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Objective: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the long term is unclear. We evaluated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)–related transmission fear and mental-health disorders in populations at high risk for COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Healthcare workers and patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs), severe asthma, malignancy, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were included in the study. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and Fear of Illness and Virus Evaluation (FIVE) scales were applied during face-to-face interviews. Results: There was a total of 560 participants, 80 per group; 306 (55%) were female. The FIVE and HADS-A scale scores of health care workers were significantly higher than the other groups (p = 0.001 and 0.006). The second-highest scores were in patients with PID. There was no significant difference between the groups in HADS-D scores (p = 0.07). There was a significant positive correlation between FIVE scale scores and anxiety (r = 0.828; p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.660; p < 0.001). The FIVE scale had significant discriminatory power for anxiety (AUC = 0.870, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.836–0.904; p < 0.0001) and depression (area under the curve = 0.760, 95% CI = 0.717–0.803; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental-health disorders may develop in patients with comorbidities, especially healthcare workers. They should be referred to mental-health centers. Keywords: Asthma, COVID-19, fear of virus transmission, mental health, primary immunodeficiency

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Background Little is known about the diagnostic approaches for immediate hypersensitivity reactions (IHRs) due to 5‐nitroimidazole antibiotics. The aim was to evaluate the usefulness of in vivo tests and basophil activation test (BAT) for the diagnosis of IHRs due to metronidazole and ornidazole and to determine possible cross‐reactivity in between. Methods Forty‐nine patients with a clear history of IHRs due to these drugs and 20 healthy subjects who were known to tolerate these drugs were included. Skin tests (STs) and single‐blind placebo‐controlled drug provocation tests (SBPCDPTs) were performed with both drugs whereas BAT was applied only with the culprit drug. Results The most and least common reaction types were urticaria/angioedema (34.7%) and anaphylaxis (14.3%), respectively. SBPCDPTs were positive in 15 out of 47 patients, and only 7 had positive STs. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of STs for metronidazole/ornidazole were 33.3%/16.6%, 94.2%/97.3%, 60%/50%, and 84.6%/88.1%, respectively. BAT was positive in 12 out of 15 patients and negative in 10 control subjects, giving a sensitivity rate of 71.4% (CI, 29.0%‐96.3%) for metronidazole and 83.3% (CI, 35.8%‐99.5%) for ornidazole. The optimal concentration of both drugs for BAT was determined as 5 mg/mL. No cross‐reactivity among two drugs was observed according to in vivo tests. Conclusions Our study showed that SBPCDPT and BAT are both useful diagnostic tools for IHRs due to 5‐nitroimidazole antibiotics and can be used as supplementary to each other. No cross‐reactivity between metronidazole and ornidazole in IHRs exists.

Background: The adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of high-risk group patients for morbidity and mortality and its impact on public health in the long term have not been clearly determined. Objective: To determine the level of COVID-19 related transmission fear and anxiety in healthcare workers and patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID), severe asthma, and the ones with other comorbidities. Methods: The healthcare workers and patients with PID, severe asthma (all patients receiving biological agent treatment), malignancy, cardiovascular disease, hypertension (90% of patients receiving ACEI or ARB therapy), diabetes mellitus (42 % of patients receiving DPP-4 inhibitor therapy) were included in the study. A total of 560 participants, 80 individuals in each group, were provided. The hospital anxiety and depression scale ( HADS ) and Fear of illness and virus evaluation (FIVE ) scales were applied to the groups with face to face interview methods. Results: The mean age was 49.30 years and 306 (55 %) were female. The FIVE Scale and HADS-A scale scores of health care workers were significantly higher than other groups' scores (p = 0.001 and 0.006). The second-highest scores belonged to patients with PID. There was no significant difference between the groups for the HADS-D score (p=0.07). The lowest score in all scales was observed in patients with hypertension. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that in the pandemic process, patients with primary immunodeficiency, asthma patients, and other comorbid patients, especially healthcare workers, should be referred to the centers for the detection and treatment of mental health conditions.

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Background Mast cell-related symptoms might be influenced by mental health status in mastocytosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence of mental health problems developed during the COVID-19 pandemic on the course of mastocytosis. Methods Mental health status in 60 adult patients with mastocytosis was prospectively evaluated with the total Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (tDASS-21) and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in the lockdown period (LP) and the return to normal period (RTNP) during the pandemic. The disease course was assessed from emergency and outpatient medical reports, including Scoring Mastocytosis (SCORMA) index and serum baseline tryptase levels, by telephone interviews and clinical visits. Results The mean FCV-19S and median tDASS-21 scores were significantly higher in LP than RTNP (p<0.001) and there was a positive correlation between FCV-19S and tDASS-21 in LP (r=0.820, p<0.001) and in RTNP (r=0.572 p= <0.001). Disease-related symptoms including skin lesions, flushing and anaphylaxis attacks increased in 22 patients in LP, and in this group, mean FCV-19S and median tDASS-21 were higher than those without symptom exacerbation (p<0.001). During the study period, four (6.7%) patients who experienced COVID-19 recovered without any requirement for hospitalization and had not experienced symptom exacerbation. Conclusions Fear of COVID-19 can be a reason for mental health changes, including depression, anxiety and stress which may further increase mast cell-related symptoms. Therefore, psychological support is important to control the severity of mastocytosis during a pandemic.

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