Mental health issues—anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and behavior—are prevalent among students of higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic further affected students’ daily life through academic and socioeconomic disturbances. We set out to investigate students’ mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted a cross-sectional online survey at higher education institutions in Lithuania in 2021. The questionnaire consisted of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-3) questionnaires, evaluation of suicidal risk, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-rated health status (SRHS). Among 1001 students who completed the survey, the prevalence of clinically relevant anxiety was high (46.6%) and contrasted with the lower prevalence of depression (11.1%). 37.5% of all students admitted that they had thought about suicide at least once during their lifetime and a similar number of students thought about suicide during the previous year. High levels of anxiety and depression were statistically significant predictors of suicidal ideation and planning during the past year in binary regression models. High SRHS (higher score refers to more positive health status) was the only significant independent variable associated with less frequent suicidal attempts in the past year (p < 0.01, OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.66). Our study highlights anxiety and suicidality to be burdensome mental health issues among higher education students in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and Objectives: Kidneys are one of the main targets for SARS-CoV-2. Early recognition and precautionary management are essential in COVID-19 patients due to the multiple origins of acute kidney injury and the complexity of chronic kidney disease management. The aims of this research were to investigate the association between COVID-19 infection and renal injury in a regional hospital. Materials and Methods: The data of 601 patients from the Vilnius regional university hospital between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2021 were collected for this cross-sectional study. Demographic data (gender, age), clinical outcomes (discharge, transfer to another hospital, death), length of stay, diagnoses (chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury), and laboratory test data (creatinine, urea, C-reactive protein, potassium concentrations) were collected and analyzed statistically. Results: Patients discharged from the hospital were younger (63.18 ± 16.02) than those from the emergency room (75.35 ± 12.41, p < 0.001), transferred to another hospital (72.89 ± 12.06, p = 0.002), or who died (70.87 ± 12.83, p < 0.001). Subsequently, patients who died had lower creatinine levels on the first day than those who survived (185.00 vs. 311.17 µmol/L, p < 0.001), and their hospital stay was longer (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = −0.304, p < 0.001). Patients with chronic kidney disease had higher first-day creatinine concentration than patients with acute kidney injury (365.72 ± 311.93 vs. 137.58 ± 93.75, p < 0.001). Patients with acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease complicated by acute kidney injury died 7.81 and 3.66 times (p < 0.001) more often than patients with chronic kidney disease alone. The mortality rate among patients with acute kidney injury was 7.79 (p < 0.001) times higher than among patients without these diseases. Conclusions: COVID-19 patients who developed acute kidney injury and whose chronic kidney disease was complicated by acute kidney injury had a longer hospital stay and were more likely to die.

Scrotal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare condition that typically manifests in the sixth decade of life and usually presents as a painless, solitary nodule that slowly increases in size, ulcerates, and gets infected. The diagnosis is often delayed, as the majority of patients tend to avoid seeking medical help due to embarrassment. We present a 62-year-old male with a massive 8 cm ulcerating painless tumor in the scrotum. A patient underwent scrotal extirpation with bilateral orchofuniculectomy and diagnostic bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy. Histopathology revealed a well-differentiated SCC of the scrotal skin. Ignorance, lack of self-awareness, knowledge about risk factors and aggravated access to healthcare facilities remain important reasons for late diagnosis.

Background The study measures and compares the rates of anxiety, depression, sense of coherence, subjective health status, suicidal risk among students from 12 universities of Lithuania. Methods Six-hundred-fifty-eight students from different academic fields completed a questionnaire that consisted of 23 questions and included Hospital Anxiety and Depression(HAD), Sence of Coherence(SOC-3) scales, suicide risk and subjective health status assessments. The data was analised by Microsoft Excel, R commander and IBM SPSS programmes. Results Males had higher depression(p = 0,025), but lower anxiety prevalence(p &lt; 0,001) than females. The total score of depression symptoms subscale (5,min=0,max=19) indicated no risk of depression, although a mild anxiety level was found (the total score is 10,min=0,max=21). Students scored 3 points out of 6 in SOC-3 and evaluated their health for 2 points out of 5. Weak suicide risk was found in 43,2%(n = 284) of all respondents, moderate - 12%(n = 79) and high - 3,2%(n = 21). Students from the field of arts had the highest depression rate(7), whereas those from social sciences had the lowest rate(3)(p &lt; 0,001). Students who live alone during years of study evaluated their health the worst(p = 0,004), had higher risk of depression(p = 0,038), more often felt sadness and apathy during the last 12 months(p = 0,045). Conclusions The respondents have mild anxiety symptoms, low sence of coherence, their subjective health status is good. More than half of students had suicidal thoughts. Male gender, academical field of arts, living alone during studies potentially increase the risk of depression, whereas female gender is related with higher anxiety symptoms. This study motivates the universities of Lithuania to strengthen the psychological support for students. Key messages The survey unveiled the need for higher education institutes to put more effort on reducing students‘ anxiety levels and it also highlighted the problem of suicide ideation among students. This study motivates the main universities of Lithuania to strengthen the psychological support for students.