Analysis of Influencing Factors of Professional Identity of Nurses in Infection Department in the Post-Epidemic Era.

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the factors that influence the professional identity of nurses working in infectious diseases departments following the COVID-19 epidemic. Additionally, the research aims to provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing nurses' professional identity in these departments. Methods: A total of 155 nurses from the infection departments of 5 hospitals in Guangdong Province were selected using a convenience sampling method. A locally designed general questionnaire, nurse occupational benefit scale, and occupational identity scale were employed for data collection. Single-factor linear analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to analyze the data. Results: The average occupational identity score of nurses in the infection departments was 105.50±18.94. Multiple linear regression analysis results indicated that several factors influenced professional identity, including family support, recognition from doctors, participation in integrated medical and nursing ward rounds, positive perception of professional benefits, and a sense of belonging to a team. Conclusion: In the post-epidemic era, the professional identity of nurses working in the infection departments is moderately affected by various factors, particularly the perception of occupational advantages post-exposure to the epidemic.

Progress of the COVID-19: Persistence, Effectiveness, and Immune Escape of the Neutralizing Antibody in Convalescent Serum.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a new coronavirus causing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a major topic of global human health concern. The Delta and Omicron variants have caused alarming responses worldwide due to their high transmission rates and a number of mutations. During a one-year follow-up (from June 2020 to June 2021), we included 114 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection to study the long-term dynamics and the correlative factors of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in convalescent patients. The blood samples were collected at two detection time points (at 6 and 12 months after discharge). We evaluated the NAbs response of discharged patients by performing a micro-neutralization assay using a SARS-CoV-2 wild type. In addition, a total of 62 serum samples from discharged COVID-19 patients with Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants of infection were enrolled to perform cross-neutralization tests using the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and VOCs variants (including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants) and to assess the ability of NAbs against the SARS-CoV-2 variants. NAbs seroconversion occurred in 91.46% of patients (n = 82) in the first timepoint and in 89.29% of patients (n = 84) in the second detection point, and three kinds of NAbs kinetics curves were perceived. The NAbs levels in young patients had higher values than those in elder patients. The kinetics of disease duration was accompanied by an opposite trend in NAbs levels. Despite a declining NAbs response, NAbs activity was still detectable in a substantial proportion of recovered patients one year after discharge. Compared to the wild strain, the Omicron strain could lead to a 23.44-, 3.42-, 8.03-, and 2.57-fold reduction in neutralization capacity in "SAlpha", "SBeta", "SDelta", and "SOmicron", respectively, and the NAbs levels against the Omicron strain were significantly lower than those of the Beta and Delta variants. Remarkably, the NAbs activity of convalescent serum with Omicron strain infection was most obviously detectable against six SARS-CoV-2 strains in our study. The role of the vaccination history in NAbs levels further confirmed the previous study that reported vaccine-induced NAbs as the convincing protection mechanism against SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, our findings highlighted the dynamics of the long-term immune responses after the disappearance of symptoms and revealed that NAbs levels varied among all types of convalescent patients with COVID-19 and that NAbs remained detectable for one year, which is reassuring in terms of protection against reinfection. Moreover, a moderate correlation between the duration of disease and Nabs titers was observed, whereas age was negatively correlated with Nabs titers. On the other hand, compared with other VOCs, the Omicron variant was able to escape the defenses of the immune system more significantly, and the convalescent serum infected with the Omicron variant played a critical part in protection against different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Recovery serum from individuals vaccinated with inactivated vaccine preceding infection with the Omicron strain had a high efficacy against the original strain and the VOCs variants, whereas the convalescent serum of persons vaccinated by inactivated vaccine prior to infection with the Delta variant was only potent against the wild-type strain.

Differences in anxiety among patients with liver cirrhosis with different compensation abilities.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the difference in anxiety and mental health of patients with liver cirrhosis with different compensatory abilities, so as to provide comprehensive treatment measures such as individualized psychological support for patients. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a total of 175 patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases, Fifth Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January to December 2019 were included and divided into a compensated group (n=77) and a decompensated group (n=98). The anxiety of patients was evaluated on the day of admission, one week after hospitalization, and the day of discharge using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Psychological investigations were conducted on the two groups of patients with cirrhosis. RESULTS: The SAS score of patients in the decompensated group was higher than that of the compensated group on the day of admission (48.62±6.35 vs. 37.68±8.94, F=20.313), one week after hospitalization (56.95±7.47 vs. 42.79±10.77, F=29.879), and on the day of discharge (42.95±7.85 vs. 36.43±9.29, F=7.110) (P<0.05). The SAS score of male patients in the decompensated group was higher than that of the compensated group on the day of admission (47.50±6.25 vs. 36.70±9.92, t=-4.112), one week after hospitalization (57.25±5.80 vs. 42.10±13.24, t=-4.538) and on the day of discharge (42.33±7.34 vs. 36.19±9.65, t=-2.162) (all P<0.05). The SAS score of 40-59 year-old patients of the decompensated group was higher than that of patients in the compensated group of the same age on the day of admission (51.80±6.26 vs. 36.84±8.57, t=-4.372), one week after hospitalization (60.6±7.06 vs. 42.94±10.33, t=-4.382), and on the day of discharge (48.60±4.16 vs. 37.32±10.23, t=-3.768) (P<0.05). The SAS score of female patients in the decompensated group was higher than that in the compensated group at one week after hospitalization (56.56±9.65 vs. 35.45±18.66, t=-4.617) (P<0.05). There was no difference in the SAS score between patients of different groups on the day of admission and the day of discharge (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The anxiety of patients with different compensatory abilities of the liver is adversely affected by the severity of their illness and the length of hospitalization. The anxiety of male patients in the decompensated group is more significant than that of patients in the compensated group, while no significant difference was observed in anxiety between female patients in the decompensated group and those in the compensated group on the day of admission and discharge. It is necessary to strengthen psychological intervention, optimize the treatment methods, and reduce the average hospital stay in decompensated patients.