Background: COVID-19, which is characterised by life-threatening symptoms, difficulty in breathing, and pneumonia symptoms and requires global emergency intervention, may cause psychological problems such as phobia, fear and anxiety. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale in Turkish people and to determine the level of fear of COVID-19 among Turkish people. Methods:The research was carried out between March and April 2020. A Personal Information Form and the FCV-19S were used to collect the research data. In the validity and reliability stage, 84 people were contacted randomly for data collection. After the validity and reliability analyses of the scale, a total of 431 Turkish people volunteered to participate in the study and answered the questions in the online questionnaire form using a convenience and snowball sampling method.Confirmatory factor analysis, item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were calculated for psychometric evaluation. Bivariate analysis was applied to determine the level of fear of COVID-19.Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.89, which is stated to have high reliability. FCV-19S scores of participants were determined to be 21.47 ± 6.28. FCV-19S scores of females were determined as 20.48 ± 6.33 and FCV-19S scores of males were determined as 19.78 ± 7.34 according to the bivariate analysis (p < .05). Age, marital status, having children and living alone or with others, tobacco use and anxiety about going to the hospital during the pandemic did not affect on fear of COVID-19 (p > .05). Particularly being female, the presence of chronic disease requiring long-term medication and rarely taking protective measures recommended by the Ministry of Health and having a chronic disease had a significant effect on higher levels of fear of COVID-19 (p < .05). Conclusion:The FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool for determining the fear of COVID-19. It was found that the fear level of COVID-19 infection was high in Turkish people.

Aim To compare the applicability, technical difficulties and postoperative complications of surgical tracheostomy and percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy with the flexible lightwand + ultrasonography method applied because of prolonged intubation to geriatric patients in the intensive care unit. Methods A retrospective evaluation was made of 76 patients who received surgical tracheostomy (group 1) and 78 patients who received percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (group 2). The patients were evaluated in respect of demographic data, duration of intubation, length of stay in the intensive care unit and discharge status, and after the intervention, the development of tube‐related complications, early stage local complications and late‐stage complications. Results The time from intubation to tracheostomy was determined as 22.73 ± 15.23 days in group 1 and 12.65 ± 7.64 days in group 2. The mortality rate of patients in group 1 was determined to be statistically significantly higher than that of group 2 (P = 0.048). When evaluated in respect to early and late complications, nine early‐ and seven late‐stage complications developed in group 1, and three early‐ and three late‐stage complications developed in group 2 (P = 0.05). In the evaluation of factors related to mortality, the time from intubation to tracheostomy (r = 0.249, P = 0.01) and the presence of a comorbidity (r = 0.325, P = 0.004) were determined to have a positive correlation with the development of mortality. Conclusion Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy with the flexible lightwand + ultrasonography technique is a safe, rapid and effective method with the advantage of management in respect to early complications, such as bleeding, and can be used safely in the geriatric patient population in intensive care conditions. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••–••.

Aim To determine the psychological resilience and perceived stress levels of healthcare workers in COVID‐19 intensive care units. Methods The study was conducted with 418 physicians and nurses in Turkey between July and August 2020. The data were collected with an online survey consisting of a personal information form, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Results The study sample comprised 32.5% physicians and 67.5% nurses. Fear of transmission of COVID‐19 from the patients in their care was stated by 92.6% of the physicians and 95.7% of the nurses. Almost all of the participants (99.3%) were afraid of transmitting COVID‐19 to their families. The psychological resilience level of the physicians (18.42 ± 2.25) participating in the study was higher than that of the nurses (17.88 ± 2.00), and the perceived stress level was lower. It was determined that most physicians and nurses strengthened their team/work friendship bonds during the pandemic, but the motivation to work decreased. Conclusion The study results suggest that frontline intensive care workers should be closely monitored as a high‐risk group for psychological problems. The provision of better personal protective equipment, together with on‐going monitoring and provision of psychological support, and strong family support will increase the resilience of frontline healthcare workers.

Background/aim: It is claimed that aberrant immune response has a more important role than the cytopathic effect of the virus in the morbidity and mortality of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to investigate the possible roles of tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) / Fn14 pathway and leukotrienes (LT) in uncontrolled immune response that occurs in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Materials and methods: This study included 25 asymptomatic patients and 35 patients with lung involvement who were diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as 22 healthy volunteer. Lung involvement was determined using computed-tomography. Serum TWEAK, LTE4, and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) levels were determined. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, TWEAK, LTE4, and PGF2α levels were higher in the group of SARS-CoV-2 infection without lung involvement. In the group of SARS-CoV-2 infection with lung involvement, age, fibrinogen, sedimentation, C-reactive protein and ferritin, TWEAK, LTE4, and PGF2α levels were higher, and lymphocyte levels were lower compared with the asymptomatic group. Conclusions: In the study, TWEAK and LTE4 levels increased in cases with COVID-19. These results support that TWEAK / Fn14 pathway and LT may involved in the pathology of aberrant immune response against SARS-CoV-2. Inhibition of each of these pathways may be a potential target in the treatment of COVID-19.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to find a simple and easily accessible scoring system that could predict the development of sepsis in the preseptic period.Material/MethodsThe study included 161 patients with a basal sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) value of 2 or more. The sepsis group (n=83) comprised patients with infection reported in culture results; the control group (n=78) comprised patients not showing evidence of infection in blood, urine, and phlegm cultures; samples were taken on three consecutive days.ResultsThe patients in both groups were divided into subgroups of non-survivor and survivor patients. The preseptic and septic SOFA score, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and procalcitonin (PRC) and lactate (Lac) values were determined to be statistically significantly higher in the sepsis group than in the control group. When the values related to sepsis were examined, a strong relationship was determined between sepsis and SOFA score, PRC values, and Lac values in the preseptic period and a weak relationship with NLR. In the model formed using multiple regression analysis with defined cutoff values for the preseptic and the septic periods, we found that in the septic period, a diagnosis of sepsis could be made with 83.8% accuracy. The diagnostic value of the same parameters evaluated in the preseptic period was 77.9%.ConclusionsThe diagnostic value of the combination of Lac, PRC, SOFA, and NLR were found to be similar in the preseptic period as the sepsis period; thus these combined values could safely be used for the early diagnosis of sepsis.