset and trust in health authorities. A high perceived pandemic risk index, low vaccine harm index and high pro-socialness index were independent predictors in multivariable analysis.
The majority of healthcare workers in Asia are willing to receive COVID-19 vaccination. Perceived COVID-19 susceptibility, low potential risk of vaccine harm and pro-socialness are the main drivers. These findings may help formulate vaccination strategies in other countries.
Blood pressure (BP) is an important determinant of functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA). Current guidelines ...recommend a BP target of 185/110 mmHg before IV-tPA bolus and maintaining it at less than 180/105 mmHg for the first 24 hours. However, the effect of blood pressure on various outcome measures after systemic thrombolysis remains unclear.
Following a systematic search of Medline and EMBASE, all observational studies reporting effect of pretreatment BP on 90-day functional outcome as measured by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and/ or incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) in AIS patients receiving thrombolytic therapy were included.
Of 2181 studies screened, 26 studies, involving 38,937 subjects, met inclusion criteria. Higher prethrombolysis systolic BP was significantly-associated with poorer 90-day functional outcome (Mean difference 3.87 mmHg; 95% confidence interval CI 1.18-6.56) and increased incidence of sICH (Mean difference 5.31; 95% CI 2.22-8.40). When studies were stratified by different cut-offs for functional outcome (mRS 0-1 versus 0-2) and definitions of sICH used (Randomized controlled trials or SITS-MOST), there was no significant difference in mean difference between the subgroups.
Our data showed that higher prethrombolysis SBP was associated with poorer outcomes in thrombolysed acute ischemic stroke patients. This may suggest that more aggressive lowering of BP below the current recommendations prior to thrombolysis could be beneficial. The effect of early BP trends after tPA infusion could not be evaluated due to limited available data. Ongoing randomized clinical trials, like ENCHANTED, may provide further insights into the current guidelines and optimal BP levels.
Air pollution has emerged as one of the world's largest environmental health threats, with various studies demonstrating associations between exposure to air pollution and respiratory and ...cardiovascular diseases. Regional air quality in Southeast Asia has been seasonally affected by the transboundary haze problem, which has often been the result of forest fires from "slash-and-burn" farming methods. In light of growing public health concerns, recent studies have begun to examine the health effects of this seasonal haze problem in Southeast Asia. This review paper aims to synthesize current research efforts on the impact of the Southeast Asian transboundary haze on acute aspects of public health. Existing studies conducted in countries affected by transboundary haze indicate consistent links between haze exposure and acute psychological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological morbidity and mortality. Future prospective and longitudinal studies are warranted to quantify the long-term health effects of recurrent, but intermittent, exposure to high levels of seasonal haze. The mechanism, toxicology and pathophysiology by which these toxic particles contribute to disease and mortality should be further investigated. Epidemiological studies on the disease burden and socioeconomic cost of haze exposure would also be useful to guide policy-making and international strategy in minimizing the impact of seasonal haze in Southeast Asia.
Abstract Studies have shown that medical therapy with renin-angiotensin blockers (RAB) may benefit patients with aortic stenosis (AS). However, its use and efficacy remains controversial, including ...in patients with low flow (LF) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We examined the effects of RAB use on left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with severe AS with preserved LVEF, analyzing the differential effects in patients with LF compared to normal flow (NF). This is a retrospective study of 428 consecutive subjects from 2005 to 2014 with echocardiographic diagnosis of severe AS and preserved LVEF. Clinical and echocardiographic parameters were systematically collected and analyzed. Two-hundred and forty-two (57%) patients had LF. Sixty-four (26%) LF patients were treated with RAB. Patients on RAB treatment had a higher incidence of hyperlipidemia (69% vs 44%) and diabetes mellitus (53% vs 34%). Severity of AS in terms of valve area, transvalvular mean pressure gradient and aortic valve resistance were similar between both groups as was the degree of LV diastolic function. The RAB group demonstrated significantly lower LV mass index (LVMI) with a correspondingly lower incidence of concentric LV hypertrophy (LVH). Regardless of the duration of RAB therapy, patients had increased odds of having a preserved LVMI compared to those without RAB therapy. In conclusion, RAB therapy may be associated with less LV pathological remodeling and have a role in delaying patients from developing cardiovascular complications of AS.
In acute ischemic stroke (AIS), treatment with intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) is time-sensitive. All stroke centers make continual efforts to reduce door-to-needle time (DNT) ...with varying success. We present the impact of modifications to our stroke activation protocol on DNT.
We included 404 consecutive patients with AIS receiving IV-tPA between January 2014 and December 2016. First changes in stroke activation protocol were made in March 2015 in the form of prenotification by paramedics, direct transfer from ambulance to computed tomography (CT) scanner, and rapid en route neurological assessment by an emergency physician and neurologist. In March 2016, a second amendment was made where a stroke nurse accompanied the patient to expedite various steps in the treatment pathway, including endovascular treatment in eligible cases.
Both protocol amendments resulted in improvement in DNT and door-to-CT time from 84 ± 47 minutes before intervention to 69 ± 33 minutes after protocol amendment 1 to 59 ± 37 minutes after protocol amendment 2. In particular, the second amendment (144 patients) showed significant shortening of DNT compared with the 137 patients before (59 ± 37 minutes versus 69 ± 33 minutes, P = .020), with a higher percentage achieving the target of 60 minutes (68.1% versus 48.2%, P < .001). This finding was attributed to a reduction in both door-to-CT time and CT-to-needle time. This improvement remained consistent over subsequent months.
The application of a simple systems-based, multidisciplinary stroke activation protocol may help in significant reduction in DNT. Encouraging increased patient ownership by stroke nurses appeared to be a promising approach for timely administration of definitive acute therapies.
•There was a substantial shift in the population at risk of COVID-19 in Singapore over time.•Successful control in the community protected an at-risk aging population.•There were large outbreaks in ...the younger migrant worker population, with less severe disease.•This resulted in one of the lowest case fatality rates globally.
The vast majority of COVID-19 cases in Singapore have occurred amongst migrant workers. This paper examined trends in the hospitalised cases and tested the assumption that the low severity of disease was related to the relatively young affected population.
All patients with PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 admitted from February to April 2020 were divided into: (i) imported cases, (ii) locally-transmitted cases outside migrant worker dormitories and (iii) migrant worker dormitory cases. They were examined for underlying comorbidities, clinical progress and outcomes.
Imported cases (n = 29) peaked in mid-March 2020, followed by local cases (n = 100) in mid-April 2020; migrant worker cases (n = 425) continued to increase in late April 2020. Migrant worker cases were younger, had few medical comorbidities and less severe disease. As the migrant worker cases increased, the proportion of patients with pneumonia decreased, whilst patients presenting earlier in their illness and asymptomatic disease became more common.
Singapore experienced a substantial shift in the population at risk of severe COVID-19. Successful control in the community protected an aging population. Large migrant worker dormitory outbreaks occurred, but the disease incurred was less severe, resulting in Singapore having one of the lowest case fatality rates in the world.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to significant strain on front-line healthcare workers.
In this multicentre study, we compared the psychological outcomes during the COVID-19 ...pandemic in various countries in the Asia-Pacific region and identified factors associated with adverse psychological outcomes.
From 29 April to 4 June 2020, the study recruited healthcare workers from major healthcare institutions in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region. A self-administrated survey that collected information on prior medical conditions, presence of symptoms, and scores on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised were used. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) relating to COVID-19 was compared, and multivariable logistic regression identified independent factors associated with adverse psychological outcomes within each country.
A total of 1146 participants from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam were studied. Despite having the lowest volume of cases, Vietnam displayed the highest prevalence of PTSD. In contrast, Singapore reported the highest case volume, but had a lower prevalence of depression and anxiety. In the multivariable analysis, we found that non-medically trained personnel, the presence of physical symptoms and presence of prior medical conditions were independent predictors across the participating countries.
This study highlights that the varied prevalence of psychological adversity among healthcare workers is independent of the burden of COVID-19 cases within each country. Early psychological interventions may be beneficial for the vulnerable groups of healthcare workers with presence of physical symptoms, prior medical conditions and those who are not medically trained.
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