Untangling the Professional Web: Understanding the Impact of Work-Related Factors on the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals During the Late Stages of Covid-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has determined an extraordinary challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. The extraordinary circumstances, characterized by elevated stress levels, prolonged working hours, new medical procedures, media attention, and high population expectations, have created an extremely stressful situation for healthcare professionals. This period has offered a unique opportunity to examine the medical system and the responses of healthcare practitioners to stress.

The Impact of Hyper-Acute Inflammatory Response on Stress Adaptation and Psychological Symptoms of COVID-19 Patients.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection induces a significant inflammatory response that are amplified by persistent stress. The pathophysiology of mental illnesses is explored in terms of inflammatory processes. Thus, anxious, depressed, or psychotic episodes may occur as a result of metabolic and immunological imbalances, as a direct result of their effect on the central nervous system, or as a side effect of the COVID-19 medication protocols.

Impairment of the cardiac ejection fraction by blocking dopamine D2 receptors induced by long-acting injectable antipsychotic treatment.

Introduction: Atypical antipsychotics have numerous benefits compared to conventional ones in respect to the possible adverse effects. However, like the other ones, they may induce direct cardiovascular alterations, probably through the apoptotic effect of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) blockade. The main objective of the study was to assess the cardiac ejection fraction (EF) using transthoracic speckle tracking echocardiography (TSTE) in patients treated with long-acting injectable (LAI) atypical antipsychotics.

Coping Strategies and Stress Related Disorders in Patients with COVID-19.

Patients with severe COVID-19 experience high-stress levels and thus are at risk for developing acute stress disorder (ASD) and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study aims to search for correlations between psychiatric response to stress and coping strategies among individuals with acute vs. remitted COVID-19.

Analysis of the Impact of Comorbidities on Endometrial Lesions Using the Charlson Comorbidity Index in Western Romania.

This retrospective study aimed to identify the main comorbidities found in gynecological patients hospitalized for endometrial lesions and to analyze the relationships between these comorbidities and each type of endometrial lesion. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was calculated, thus assessing the patient's probability of survival in relation to the underlying disease and the existing comorbidities. : During 2015-2019, 594 cases hospitalized for vaginal bleeding outside of pregnancy were included in the research.

Social and Neurocognitive Deficits in Remitted Patients with Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective and Bipolar Disorder.

This study assesses the empathy level, cognitive performance and emotion recognition skills of remitted patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, and also explores the relationship between impairments in the mentioned domains. The study was performed on 77 subjects divided into two groups: PAT sample (N = 37) included remitted patients with either schizophrenia, schizoaffective or bipolar disorder who were compared with healthy control subjects from the HC sample (N = 40). Along with sociodemographic and clinical data, empathy levels (using EQ (Empathy Quotient) scale), the ability to recognize another person's emotional state (using RMET (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test)), and cognitive performance (using MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) Scale) were investigated.

Prolactin response to antipsychotics: An inpatient study.

Background: Antipsychotic medication, stress, gender, and age are factors that influence prolactin levels in patients with psychosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the level of prolactin response to antipsychotic treatment in acute patients, taking into account the total duration of psychosis.

Methods And Findings: The study was conducted on 170 acute patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder.

THE METABOLIC SYNDROME IN OUTPATIENTS WITH PSYCHOSIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN LONG ACTING INJECTABLE OLANZAPINE AND RISPERIDONE.

Context: Literature shows that patients taking antipsychotic medication risk developing metabolic complications.

Objective: The study aims to compare the presence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components in outpatients treated with long acting injectable (LAI) olanzapine and risperidone.

Design: A double-center study was performed on outpatients with psychosis, which were divided into two samples: one treated with olanzapine and another with risperidone.

Affective theory of mind in Parkinson's disease: the effect of cognitive performance.

Purpose: Among other non-motor symptoms, theory of mind (ToM), the ability to recognize, understand and infer others' mental states, beliefs, intents and wishes, has been shown to deteriorate during the course of Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been speculated that ToM impairments could be related to cognitive deficits in PD. However, the current state of literature suggests that there is heterogeneity regarding the involvement of cognitive functioning in the relationship of PD and ToM.

A novel approach to cardiovascular disturbances in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated with long-acting injectable medication.

Purpose: This research article assesses the cardiovascular impact of long-term injectable antipsychotic therapy on patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In our study, we attempted to quantify the potential causes of cardiovascular damage, assess cardiovascular parameters, and correlate them with the time elapsed from the onset of the psychosis until the initiation of injectable antipsychotic therapy, as well as the duration of long-acting therapy, and finally, to compare two of the most utilized long-acting injectable (LAI) medications (olanzapine vs risperidone).

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 64 patients of 2 outpatient clinics undergoing treatment with LAI antipsychotics for schizophrenic spectrum disorder.

Profiling undergraduate students from a Romanian medical university.

Purpose: Medical students' personality traits, emotion regulation strategies, and empathic behavior are considered powerful predictors for their future achievements, professional adjustment, and mental strength. Coping strategies such as "self-blame," "rumination," "catastrophizing," "blaming others," lack of empathy, decreased emotion recognition abilities, and neuroticism are maladaptive and, thus, less desirable traits in medical professionals. The purpose of the study was to comparatively assess and find potential correlations between personality traits, empathy levels, emotion recognition abilities, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies of three medical student samples: general medicine (GM), dental medicine (DM), and general nursing (GN) students.

Perinatal characteristics and mother's personality profile associated with increased likelihood of postpartum depression occurrence in a Romanian outpatient sample.

Background: Postpartum depression represents an increasingly recognized psychiatric condition in new mothers, and even more so in recent years as its detection has improved.

Aims: This study aimed to reveal those maternal and perinatal parameters that are significantly associated with increased likelihood of postpartum depression in delivering mothers from our region.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 163 women between 6 and 8 weeks after delivery.

State and trait anxiety as a psychopathological phenomenon correlated with postpartum depression in a Romanian sample: a pilot study.

The current study aimed to investigate the rate of postpartum depression and its correlation with both state and trait anxiety. A cross-sectional study was performed on 80 mothers monitored in the Ambulatory of "Bega" Obstetrics Clinic from Timisoara. The presence of depression was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, using a cut-off ≥ 10.

First episode psychosis and treatment delay--causes and consequences.

Introduction: According to the clinical perspective, early diagnosis of the prodromal phase and early treatment provision in the first episode of psychosis (FEP) is able to prevent or reduce morbidity. The main aim of this study is to inventory and analyze the most important causes of treatment delay from the perspective of patients, families and healthcare providers. The secondary aim is to point out the most important consequences of treatment delay.