Epidemiology and Health System Journal
Volume:10 Issue: 3, Summer 2023

The present study examined the general health status following the COVID-19 pandemic and relevant parameters among internship and externship medical students.

In this cross-sectional study, 400 externship and internship medical students at Arak University of Medical Sciences in 2021 were recruited, to whom the 28-item general health questionnaire developed by Goldberg was administered. In the questionnaire, 23 is considered the cut-off point, and higher scores indicate worse general health. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 23.0.

The mean general health score was 25.24 ± 9.71, and the prevalence of general health disorders was 51%. The results represented no significant difference between the externship and internship students concerning the total general health score and subscales of somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, and social dysfunction. However, interns had a significantly higher depression score compared to externs (P = 0.029). Age, gender, marital status, history of COVID-19, and residence status were not statistically significantly related to the general health score.

More than half of the interns and externs at Arak University of Medical Sciences developed general health disorders during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results revealed no significant relationship between the total score of general health and gender, age, marital, residence, and COVID-19 status. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing was known as a stressful occupation. This high work pressure and stress can make nurses susceptible to psychological consequences. The state of mental health of nurses can be effectively related to their job performance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety, psychological distress, and general decisionmaking styles in nurses.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a selected hospital in Yazd province in 2022. An available sampling method was used in this research, and 100 nurses were included in the study. Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, Kessler’s Questionnaire (K10), and Scott, and Bruce’s decision-making styles questionnaire were employed to collect data. The obtained data were analyzed using Mann- Whitney and correlation test in SPSS-24.

Based on the results, a positive relationship was found between COVID-19 anxiety and psychological distress (P = 0.05, r = 0.19). In this study, a positive correlation was observed between COVID-19 anxiety in nurses and spontaneous (P = 0.008) and dependent (P < 0.001) decision-making styles. Eventually, psychological distress was significantly correlated with avoidant (P = 0.005) and dependent (P = 0.005) decision-making styles.

Considering the importance of mental health and nurses’ job performance, it is recommended that measures should be taken to reduce anxiety and improve their mental health. Holding mental health training workshops and increasing social and organizational support can also be effective in this regard.

India is a high-burden tuberculosis (TB) region and a drug-resistance hotspot. Despite numerous reports of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases, there needs to be more literature available on the importance of diagnostic methods in the case of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). A prospective study was performed from July 2017 to June 2018 to compare the efficacy of conventional and molecular methods in detecting PTB and EPTB cases.

Overall, 1000 presumptive PTB and 412 EPTB cases were subjected to staining (Ziehl- Neelsen [ZN] and fluorescent staining), culture, GeneXpert, and line probe assay (LPA).

The sensitivity, specificity, and strength of association [i.e., kappa (k) value of light-emitting diode-fluorescent microscopy, ZN, and GeneXpert] were calculated using standard formulae using solid culture as the gold standard. The sensitivity of GeneXpert in smear-positive/culture-positive PTB was comparable with the smear-negative/culture-positive PTB cases (95.7% vs. 87.5%) with an overall sensitivity and specificity of 90.5% and 90.1% in EPTB cases, respectively. However, sensitivity was lower for pleural fluid (75%) and tissues (85.7%). In pulmonary instances, 10% (6.7% Rifampicin [RIF] + isoniazid [INH] resistant and 3.3% INH monoresistant) drug resistance was observed, and no drug resistance was found in extra-pulmonary samples.

Among conventional methods, fluorescent staining is more sensitive than ZN staining, while the sensitivity of GeneXpert varies w.r.t type of sample using culture positivity as the gold standard. In general, the present study suggests the promotion of universal drug susceptibility testing (DST) for all individuals with TB to control drug-resistant TB.

Aging is one of the life stages of all human beings, but people’s understanding of this issue is highly different. This study aimed to determine the association between the perception of aging and hope in older people.

Using stratified random sampling, this cross-sectional study was performed on 300 older people referring to Gorgan’s comprehensive urban health service centers from 2021 to 2022. The Aging Perceptions Questionnaire and Schneider’s Hope Questionnaire were completed by older people. The Pearson correlation coefficient was estimated finally.

The mean total hope score in older women and men was 39.78 ± 5.61 and 40.93 ± 5.58, respectively. There is no statistically significant relationship between the total hope score and understanding of aging. The highest negative correlation was related to the emotional representation subscale of perception of aging with a total hope score (r = -0.42, P < 0.0001). The aging perception score was higher in older people whose number of children was less than equal to 3. In addition, the total hope score was better in older people who lived with their spouses and had a higher education, housing, and better economic status.

In this study, the perceptions of aging and hope in older people had a high level. Although overall hope was not related to perceptions of aging, hope was associated with the emotional representation subscale of perception of aging.

This study investigated the prevalence of pathological lesions on the computed tomography (CT) scans of the brains of patients with mild head trauma based on the New Orleans- Canadian criteria at Shahrekord Ayatollah Kashani Hospital, Iran.

All patients referred to the Emergency Department of Shahrekord Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in 2019 with a history of head trauma were included in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study according to the criteria of mild head trauma. Then, the relevant checklist was used to record the patients’ level of consciousness, demographic information, and cause of trauma. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 18, and the patient’s lesions were reported accordingly.

Out of 143 patients, 89 were males, and 54 were females in this study. Falling from a height was the cause of head trauma in most patients (43.3%). Among all patients, the CT scans of six patients were abnormal and had lesions. The vomiting had a significant relationship with the results of the CT scan, and for patients with mild head trauma, the Canadian and New Orleans indices had the same clinical importance.

According to the results of the present study, the New Orleans index could identify more patients as CT scan candidates than the Canadian index; however, there was no difference in the final result (the presence of a pathological lesion in the CT scan) between these two indices. The New Orleans index has more features than the Canadian index, but its results are not different from the Canadian index. Thus, we believe that using the Canadian index can reduce imaging rates, costs, and protection from the side effects of radiation.

COVID-19 is undoubtedly underestimated in the South Kivu region due to the inaccessibility of reference diagnostic tests. In this context, serological tests could help estimate the disease’s circulation. This study analyzed the dynamics in the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seroprevalence in Bukavu, East of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The results of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests performed in 2020 (n = 1100), 2021 (n = 508), and 2022-2023 (n = 246) in 4 clinics in Bukavu underwent analysis. Any subject, regardless of age, gender, and origin, was eligible for voluntary SARS-CoV-2 antibody screening. The screening was performed to determine the immune status for professional reasons or clinical clarification in symptomatic subjects. For this purpose, 4 mL of blood was obtained from an antecubital venipuncture for biological analysis. The data were also collected anonymously and confidentially. These rapid lateral flow immunoassays (Cellex qSARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G/M [IgG/IgM], and QuickZen COVID-19 IgM/IgG) detected and differentiated SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in volunteer workers and patients.

Between 2020 and 2023, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgG + and IgM + ) increased from 37.9% to 65.4% (P < 0.0001). Early exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (IgM + /IgG-) increased significantly from 5.1% in 2020 to 11.4% in 2021, while it decreased significantly from 11.4% in 2021 to 4.5% in 2022-2023 (P < 0.0001). Full immunization (IgM-/IgG + ) increased from 2.5% in 2020 to 34.1% in 2022-2023. Age between 40 and 59 years (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 1.6 [1.3-2.1], P < 0.0001) and ≥ 60 years (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 1.6 [1.2-2.1], P = 0.001), as well as exposure periods 2021 (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 2.0 [1.6-2.5], P < 0.0001) and especially 2022-2023 (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 3.4 [2.5-4.7], P < 0.0001) remained independent predictors of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence.

The findings of the present study demonstrated extremely high exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and full immunization of a significant proportion of the screened subjects. These results would explain the marginalization of new waves of COVID-19 in Bukavu despite low access to vaccination.

Using anti-septic and personal protective equipment (PPE) may cause contact dermatitis (CD) in hospital staff. During COVID-19, the team used PPE and hand washing more frequently. This study investigated the prevalence of CD and its related factors among hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, 360 participants were selected by proportion sampling from an Isfahan Universityaffiliated hospital (Alzahra hospital) between 2019 and 2021. A checklist about demographic and workplace variables, skin signs, and symptoms was distributed to samples. We assessed associations between the frequencies of the worksite and cleaning product exposures and a symptom-based definition of CD among current hospital workers.

The prevalence of hand dermatitis in participants and their mean age were 84% and 35.7 ± 8.6 years, respectively. In addition, the most reported symptoms were itching (147, 40%) and redness of the hand (141, 39%). Using gloves, especially latex and vinyl gloves, had a significant association with the incidence of CD (P < 0.03). The frequency and time of hand washing had no significant relationship with dermatitis (P > 0.05).

Setting up preventive actions and managing this condition are better to be influential among the policies of hospital managers given the high prevalence of CD among hospital workers.