Alerts from the mental status changes of spine patients during COVID-19
outbreaks in a Grade-A Tertiary Hospital in Anhui province, China
Abstract
Abstract Background As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads
worldwide, the virus containment measures significantly affected the
travel, work and live, which may bring negative impacts on the mental
status of people, especially on patients. Measures This study take the
spine surgery department as an example in The First Affiliated Hospital
of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, Anhui, China. A psychological
scale were constructed to assess the mental status of patients who were
admitted to hospital during Jan 24 to Apr 2. The number of newly
confirmed COVID-19 patients in Anhui, China were collected each day
during Jan 24 to Apr 2. Results The mental status of patients were
relatively poor at the beginning of the outbreaks and then gradually
returned to normal. The trends between the psychological of patients and
the number of newly confirmed COVID patients were similar. Conclusion
The outbreaks adversely affected the mental state of spine patients,
which showed a similar trend with the number of newly confirmed
patients. However, the connection between them required further study to
identify. This phenomenon may be widespread in spine surgery department
and other departments, which required more attention.