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).