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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a new pediatric challenge
No full textCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is a pandemic disease that is today a global public health problem caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). COVID-19 is a disease of middle and old age, but clinical expression may also be present in childhood. Asymptomatic and mild clinical forms are most often present in persons aged 0-19, but severe clinical forms such as, among others, acute respiratory distress syndrome and multisystem inflammatory syndrome may occur. In addition to presenting the epidemiology, clinical symptomatology of COVID-19, the authors consider certain specifics of COVID-19, that is, possible reasons for the lower incidence of the disease as well as unusual and rare clinical forms of the disease in children. The current activities of health professionals in the supervision of COVID-19 are mainly focused on early detection, isolation and treatment of patients, isolation of contacts, the regular and thorough practice of respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, and physical distancing. Future efficient and safe vaccination will solve the biggest global medical challenge caused by the new coronavirus in the best possible manner
Antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus
Get PDFIntroduction: Recently, several endophytes have been shown to possess the potentials to synthesize novel bioactive compounds that have found use for drug discovery. We isolated endophytic fungi associated with Catharanthus roseus collected from the river banks of Amassoma in Southern Nigeria, and identified some of their bioactive secondary metabolites.
Methods: The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation on rice medium and the metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The fungal crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity and were also subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis for the identification of the bioactive compounds.
Results: The fungal extracts showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.0625 to 1 mg/mL. The HPLC-DAD analysis of the extracts suggested the presence of citreoisocoumarin, citreoisocoumarinol, questinol, hydroxyemodin, acropyrone, methyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate, nigricinol, and cladosporin.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that endophytic fungi associated with C. roseus could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial importance
Patient satisfaction as a psychological dimension after rhinoplasty: A randomized study
Get PDFIntroduction: Rhinoplasty is an esthetic and functional nasal reconstruction surgery. The elimination of physical disabilities directly affects mental health and leads to a better psychological balance. Therefore, patient satisfaction is considered a valuable measure of medical service outcomes. The objectives of this study were to evaluate subjective patient satisfaction 1 year after surgery and its influence on the quality of life.Methods: This was a clinical, retrospective, randomized, and single-blinded study in which patients were randomly questioned by the same examiner. All subjects underwent pre-operative preparation and post-operative flow at Eurofarm Centre from 2007 to 2010. The survey was conducted through anonymous questionnaires that were provided to each respondent at least 1 year after discharge from the hospital.Results: Overall, 20 (50%) patients had esthetic and 20 (50%) had functional nasal surgery. Most respondents were born between 1971 and 1980 (52.5%) and between 1981 and 1991 (40%), with the least born between 1951 and 1960 (2.5%). Regarding the education level, 27 had university degrees (67.5%), 1 had postgraduate education (2.5%), and 12 (30.0%) were secondary school graduates. In addition, 25 (62.5%) were unmarried and 15 (37.5%) were married.Conclusion: No statistically significant correlation was found between the subjective assessment of patient’s health based on eight dimensions of health assessment and variables such as type of surgery, age, level of education, and marital status 1 year after undergoing rhinoplasty. A statistically significant difference was found between the type of surgery and physical pain (p = 0.004 < 0.05, Mann–Whitney U test). Based on the research findings, we can conclude that patient satisfaction after undergoing rhinoplasty was moderately correlated positively with the quality of life (r = 0.180-0.345, p < 0.05)
Applicability of the Fels questionnaire on physical activity of children in rural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Get PDFIntroduction: Insufficient physical activity is one of the leading public health problems in the world, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Modern civilization is characterized by a significant decrease in physical activity, and the number of people whose lifestyle can be called sedentary has never been higher, which is especially emphasised among children and adolescents. Aim of the study is to examine public health significance of physical activity on the occurrence and the degree of obesity in children and adolescents in primary and secondary schools and to determine the applicability of the Fels questionnaire on physical activity of children in rural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Methods: We used a transversal research method of a cross-sectional study at a one-time point, and for obtaining results we used the Fels physical activity questionnaire for children and measurement protocol.
Results: 276 primary and secondary school students in two cities participated in this survey. Respondents in Busovača are more physically active than their peers in Sarajevo. One-third of the total number of respondents is overweight and obese, and respondents in Sarajevo are significantly more nourished than their peers in Busovača. The Fels questionnaire is conditionally applicable, especially in rural areas.
Conclusion: This study confirmed that the Fels questionnaire for assessing the level of physical activity for children and young people, which is the general instrument for research of physical activity in children, is too generalized because it is based on a homogeneous urban population
Workplace violence against nurses at Minia district hospitals
Get PDFIntroduction: Violence against nurses at the workplace is an alarming problem in both developed and developing countries affecting the quality of their work. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of external (patient initiated) and internal violence (initiated by staff members) against nurses and studying the violence-associated factors such as perpetrators, the attitude of nurses following aggression incidents, consequences, and impact on nurses and work.
Methods: A cross-sectional study included 385 nurses from three different hospitals in Minia district was agreed to participate in the study. These hospitals included Health Insurance Hospital, Minia University Hospitals (Minia University Gynecological, Obstetric, and Pediatric Hospital and Minia Renal Hospital), and Minia general hospital. The well-structured questionnaire covered four main domains; sociodemographics, lifetime working experience of violence, external and internal violence and its effects on work, the perpetrators of violence, and attitude of nurses following violent incidents.
Results: More than half of nurses (55.8%) were exposed to workplace violence during their working lifetime. Experiencing external violence (patient initiated) during the past year was significantly higher (57.4%) than the internal (staff initiated) type (33.5%). Verbal violence was the most common type of violence. Reporting violence incidents were done by 68.3% and 38.7% of the nurses who were exposed to external and internal violence, respectively.
Conclusion: Violence against nurses working in different health-care facilities at Minia district was prevalent and has a significant impact on nurses and their work
Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna: A Case Report
Get PDFHyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is a rare disorder common among postmenopausal females that involve increased volume and porosity of the frontal bone. Depending on the size, it could be symptomatic or asymptomatic. With a little report on the pathophysiology of HFI, we present a peculiar case of HFI with speculations that could shed more light on the already established literature and pose questions for future research
Evaluation of nursing documentation: The experience of nurses from the primary and secondary/tertiary health care
Get PDFIntroduction: Aim of the study is to piloting nursing documentation to obtain comments based on the experience of nurses/medical technicians from the primary, secondary, and tertiary health care about the documentation before it is published and starts being used.Methods: A questionnaire was designed in the electronic form to be used for the evaluation and suggestions by nurses/medical technicians on the piloted form and content of nursing documentation for all levels of health care. A piloting sample was prepared to make 10% of nurses/medical technicians from health care institutions from the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Results: A total of 94.3% of examinees at the primary health care level and only 17.2% of the examinees in the secondary and tertiary health care fill out nursing documentation both manually and electronically. All examinees at all levels of health care understand the purpose and importance of nursing documentation. A total of 27.7% of the examinees at the primary and 40.9% of the examinees at the secondary and tertiary level of health care pointed out that filling out nursing documentation was too time-consuming.Conclusion: A total of 51.2% of the examinees at the primary and 64.2% at the secondary and tertiary level of health care agreed that submitted nursing documentation was adequate for use. It is suggested that after the adoption of nursing documentation at all levels of health care, piloting of its use should be conducted to evaluate the quality and quantity of all nursing documentation
Efficacy of kinesio taping in reducing low back pain: a comprehensive review
Get PDFIntroduction: Kinesio taping is rehabilitative technique used to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints, without restricting their range of motion. We conducted a thorough literature search and evaluation to clarify whether kinesio taping is effective in reducing lower back pain.
Methods: Cochrane Library, CINAHL, COBIB.SI, PubMed and Science Direct were searched using Boolean operators search strings of different keywords such as: adult, low back pain, Kinesio tape, Kinesio taping, kinesiotaping, effects. The search was limited to full-text articles published from 2011 to 2016.
Results: A total of 137 records were identified, 123 abstracts screened, and 14 full-text articles assessed for eligibility. Finally, nine publications were selected using CASP tool: eight randomized clinical studies and one literature review. The key variables from collected data were the subject characteristics, taping technique, control interventions, instrument, and outcome.
Conclusions: The effect of Kinesio taping in reducing low back pain is positive, but was not statistically significant in analyzed studies. Taping therapy may therefore be used as a supplementary method to conventional physical therapy procedures, and may be important for patients because of its easy accessibility and safe
“The danger still hangs over my head” Fear of Recurrence among Israeli Breast Cancer Survivors
Get PDFIntroduction: Many breast cancer survivors report a fear of recurrence of the disease, which finds expression in anxieties that the original cancer will return or that another form of cancer will begin to develop. The present study evaluated perceptions of and feelings about the fear of recurrence from the point of view of breast cancer survivors, the impact of this fear on their lives, and their means of coping.
Method: Qualitative research was conducted using the phenomenological approach. The sample included 13 breast cancer survivors aged 34-67 who were within 1 year after completion of chemotherapy. Participants included survivors who had been diagnosed with localized breast cancer, Stages I-III, without metastases, and without previous cancer diagnoses. Participants provided their personal details, while details of the disease and treatments were collected from the patients’ files.
Results: Two main themes emerged: (1) Along with the desire to gradually return to normal life, the study participants described an ongoing sense of existential threat, a lack of security and a sense of being out of control when any follow-up tests or pain linked to potential cancer caused fear and anxiety and (2) their fears also concerned their family members as they were afraid their loved ones might get sick and go through the suffering they had experienced.
Conclusions: The fear of cancer recurrence is a multidimensional phenomenon. This emotional response can arise as a result of physical symptoms causing suspicions that the disease has returned or as a result of external factors, such as follow-up tests or other people’s illnesses
Peripheral and Central Auditory Findings in Individuals with Williams Syndrome
Get PDFIntroduction: Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopment genetic condition. The syndrome may present manifestations associated with the central nervous system, hearing, and language. It is possible, as well, to observe an alteration in the central auditory system, which can be diagnosed through long-latency auditory evoked potential (LLAEP).
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the results obtained by peripheral and central auditory evaluation on individuals with WS, verifying if there is a relationship between audiological findings and gender, age and ear side.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which 14 individuals with WS were evaluated. The exams performed consisted of pure tone audiometry, vocal audiometry, acoustic immittance measures, LLAEP, and cognitive potential.
Results: The sample was composed of patients from 4 to 18 years old, with a mean age of 11.6 years old (±5.3), being 9 males (64.3%) and 5 females (35.7%). We mainly verified mild to moderate degree (40-44%) of sensorineural auditory loss (35.7-42.9%), type A tympanometric curve (57.1-64.3%), and absent acoustic reflexes (57.1%). As for central auditory evaluation, the subjects showed latency delay in all of the LLAEP components. Moreover, it was evidenced a statistically significant difference when comparing ears for amplitude on cognitive potential evaluation (p = 0.032), observing higher values at the left ear. It was also observed an inverse association between age and P1 wave latency both on the right (p = 0.006) and on the left ear (p = 0.022), and this result can be related to the nervous system maturational process of the WS individuals.
Conclusion: There are few studies investigating the central auditory pathway on WS in literature. The present study contributes to the extension of the knowledge about the central involvement of the auditory phenotype in the syndrome. However, considering the sample size, more studies are suggested to confirm these findings