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Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020, triggering important changes for the entire society and healthcare systems, as well as significant lockdown measures aimed to limit the disease spread. We herein intended to cat...

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Autores principales: Dima, Alina, Balaban, Daniel Vasile, Jurcut, Ciprian, Berza, Ioana, Jurcut, Ruxandra, Jinga, Mariana
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7831077/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33477522
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9010095
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author Dima, Alina
Balaban, Daniel Vasile
Jurcut, Ciprian
Berza, Ioana
Jurcut, Ruxandra
Jinga, Mariana
author_facet Dima, Alina
Balaban, Daniel Vasile
Jurcut, Ciprian
Berza, Ioana
Jurcut, Ruxandra
Jinga, Mariana
author_sort Dima, Alina
collection PubMed
description The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020, triggering important changes for the entire society and healthcare systems, as well as significant lockdown measures aimed to limit the disease spread. We herein intended to catch the dynamic of Romanian physicians’ perceptions of COVID-19 impact. For this purpose, after a literature review, a 30-item questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was twice distributed online, about 1 month apart, during which partial relaxation measures were decreed in Romania. The questionnaire was voluntarily filled in by Romanian physicians who were willing to participate in the study. A total of 214 physicians answered the questionnaire upon its first release, and 199 respondents were registered upon its second release, most of whom (94.9%) were involved in clinical work, with one-third working in units dedicated to COVID-19 patients. In parallel with the relaxation of lockdown measures, along with increased confidence in the efficiency of protective measures (46.7% vs. 31.3%), separation from household members decreased from 36.9% to 22.1%. Nevertheless, the feeling of rejection felt by doctors remained similar (22.4% vs. 24.6%). Furthermore, answers regarding the clinical picture, diagnostic approach, and treatment options are discussed. Most of therapeutic options considered for SARS-CoV-2 treatment (e.g., lopinavir/ritonavir, oseltamivir, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, tocilizumab, and convalescent plasma) failed to confirm significant efficiency. On the contrary, vaccines for widescale use are already available despite the initial skepticism. In the beginning of the pandemic, 25.2% (18.2% vs. 32.2%) considered that there will not be an effective COVID-19 vaccine, while 41.6% (43.0% vs. 40.2%) thought that a vaccine would be available after at least 12 months. In conclusion, initially, following only a 1 month period, Romanian physicians’ intention to consider treatments such as hydroxychloroquine or lopinavir/ritonavir for COVID-19 decreased significantly. Moreover, confidence in the efficiency of available protective measures increased, and the rates of separation from household members decreased.
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spelling pubmed-78310772021-01-26 Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention Dima, Alina Balaban, Daniel Vasile Jurcut, Ciprian Berza, Ioana Jurcut, Ruxandra Jinga, Mariana Healthcare (Basel) Article The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020, triggering important changes for the entire society and healthcare systems, as well as significant lockdown measures aimed to limit the disease spread. We herein intended to catch the dynamic of Romanian physicians’ perceptions of COVID-19 impact. For this purpose, after a literature review, a 30-item questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was twice distributed online, about 1 month apart, during which partial relaxation measures were decreed in Romania. The questionnaire was voluntarily filled in by Romanian physicians who were willing to participate in the study. A total of 214 physicians answered the questionnaire upon its first release, and 199 respondents were registered upon its second release, most of whom (94.9%) were involved in clinical work, with one-third working in units dedicated to COVID-19 patients. In parallel with the relaxation of lockdown measures, along with increased confidence in the efficiency of protective measures (46.7% vs. 31.3%), separation from household members decreased from 36.9% to 22.1%. Nevertheless, the feeling of rejection felt by doctors remained similar (22.4% vs. 24.6%). Furthermore, answers regarding the clinical picture, diagnostic approach, and treatment options are discussed. Most of therapeutic options considered for SARS-CoV-2 treatment (e.g., lopinavir/ritonavir, oseltamivir, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, tocilizumab, and convalescent plasma) failed to confirm significant efficiency. On the contrary, vaccines for widescale use are already available despite the initial skepticism. In the beginning of the pandemic, 25.2% (18.2% vs. 32.2%) considered that there will not be an effective COVID-19 vaccine, while 41.6% (43.0% vs. 40.2%) thought that a vaccine would be available after at least 12 months. In conclusion, initially, following only a 1 month period, Romanian physicians’ intention to consider treatments such as hydroxychloroquine or lopinavir/ritonavir for COVID-19 decreased significantly. Moreover, confidence in the efficiency of available protective measures increased, and the rates of separation from household members decreased. MDPI 2021-01-18 /pmc/articles/PMC7831077/ /pubmed/33477522 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9010095 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Dima, Alina
Balaban, Daniel Vasile
Jurcut, Ciprian
Berza, Ioana
Jurcut, Ruxandra
Jinga, Mariana
Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title_full Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title_fullStr Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title_short Perceptions of Romanian Physicians on Lockdowns for COVID-19 Prevention
title_sort perceptions of romanian physicians on lockdowns for covid-19 prevention
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7831077/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33477522
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9010095
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