METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate pharmacy students in 14 countries in Asia and the Middle East. The validated Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (the 14-item WEMWBS) was adopted to assess mental wellbeing. Data collection was performed online between February and April 2022. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used as appropriate.
RESULTS: A total of 2,665 responses were received, mainly from females (68.7%) with a higher presence of private universities (59.1%). About 34.9% had low mental wellbeing levels, while 57 and 8.1% had medium, and high levels, respectively. Binary logistic regression showed that males (AOR: 1.34; CI 95%: 1.11-1.61; p < 0.01) and students with no chronic illnesses (AOR: 2.01; CI 95%: 1.45-2.80; p < 0.001) were more likely to have higher mental wellbeing. Also, participants who did not engage in any exercise (AOR: 0.71; CI 95%: 0.52-0.98; p = 0.04) and those in public universities (AOR: 0.82; CI 95%: 0.69-0.97; p = 0.02) were less likely to have higher mental wellbeing. Additionally, students who had interest/passion for pharmacy (AOR: 1.69; CI 95%: 1.07-2.68; p = 0.02), and those who known pharmacists inspired (AOR: 1.81; CI 95%: 1.06-3.12; p = 0.03), were more likely to have higher mental wellbeing compared with those who had no specific reason for their choice to study pharmacy. The participants with excellent (AOR: 1.87; CI 95%: 1.29-2.70; p = 0.001) or very good self-reported academic performance (AOR: 1.57; CI 95%: 1.12-2.22; p = 0.01) were more likely to have higher mental wellbeing compared to those with fair academic performance.
CONCLUSION: More than a third of the participants had low mental wellbeing. Various demographic, lifestyle, medical and academic factors appeared to affect students' mental wellbeing. Careful consideration of these factors and their integration into the pharmacy schools' plans for student support services and academic advising would be essential to improve students' mental wellbeing.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during AGPs, and to examine the association between risk severity and the number of AGPs performed per day. The efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) was also assessed.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional cohort study was based on an online questionnaire form completed by 629 general and specialized dentists between January 1 and February 28, 2021. The collected data referred to the sources of COVID-19 infection, the type of PPE used and the number of AGPs performed each day by dental healthcare professionals (DHCPs). For each question, the absolute numbers of responses as well as percentages were calculated.
RESULTS: Among the 629 DHCPs, 113 (17.97%) contracted COVID-19. The risk of contracting COVID-19 during AGPs was the same as in the case of non-AGPs, and the infection risk was not associated with the number of AGPs performed per day. The efficacy of a surgical mask with a face shield/eye goggles was higher in comparison with all other types of PPE. Differences in the infection risk across the different types of PPE used were statistically significant (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The risk of COVID-19 transmission during AGPs is the same as in the case of non-AGPs. Thus, restrictions on the performance of elective AGPs should be lifted. On the other hand, the best protection during AGPs is provided by a surgical mask with a face shield/eye goggles.
METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on hospitalised COVID-19 patients from April 2021 to June 2021 in a tertiary care centre. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2078/79/05). The hospital data were collected in the proforma by reviewing the patient's medical records during the study period of 2 months. Convenience sampling was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.
RESULTS: Among 106 hospitalised COVID-19 patients, the prevalence of antibiotic use was 104 (98.11%) (95.52-100, 95% Confidence Interval). About 74 (71.15%) of patients received multiple antibiotics. The most common classes of antibiotics used were cephalosporins, seen in 85 (81.73%) and macrolides, seen in 57 (54.81%) patients.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of antibiotic use among hospitalised COVID-19 patients was found to be higher when compared to other studies conducted in similar settings.
KEYWORDS: antibiotics; bacterial infection; co-infection; COVID-19.
METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study uses data from the Malaysian Psoriasis Registry (MPR) from January 2007 to December 2018.
RESULTS: Of 21 735 psoriasis patients, 34 (0.16%) had coexistent LE. The male to female ratio among psoriasis patients with coexistent LE was 1:5.8 versus 1.3:1 in patients with psoriasis but without LE. Nearly 70% presented with LE preceding psoriasis. Psoriasis patients with LE had an earlier age of psoriasis onset (27.56 ± 11.51 versus 33.31 ± 16.94 years, P = 0.006), a higher rate of psoriatic arthropathy (26.5% versus 13.0%, P = 0.02), and a significantly greater impairment of quality of life (Dermatology Quality of Life Index >10; 57.6% versus 40.3%, P = 0.04) compared with psoriasis patients without LE. The majority (87.5%) had systemic LE. The incidences of lupus nephritis (72.7% versus 40%) and hematological abnormalities (50% versus 20%) were higher among patients with LE preceding psoriasis compared with those with psoriasis preceding LE. Antinuclear antibody and double-stranded DNA were positive in 59.4% and 28.1% of psoriasis patients with LE, respectively. Hydroxychloroquine triggered the onset of psoriasis in 7 (24.1%) patients. Patients with LE were more likely to receive systemic treatment for psoriasis compared with those without LE (30.3% versus 14.2%, P = 0.008).
CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis patients with coexistent LE were uncommon, displayed a female preponderance, were more likely to have joint involvement, and had greater quality of life impairment than those without LE. LE preceded psoriasis in most of these patients, and systemic LE was the most common subtype.
DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving the data of 3234 adults with stroke obtained from the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riset Kesehatan Dasar, RISKESDAS).
METHODS: Physical activity level in metabolic equivalents-minutes per week were determined using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior recommendations. Depression was assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the predictive role of physical activity for depression after adjusting for confounders.
RESULTS: Adults with stroke who met the WHO recommendation of physical activity were independently and significantly associated with lower odds of depression after adjustment for confounders (adjusted OR = 0.757, p = 0.017).
CONCLUSIONS: Performing physical activity according to the WHO recommendation is associated with a lower likelihood of depression among Indonesian adults with stroke.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clinicians should be informed by the findings of this study and prescribe exercise interventions or plan physical activities to optimize recovery and prevent poststroke depression.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study involving 70 patients with biopsy-proven immunoglobulin A nephropathy with a stable estimated glomerular filtration rate and urinary albuminuria. Their demographic profiles were documented, and blood samples were taken for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, highly sensitive C-reactive protein, urine albuminuria and other routine blood tests.
RESULTS: We found nine patients (12.9%) had sufficient 25- hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of more than 30ng/mL and the rest of the patients; 61 (87.1%) had serum 25(OH)D levels below 30 ng/ml. Amongst those with low vitamin D, 38 (62.3%) had serum 25(OH)D between 15-30 ng/mL (insufficient), and the remaining 23 (37.7%) had serum 25(OH)D below 15 ng/ml (deficient). Their mean level of serum 25(OH)D was 19.92 ± 9.04 ng/mL with a serum creatinine of 106.23 ± 38.56 μmol/L and mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 68.11± 27.65 mL/min/1.73 m2. There was no association between urinary albuminuria, highly sensitive C-reactive protein, estimated glomerular filtration rate or systolic blood pressure with serum 25(OH)D level.
CONCLUSION: Low vitamin D (insufficiency and deficiency) are indeed prevalent in stable immunoglobulin A nephropathy patients. We found no correlation between the vitamin D levels with albuminuria, renal function and highly sensitive C-reactive.
METHODS: A STROCSS 2021 steering group was formed to come up with proposals to update STROCSS 2019 guidelines. An expert panel of researchers assessed these proposals and judged whether they should become part of STROCSS 2021 guidelines or not, through a Delphi consensus exercise.
RESULTS: 42 people (89%) completed the DELPHI survey and hence participated in the development of STROCSS 2021 guidelines. All items received a score between 7 and 9 by greater than 70% of the participants, indicating a high level of agreement among the DELPHI group members with the proposed changes to all the items.
CONCLUSION: We present updated STROCSS 2021 guidelines to ensure ongoing good reporting quality among observational studies in surgery.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study of hemodialysis patients from 10 hemodialysis centers was used. FibroTouch examination was performed on all patients. Fatty liver was diagnosed based on ultrasound attenuation parameter ≥248 dB/m while advanced liver fibrosis was diagnosed based on liver stiffness measurement ≥10 kPa.
RESULTS: This study included 447 hemodialysis patients (median age 59 [50-67], male 55%, Chinese 61%, Malay 20%, Indian 18%). Dialysis vintage was 49 (22-93) months. The prevalence of MAFLD was 43.4%. Independent factors associated with MAFLD were elevated waist circumference (aOR = 10.1, 95% CI = 5.3-19.4, p
METHODS: This cross-sectional study evaluated the adherence to IPC measures among HCWs working at coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment centers in Punjab, Pakistan. HCWs were recruited by means of convenient sampling through Google Form® using the World Health Organization risk assessment tool. All data were analyzed using SPSS 20.
RESULTS: A total of 414 HCWs completed the survey (response rate = 67.8%), and majority of them were males (56.3%). Most of the HCWs were nurses (39.6%) followed by medical doctors (27.3%). Approximately 53% reported insufficiency of personal protective equipment (PPE), 58.2% did not receive IPC training and 40.8% did not have functional IPC team at their health facilities. The majority of HCWs (90%) used disposable gloves and N95 facemasks while interacting with COVID-19 patients. Nearly 45% used protective face shields and gowns before providing care to their patients. Hand hygiene practices while touching, and performing any aseptic procedure was adopted by 70.5% and 74.1% of HCWs, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the adherence to IPC measures among Pakistani HCWs working in COVID-19 treatment centers is good despite the limited availability of PPEs. Their practices can be optimized by establishing institutional IPC teams, periodic provision of IPC training, and necessary PPE.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on Malaysian adults with hearing loss to determine the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on hearing aid management, communication difficulties, psychosocial challenges, and access to audiological services.
STUDY SAMPLE: One hundred forty-six individuals aged 18 years old and above with hearing loss were recruited from hearing health care centers to participate in the survey.
RESULTS: Many of the participants (54.2%) reported significant difficulties communicating with people wearing face masks. For hearing aid management, repairing (36.3%) and fine-tuning devices (30.2%) were considered more challenging than obtaining a battery (21.3%). The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious psychosocial impact on a small portion of the individuals surveyed. Remote services were rarely offered by the audiologists, and most participants preferred in-person treatment. However, the majority perceived that creating awareness and training on telehealth was important.
CONCLUSIONS: Effective management for people with hearing loss needs to consider the challenges faced by them, as the world prepares to live with the coronavirus. Clinical protocols should consider providing a service that is helpful for the clients as well as safe and sustainable in future pandemics.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern of polysubstance use and its associated factors among general adults in Malaysia.
METHODOLOGY: This was a secondary data analysis from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019), a cross-sectional population survey with a two-stage stratified random sampling design. A total of 10,472 Malaysians aged 18 years and above participated in this survey. Polysubstance use was defined as concurrent use of more than one substance, either alcohol, tobacco, or drugs (opioids, marijuana, amphetamine/ methamphetamine or kratom). A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify the membership of polysubstance groups. The association of class membership with demographic profiles was examined using Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis.
RESULTS: Fit indices (AIC = 16458.9, BIC = 16443.6) from LCA supported 3 classes solution: Class 1; "moderate-drug" group primarily combination used of tobacco and alcohol (2.4%), Class 2; "high-drug" group using multiple substance including kratom (0.3%) and Class 3; "low-drug" group reporting minimal alcohol and tobacco use or non-user (97.3%). The multinomial model showed young adults (18-40 years) had a higher likelihood of being polysubstance users both for moderate-drug class (OR = 4.1) and high-drug class (OR = 3.9) compared to older age (≥60 years). Chinese (OR = 18.9), Indian (OR = 23.3), Indigenous Sabah & Sarawak (OR = 34.6) and others ethnicity (OR = 8.9) showed higher odds of being moderate-drug users than Malays. The greater odds of moderate-drug use for males (OR = 35.5), working groups (OR = 1.5) and low education level group (OR = 3.2).
CONCLUSION: Our study highlights patterns and demographics related to the use of polysubstances among adults in Malaysia. These results would help formulate specific prevention programmes for these high-risk groups.