key: cord-0050905-v0w2u1rc authors: De Caneva, Filippo; García-Gómez, Maria; Baur, Ernest Bragulat title: Emotional health of emergency department staff during the COVID-19 pandemic() date: 2020-10-01 journal: Med Clin (Engl Ed) DOI: 10.1016/j.medcle.2020.06.016 sha: 54d1b27c9e8bfa643956e08d8de1e652ef1e399d doc_id: 50905 cord_uid: v0w2u1rc nan This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Letter to the Editor To the Editor: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we report some data in relation to the emotional health of the emergency department staff of a high-tech hospital that has been one of the epicentres of the above-mentioned disease. Between 20th February and 15th April 2020, a total of 12,304 patients were seen in the Emergency Department and 2,306 diagnoses of coronavirus infection were established, with a peak of 133 patients on 27th March 2020. As in other centres, its professionals have had to adapt to working with quarantine measures; shifts and care circuits have had to be reinvented and, thanks to the Lean methodology, resource management has been optimized. On a psychological level, health workers have described emotions of fear regarding their own safety, that of their families, stigmatisation, and interpersonal isolation measures. The same emotional reactions were described during the SARS pandemic 1 , highlighting the importance of leadership based on promoting team cohesion, collaboration and communication between specialties, factors considered essential to reduce the impact of this type of stressor. Avoidance coping strategies, hostile confrontation, blame, and anxious attachment were highlighted as personal factors contributing to a maladaptive response. The impact of the pandemic is uncertain in the face of an unprecedented situation. In the short term, among hospital workers, the typical burnout symptoms, such as fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and loss of appetite, stand out. In the long term, staff may present with post-traumatic stress disorder that is related to cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, sleep and gastrointestinal disorders 2 . Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of disability and sick leave among healthcare workers, and the experience of pain is a complex mixture supported by an interdependent set of biomedical, psychosocial and behavioural factors, whose relationships are not static, but evolve and change over time.. It is considered that the treatment of choice in this type of situation should be multimodal, to improve disability and the use of self-control skills with the personalisation of rehabilitation objectives and the introduction of healthy physical and psychological habits, in a framework of multidisciplinary care centred on the person and beyond the disease 1,3 . Long-term psychological and occupational effects of providing hospital healthcare during SARS outbreak Associations between physical health conditions and posttraumatic stress disorder according to age Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed Emotional intelligence in medicine: a systematic review through the context of the ACGME competencies El arte de transformar positivamente las emociones: la ecología emocional. Barcelona: Editorial Amat We wish to thank all hospital professionals for their unconditional dedication. In addition, we are grateful for the collaboration of the Emotional Ecology team of the NUCLI Strategic Plan, especially Arantxa Acosta. Also, to Imanol Cordero for his data review.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f