Anxiety and its risk factors among non-Japanese residents living in Japan undergoing COVID-19 situation: A cross-sectional survey.

INTRODUCTION: In the context of collective efforts taken in Japan to control the spread of COVID-19, the state of emergency and social distancing have caused a negative impact on the mental health of all residents, including foreign communities in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the level of anxiety and its associated factors among non-Japanese residents residing in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A web-based survey in 13 languages was conducted among non-Japanese residents living in Japan during the COVID-19 situation. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory assessed the level of anxiety-State (STAI-S) scores prorated from its six-item version. The multivariable logistic regression using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) method was performed to identify the associated factors of anxiety among participants. RESULTS: From January to March 2021, we collected 392 responses. A total of 357 valid responses were analyzed. 54.6% of participants suffered from clinically significant anxiety (CSA). In multivariable logistic model analysis, the CSA status or the high level of anxiety was associated with three factors, including having troubles/difficulties in learning or working, decreased sleep duration, and decreased overall physical health (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests several possible risk factors of anxiety among non-Japanese residents living in Japan undergoing the COVID-19 pandemic, including the troubles or difficulties in learning or working, the decrease in sleep duration, and the decrease in overall physical health.

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease diminish during the onset of COVID-19 in Japan between 2019 and 2022.

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is a severe infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. This study explores the influence of COVID-19 on IPD occurrence in Japan by using the time trend analysis. We found that the IPD trend changed dramatically after the emergence of COVID-19; first, the number of IPD cases decreased. Second, the seasonality of IPD disappeared after the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the number of IPD cases increased between the waves of COVID-19.

Levofloxacin Use in Patients with Suspected Tuberculosis in a Community Hospital, Thailand: A Pilot Study.

Background: Levofloxacin is one of the broad-spectrum antibiotics that is indicated for the second-line treatment of tuberculosis (TB). However, using levofloxacin as an empirical therapy for patients without confirmation of TB could still be observed. This descriptive retrospective study, therefore, aimed to investigate the number of levofloxacin use in patients suspected TB in a community hospital in Thailand. Methods: Patient medical charts of all patients who were admitted to a community hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, from 2016 to 2017, were reviewed. Patients who were suspected TB and received any levofloxacin-containing regimens were included. Data on patient characteristics and the received regimens were descriptively analyzed and reported as percentage and frequency. Results: There were a total of 21 patients who received levofloxacin in the hospital. Six of them (28.57%) had the diagnosis of hepatitis. The most prescribed regimen as empirical therapy was levofloxacin, ethambutol, and amikacin (66.67%). After the confirmation of TB using acid-fast bacilli (AFB) test, ten patients (47.62%) still received levofloxacin-containing regimens. Conclusion: The results from this study indicated high usage of levofloxacin despite no evidence of drug-resistant TB or negative AFB results in a community hospital in Thailand. The results from this study will be further used for the investigation of the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and clinical outcomes of using second-line regimens for TB treatment.

The global response: How cities and provinces around the globe tackled Covid-19 outbreaks in 2021.

Background: Tackling the spread of COVID-19 remains a crucial part of ending the pandemic. Its highly contagious nature and constant evolution coupled with a relative lack of immunity make the virus difficult to control. For this, various strategies have been proposed and adopted including limiting contact, social isolation, vaccination, contact tracing, etc. However, given the heterogeneity in the enforcement of these strategies and constant fluctuations in the strictness levels of these strategies, it becomes challenging to assess the true impact of these strategies in controlling the spread of COVID-19. Methods: In the present study, we evaluated various transmission control measures that were imposed in 10 global urban cities and provinces in 2021- Bangkok, Gauteng, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, London, Manila City, New Delhi, New York City, Singapore, and Tokyo. Findings: Based on our analysis, we herein propose the population-level Swiss cheese model for the failures and pitfalls in various strategies that each of these cities and provinces had. Furthermore, whilst all the evaluated cities and provinces took a different personalized approach to managing the pandemic, what remained common was dynamic enforcement and monitoring of breaches of each barrier of protection. The measures taken to reinforce the barriers were adjusted continuously based on the evolving epidemiological situation. Interpretation: How an individual city or province handled the pandemic profoundly affected and determined how the entire country handled the pandemic since the chain of transmission needs to be broken at the very grassroot level to achieve nationwide control. Funding: The present study did not receive any external funding.