Prevalence and predictors of psychological response during immediate COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM: COVID-19 pandemic has created a serious psychological impact worldwide since it has been declared. This study aims to investigate the level of psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish population and to determine related factors. METHODS: The study was carried out by an online questionnaire using the virtual snowball sampling method. The sociodemographic data were collected on the following subjects: participants' experience on any signs of infection within the last month, the history of COVID-19 contact-treatment-quarantine, level of compliance with precautionary measures, the sources of information and level of knowledge about the pandemic process and their belief levels on the knowledge they acquire. Besides, the questions that take place in the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) were asked to participants. RESULTS: Of the 3549 participants, anxiety was found in 15.8%, depression in 22.6%, stress in 12.9%, and psychological trauma in 20.29% based on moderate and above levels. Female gender, young age, higher education level, being single, high monthly income, presence of psychiatric illness, a large number of people living together, having any signs of infection, and contact history with COVID-19 infected person or contaminated object are identified as risk factors that may increase psychological impact. Compliance with the rules was found to reduce the risk of psychological response. CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and acknowledging these factors can help to formulate the interventions to reduce the stress levels of the population.

Can neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume be used to predict metastasis in individuals with lung cancer?

Chronic inflammation plays an important role in the etiopathogenesis of many life-threatening chronic diseases, including cancer. Currently, the relationship between inflammation, native immunity and cancer is widely accepted; however, many of the mechanisms mediating this relationship remain undetermined and the clinical significance of these markers is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) to indicate the existence of metastasis in lung cancer. This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated patients with lung cancer of any pathological type who was admitted to the Palliative Care Unit of the referral hospital in the region between January 2019 and February 2020. Patient characteristics, distant organ metastasis, treatments, NLR and MPV values were noted. Patients were grouped as with or without metastasis. Characters, NLR, MPV values were compared. One hundred twenty-six patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 61.17 ± 9.4 years and 7.9% (n = 10) were female. The patients with a history of chemotherapy were 47% (n = 60) and distant organ metastases were present in 38.9% (n = 49) of the patients. The mean MPV value of 49 patients with distant metastasis was 8.34 ± 0.8 fL. MPV values of those with metastasis were found to be significantly higher than those without (P = .010). There was no significant difference in NLR values between groups (P = .920). Lung cancer patients with metastasis were found with higher MPV values. MPV can be effective and most accessible test in prediction of metastasis in lung cancer patients regardless of the pathological type.

Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy: Social Isolation in Relation to Social Media Addiction and COVID-19 Anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Despite significant advancements in immunization over the last century, vaccine hesitancy is a major threat to world health. Health-related information available from a variety of sources, including new media such as social media platforms, can encourage vaccine hesitancy. The aim of this study is to determine the level of vaccine hesitation among adults, specifically their belief in the advantages of vaccination and their perceptions of vaccine-related dangers in relation to social media addiction and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) anxiety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between December 2021 and January 2022, 454 adults participated in an online cross-sectional survey consisting of the social media use disorder scale, the vaccine hesitancy scale, and the coronavirus anxiety scale. RESULTS: The results of the study revealed a strong correlation between social media addiction, vaccine hesitation, and COVID-19 anxiety. CONCLUSION: Given the potential for misinformation to spread through social media, especially in a situation like a pandemic, the conscious use of social media should be emphasized and anti-addiction measures are required. Novel programs including online interventions should be developed to promote vaccination among social media addicts who have relatively high vaccination hesitancy.

Physical violence among elderly: analysis of admissions to an emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Physical violence is defined as deliberate use of physical force likely to result in trauma, bodily injury, pain, or impairment. Present study is pioneering effort to evaluate mechanisms and sociodemographic features of physical violence targeting the elderly in Turkey and to investigate preventive measures. METHODS: Database records and forensic reports were analyzed in this retrospective study of 54 elderly patients with trauma as result of physical violence who were admitted to emergency department of Sanliurfa Training and Research Hospital between January 2012 and July 2013. RESULTS: Of the 54 patients evaluated, 50 (92.4%) were male. History of experiencing previous violence was described by 55.6% (n=30) of the patients. Instances of repeat violence and firearm injuries most often occurred in the home (p=0.006, p=0.007). Need for surgical treatment was also greater among cases that occurred in the home (p=0.016). CONCLUSION: Firearm injury, recurrent violence, and surgical treatment rates were higher among cases that occurred in the home. Urgent preventive measures are especially needed for the elderly who have already been victims of physical violence.