Journal of Public Health Research (PAGEPress Publications)
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The COVID-19 incidence in Italian regions correlates with low temperature, mobility and PM10 pollution but lethality only with low temperature
Full text linkBackground: The aim was to verify whether the density of particulate matter (PM10), the climate, and the mobility of people can influence the pandemic in the 19 regions and in the two autonomous Italian provinces as incidence rate and lethality.Design and Methods: The incidence rates per 100,000 inhabitants and the case fatality ratio (CFR) (dependent variables) in all Italian regions were calculated in January 2021 at John Hopkins University Coronavirus Center. The independent variables were: Minimum average temperatures in the same month (January) of 2020; average pollution of PM10 in the air in each region in the last year available reported on a 0-10 scale to 0 = total absence of PM10 to 10 maximum pollutions; number of places in hotels occupied per inhabitants in 2020. Linear regression and Multiple Regression Analysis were carried out.Results: The spread of the COVID-19 in the Italian regions seems to be related to pollution of PM10, the number of beds occupied in hotels (as an index of mobility and temperature (indirect correlation). On the contrary, the CFR correlates inversely with temperature but not with pollution. Measuring the concomitant effect of two independent variables by means of Multiple Regression Analysis, temperature and pollution show a synergistic effect on COVID-19 incidence.Conclusions: The study seems to confirm the literature on the influence of temperature on the lethality of COVID-19 but adds the new results of an inverse relationship between the spread of the virus and low temperature in regions between the Mediterranean area (which includes southern Italy and Sicily and Sardinia islands) and the cold European temperate zone which includes the northern regions under the Alps. A new date also concerns the summation effect of the risk between cold weather and PM10 air pollution was found. Due to several methodic weaknesses, the study has an exploratory than conclusive relevance
Review of medicine utilization for Parkinson’s disease management: the Bulgarian perspective
Full text linkBackground: Parkinson’s disease (PD), which occurs in 1% of the population, is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Despite the broad spectrum of PD manifestations and high disease prevalence, there are insufficient data on medicine utilization and prescription strategies. The purpose of the current study was to analyze published data concerning treatment approaches and to compare them with Bulgarian therapeutic practice.Design and methods: We conducted a systematic review of the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, and we calculated medicine utilization in Bulgaria during 2018 and 2019 using the WHO methodology.Results: The literature search identified a total of 311 publications, but only 12 met the inclusion criteria. Eleven studies pointed out that levodopa-containing medicine are the most frequently used, followed by dopamine agonists. The highest rate was found for levodopa-containing products and decarboxylase inhibitor (1.06 and 1.33 DDD/1000 inh/day), followed by anticholinergic Biperiden (0.494 and 0.455 DDD/1000 inh/day) during 2018 and 2019 in Bulgaria.Conclusion: Overall, the treatment approaches used in the last decade comply with guideline recommendations, despite variations in levodopa and dopamine agonist utilization. Even though new medicines have been approved for PD management, levodopa-containing products are still most often prescribed and used worldwide
Single-use plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and opportunities
Full text linkBackground: Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint. Design and methods: In this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use.Results: We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model.Conclusion: investment is needed in technologies and processes that can recycle and reuse a wider range of single-use plastics, and innovate sustainable alternatives to replace single-use consumables used in the NHS to construct a fully operational closed material loop healthcare system. 
Establishing a sorting protocol for healthcare databases
Full text linkBackground: Health information records in many countries, especially developing countries, are still paper based. Compared to electronic systems, paper-based systems are disadvantageous in terms of data storage and data extraction. Given the importance of health records for epidemiological studies, guidelines for effective data cleaning and sorting are essential. They are, however, largely absent from the literature. The following paper discusses the process by which an algorithm was developed for the cleaning and sorting of a database generated from emergency department records in Lebanon.Design and methods: Demographic and health related information were extracted from the emergency department records of three hospitals in Beirut. Appropriate categories were selected for data categorization. For health information, disease categories and codes were selected according to the International Classification of Disease 10th Edition.Results: A total of 16,537 entries were collected. Demographic information was categorized into groups for future epidemiological studies. Analysis of the health information led to the creation of a sorting algorithm which was then used to categorize and code the health data. Several counts were then performed to represent and visualize the data numerically and graphically.Conclusions: The article describes the current state of health information records in Lebanon and the associated disadvantages of a paper-based system in terms of storage and data extraction. Furthermore, the article describes the algorithm by which health information was sorted and categorized to allow for future data analysis using paper records
Chemical risk in hospital settings: Overview on monitoring strategies and international regulatory aspects
Full text linkChemical risk in hospital settings is a growing concern that health professionals and supervisory authorities must deal with daily. Exposure to chemical risk is quite different depending on the hospital department involved and might origin from multiple sources, such as the use of sterilizing agents, disinfectants, detergents, solvents, heavy metals, dangerous drugs, and anesthetic gases. Improving prevention procedures and constantly monitoring the presence and level of potentially toxic substances, both in workers (biological monitoring) and in working environments (environmental monitoring), might significantly reduce the risk of exposure and contaminations. The purpose of this article is to present an overview on this subject, which includes the current international regulations, the chemical pollutants to which medical and paramedical personnel are mainly exposed, and the strategies developed to improve safety conditions for all healthcare workers. 
Computed tomography findings of COVID-19 pneumonia in Intensive Care Unit-patients
No full textBackground: In December 2019, a cluster of unknown etiology pneumonia cases occurred in Wuhan, China leading to identification of the responsible pathogen as SARS-coV-2. Since then, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to the entire world. Computed Tomography (CT) is frequently used to assess severity and complications of COVID-19 pneumonia. The purpose of this study is to compare the CT patterns and clinical characteristics in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.Design and Methods: This retrospective study included 218 consecutive patients (136 males; 82 females; mean age 63±15 years) with laboratory-confirmed SARS-coV-2. Patients were categorized in two different groups: (a) ICU patients and (b) non-ICU inpatients. We assessed the type and extent of pulmonary opacities on chest CT exams and recorded the information on comorbidities and laboratory values for all patients.Results: Of the 218 patients, 23 (20 males: 3 females; mean age 60 years) required ICU admission, 195 (118 males: 77 females, mean age 64 years) were admitted to a clinical ward. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients were predominantly males (60% versus 83% p=0.03), had more comorbidities, a positive CRP (p=0.04) and higher LDH values (p=0.008). ICU patients’ chest CT demonstrated higher incidence of consolidation (p=0.03), mixed lesions (p=0.01), bilateral opacities (p<0.01) and overall greater lung involvement by consolidation (p=0.02) and GGO (p=0.001).Conclusions: CT imaging features of ICU patients affected by COVID-19 are significantly different compared with non-ICU patients. Identification of CT features could assist in a stratification of the disease severity and supportive treatment
Academic stress in adolescent students of an islamic-based school: the correlation with parenting style and spirituality
Full text linkBackground: Adolescents are vulnerable to experiencing academic stress because of exams and their expectations about their careers. Proper parenting styles from parents can reduce students’ academic stress. Also, Islamic-based schools develop youth spirituality so it can reduce academic stress. This study aimed to identify the correlation of parenting styles and spirituality with academic stress in adolescent students of an Islamic-based school.Design and Methods: The study was used descriptive correlative with a cross-sectional approach. Data was collected online started from April 3rd to May 10th, 2020, with 109 respondents of the 12th-grade senior student at Islamic-based high school MAN Jakarta Timur. Respondents were selected by simple random sampling. This study used the Parental Care Style Questionnaire, the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, and the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents. Data were analysed using the Pearson correlation analysis (CI 95%).Results: There was a significant negative correlation between the democratic parenting style and academic stress level (p=0.000). There was a negative correlation between spirituality level and academic stress level (p=0.000).Conclusions: This study suggests the parents use the democratic parenting style by encouraging and giving comfort to their children to be open to their parents about academic problems. Islamic-based schools should carry out routine religious programs, such as reading the Qur'an every day before classes start
The effect of advances in transportation on the spread of the coronavirus disease: The last is Africa and endemic
Full text linkFor a long time in the future, transportation will be used only by limited systems that are quarantine friendly. Besides, depending on the circumstances, international or inter-regional travel may be restricted. However, the African continent comprises mostly of developing countries with poor healthcare systems and low health literacy. As a result, it is highly likely that Africa could suffer greater damage than any other region once an outbreak occurs. The fact that countries in Africa must be most concerned about is that COVID-19 may become endemic, and the outbreak may continue for a very long time
Effect of antipsychotic drugs and orthostatic hypotension on the risk of falling in schizophrenic patients
Full text linkBackground: Management of schizophrenia using psychopharmaceuticals requires a long-term treatment. The use of antipsychotic drugs can cause the occurrence of orthostatic hypotension, which leads to the risk of falling in patients. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the use of antipsychotic drugs and orthostatic hypotension on the risk of falling in schizophrenic patients.Design and Methods: This study used a descriptive design with 53 respondents. Data were analyzed using the contingency coefficient correlation and Spearman Rank test methods.Results: The results of the first study showed no positive effect between the use of antipsychotics on orthostatic hypotension in schizophrenic patients. In addition, a contingency coefficient correlation (C) of 0.199 and p-value of 0.335 (p>0.05) was obtained. The results of the second study showed that there was a significant positive effect between orthostatic hypotension on the risk of falling in schizophrenic patients with a value of r = 0.483 and a p-value of 0.000 (p<0.001).Conclusion: It was suggested that the development of this study’s result is needed for further research in dealing with the incidence of orthostatic hypotension in order to prevent or reduce the risk of falling in schizophrenic patients
Chest pain symptoms differences between diabetes mellitus and non-diabetes mellitus patients with acute coronary syndrome: A pilot study
Full text linkBackground: Chest pain is considered one of the crucial indicators in detecting acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and one of the most common complaints frequently found in hospitals. Atypical characteristics of chest pain have prevented patients from being aware of ACS. Chest pain symptoms have become ambiguous, particularly for specific parameters, such as gender, diabetes mellitus (DM), or other clinical conditions. Therefore, it is critical for high-risk patients to have adequate knowledge of specific symptoms of ACS, which is frequently associated with late treatment or prehospital delay. Therefore, this study aims to identify the particular characteristics of chest pain symptoms in DM and non-DM patients with ACS.Design and Methods: This is a quantitative and non-experimental research, with the cross-sectional approach used to carry out the analytical observation at a general hospital from January-April 2019. Data were obtained from a total sample of 61 patients, comprising 33 ACS with DM and 28 ACS non-DM patients.Results: The result showed that the characteristic of patients with chest pain symptoms has a significant relation to DM and ACS. Therefore, non-DM patients with ACS are more likely to feel chest pain at moderate to a severe level, while ACS-DM patients are more likely to have low to moderate chest pain levels.Conclusion: The significant differences in the characteristics of chest pain in DM and non-DM patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome are the points of location of chest pain radiating to the neck and quality of pain