Study design and participants
This study is a cross-sectional, survey-based study which collected
demographic information and mental health data via
SCL90-R
questionnaire from March 15 to 25, 2020 in Wuhan, China. A total of 20
COVID-19
survivors and 78 healthcare workers were enrolled in the study. All
participants were willing to complete the questionnaire, without mental
disorders, 18 years of age or older, and other inclusion criteria were
able to understand, speak, and write Chinese in order to finish the
SCL90-R questionnaire smoothly. The study was approved by the Medical
Ethics Committee of Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese
Medicine. Written informed consent was provided by all enrolled
participants before the initial of study, and all subjects were informed
that this study was anonymous, all information was confidential, and
participants had the right to end the questionnaire anytime without
responsibility.
We investigated 78 healthcare workers from Wuhan No.1 Hospital, the
Central Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan Jiangxia District Hospital of
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cabin
Hospital of Jiangxia District which was transformed from a gymnasium,
Tongji Hospital, and Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital respectively. All of them
were rushed to the rescue of Wuhan responding to the call of the Chinese
government from multiple hospitals of Jiangsu Province, China from
February to March 2020, consisting of 54 nurses and 24 hygienists.
20 patients with conforming COVID-19 were also surveyed in our study,
who were admitted and treated in Cabin Hospital of Jiangxia District in
March 2020. The included patients were diagnosed as COVID-19 and were
discharged from the Cabin Hospital after recovery. Patients combined
other diseases such as enteritis, or pulmonary occupying lesions were
ruled out. The diagnostic criteria of COVID-19 were suspected case also
has one of the following etiological or serological evidence: 1. The
COVID-19 nucleic acid was identified positively by real-time
fluorescence RT-PCR; 2. The virus is very homologous to COVID-19 via
virus gene sequencing; 3.
Serum
COVID-19 specific IgM antibody and IgG antibody were positive; serum
COVID-19 specific IgG antibody changed from negative to positive or
rising speed in the recovery period was 4 times or more than the acute
period. The discharge standard was met the following 4 requirements at
the same time: 1. The body temperature returned to normal for more than
3 days; 2. Symptoms of respiratory tract greatly improved; 3. Pulmonary
imaging showed that the acute exudation lesions were significantly
improved; 4. The nucleic acid test of respiratory tract samples such as
sputum and nasopharyngeal swab was negative for two consecutive time,
sampling time shall be at least 24 hours apart. The above 2 criteria
referenced “COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Version 7)”
printed and distributed by the National Health Commission of the
People’s Republic of China on March 4, 2020(China, 2020c) (National
Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, 2020).