Feelings and Thoughts of Infected Nursing Undergraduates with COVID-19 in China: A Qualitative Study

Background: COVID-19 had become much less virulent but still infectious, and China had loosened controls on its prevention after three years of zero-COVID policy. Nursing students were faced with infection. However, the symptoms of the vast majority of them were not serious. Objectives: To understand the feelings and thoughts of nursing undergraduates first infected with COVID-19 after implementing the policy of loosening controls on COVID-19 prevention in China. Methods: A semi-structured in-depth interview was adopted to collect data from 19 nursing undergraduates in a nursing school in China in January 2023, which were then analyzed using the Colaizzi analysis method. Results: Two main themes and seven sub-themes were induced: feelings after the diagnosis of being infected (feeling calm by professional confidence, feeling afraid of the consequences of being infected, feeling depressed, feeling relieved/lucky/happy), and thoughts brought by COVID-19 infection (becoming more active in learning, committed to a nursing career, and feeling shaken about becoming a nurse). Conclusions: Schools and hospitals should pay attention to infected nursing students’ mental reactions and changes in study motivation and professional intention. Targeted measures, such as education for epidemic prevention and education for cultivating the professional spirit, should be taken to promote their mental health and reserve their talents for nursing.

A real-world study of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced triple-negative breast cancer

Background:Triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)is the most aggressive type of breast cancer.Immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)have been widely used to treat various tumors and have changed the landscape of tumor management,but the data from real-world studies of ICIs for TNBC treatment remain limited.The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ICIs in the treatment of patients with advanced TNBC in a real-world setting and to explore possible correlates.Methods:The clinical data of advanced TNBC patients who received ICI treatment in the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA)General Hospital were collected.Treatment responses,outcomes and adverse events(AEs)were assessed.Results:Eighty-one patients were included in the study.The confirmed objective response rate(ORR)was 32.1%,and the disease control rate(DCR)was 64.2%.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 4.2 months,and the median overall survival(OS)was 11.0 months.PFS and OS were longer in patients who achieved clinical benefit from ICIs and shorter in patients who received later-line ICIs and higher levels of inflammation;specifically,patients with higher TILs had longer PFS.Overall AEs were tolerable.Conclusions:ICIs are effective in the treatment of advanced TNBC,and the adverse reactions are tolerable.A panel of biomarkers including LDH,ALP,and bNLR were identified to predict the efficacies of ICIs in TNBC treatment.