Tag: pubmed

Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Oct 4;40:74. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.40.74.26379. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: this is the first study assessing the psychological impact on Tunisian general population during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depressive symptoms and insomnia, as well as associated factors.

METHODS: a cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey of 1615 people during March 23^rd to May 5^th, 2020. We used the hospital anxiety and depression scale for anxiety and depression screening, and the insomnia severity index to assess sleep disturbances.

RESULTS: our study revealed a high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and insomnia (70.9%, 71.1% and 60.6% respectively). Multivariable statistics showed that anxiety symptoms were correlated to female gender (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.784, 95% confidence interval (CI 1.252-2.542; p=10^-3), history of mental illness (aOR: 1.680, 95% CI: 1.329-2.125; p<10^-3), frequently social media exposure (aOR: 1.578, 95%CI: 1.250-1.992; p<10^-3), times to focus on COVID-19 ≥ 3hours (aOR: 1.840, 95% CI: 1.433-2.362; p<10^-3), consultation with doctor in the clinic in the past 14 days (aOR: 1.821, 95%CI : 1.220-2.718; p=0.003) and recent traumatic event in the past 14 days (aOR: 1.641,95% CI: 1.331-2.024; p<10^-3). Principal factors associated with depressive symptoms included female gender (aOR: 1.637, 95% CI: 1.150-2.331; p=0.006), history of mental illness (aOR: 1.498, 95% CI: 1.189-1.888; p=10^-3), times to focus on COVID-19 ≥ 3hours (aOR: 1.956, 95% CI: 1.555-2.461; p<10^-3), and recent traumatic event in the past 14 days (aOR: 1.558, 95% CI: 1.265-1.919; p<10^-3). The main factors correlated to insomnia were younger (age <35years) (aOR: 1.592, 95% CI: 1.17 -2.152; p=0.003), female gender (aOR: 1.864, 95% CI: 1.252-2.775; p=0.002), having organic diseases (aOR: 1.527, 95% CI: 1.131-2.061; p=0.006), history of mental illness (aOR: 1.777, 95% CI: 1.396-2.263; p<10^-3), students (aOR: 1.931, 95% CI: 1.495-2.495; p<10^-3), times to focus on COVID-19 ≥3hours (aOR: 1.877, 95% CI: 1.467-2.400; p<10^-3) and recent traumatic event (aOR: 1.431, 95% CI: 1.144-1.789; p=0.002).

CONCLUSION: our study revealed a major mental health burden in Tunisia during COVID-19 pandemic. Many factors were correlated to anxiety, depressive symptoms and insomnia, suggesting the need for greater psychological support in general and in certain vulnerable groups.

PMID:34909069 | PMC:PMC8637751 | DOI:10.11604/pamj.2021.40.74.26379

Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Oct 7;40:82. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.40.82.28157. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: domestic abuse against women is very common globally and has far-reaching consequences on the society. Therefore, it is essential to deeply study the seriousness of this public health issue among our pregnant women. The objectives were to determine the prevalence, pattern, and predictors of domestic abuse among pregnant women in Enugu, Nigeria.

METHODS: a cross-sectional study of 400 consenting pregnant women at the antenatal clinics of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla, Nigeria. Each woman completed a modified abuse assessment screen structured questionnaire. Data analysis was descriptive and inferential with Chi-square and multivariate binary logistic regression using SPSS version 21. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: a total of 172 out of 400 respondents (43.0%) had ever experienced domestic abuse in their pregnancies. One hundred and ten (37.2%; 110/296) of the multigravid women were abused in previous pregnancies while 137 (34.3%; 137/400) of all respondents were being abused in the current pregnancy. For all pregnancies, the most common type of abuse experienced by the respondents was verbal abuse (85.5%; 147/172), while the commonest perpetrators of abuse were the respondents´ spouses for both the index pregnancy (82.5%; 113/137) and previous pregnancies (84.5%; 93/110). The most common women perceived cause of abuse was financial constraints (68.6%; 118/172). Age less than 25 years (AOR=1.9, 95% CI=1.01-3.76, p=0.048), not having tertiary education (AOR=2.0, 95% CI=1.17 – 3.25, p=0.01), having at least a male child (AOR=3.3, 95% CI=1.71 – 6.40, p=<0.001), and maternal unemployed status (AOR=2.0, 95% CI=1.27 – 3.19, p=0.003) were the identified predictors among women abused in pregnancy.

CONCLUSION: the prevalence of domestic abuse was high among pregnant women in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria. The predominant women perceived cause of domestic abuse was financial constraints while age less than 25 years, not having tertiary education, having at least a male child, and maternal unemployed status were the predictors in abused women. Domestic abuse poses a great threat to women´s reproductive health, and so, its screening should be incorporated into antenatal care in our environment.

PMID:34909071 | PMC:PMC8607940 | DOI:10.11604/pamj.2021.40.82.28157

Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2021 Aug;18(4):188-195. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20210402.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Affecting more than 264 million people, depression is a systemic and multifactorial disorder that represents one of the leading causes of illness and disability worldwide. Several studies showed an inflammatory response in depressed patients, including the involvement of both chronic low-grade inflammatory response and activation of cell-mediated immunity. The present study aimed to verify the efficacy of a structured functional therapy program for patients with depressed mood, and to determine whether this program can significantly reduce levels of C-reactive protein.

METHOD: 28 outpatients with depressed mood received 20 individual sessions of Functional therapy. Data about socio-demographic variables, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life were collected; moreover, blood specimens were collected before and after treatment, and CRP measurement was performed by immunoenzymatic method. All measures were administered at baseline, at the end of treatment (i.e., 3 months after baseline), and at follow-up (i.e., 6 months after baseline).

RESULTS: A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference after treatment on depression levels, levels of self-esteem, and all dimensions of quality of life, such as physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference on levels of CRP was found. Moreover, at follow-up, improvements were maintained.

CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed initial evidence of the efficacy of a functional therapy program on treating depression and its psychological and inflammation-related markers.

PMID:34909034 | PMC:PMC8650180 | DOI:10.36131/cnfioritieditore20210402

Arabian journal of chemistry. 2022 Feb;15(2):103595. doi: 10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.103595. Epub 2021 Nov 28.

ABSTRACT

This study reports the synthesis, characterization and importance of a novel diethyl 2-(2-(2-(3-methyl-2-oxoquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)acetyl)hydrazono)malonate (MQOAHM). Two independent molecular structures of the disordered MQOAHM have been established by XRD‑single‑crystal analysis in a ratio of 0.596(3)/0.404(3), MQOAHM (a) and MQOAHM (b), respectively. MQOAHM was characterized by means of various spectroscopic tools ESI-MS, IR, ¹H &¹³C NMR analyses. Density Functional Theory (DFT) method, B3LYP, 6-311++G(d,p) basis set was used to optimize MQOAHM molecule. The obtained theoretical structure and experimental structure were superimposed on each other, and the correlation between them was calculated. The Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) were created, and the energy gap between these orbitals was calculated. For analyzing intermolecular interactions, Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) and Hirshfeld Surface Analysis were studied. For a fair comparative study, the two forms of the title compound were docked together with 18 approved drugs and N3 under precisely the same conditions. The disordered molecule structure’s binding scores against 7BQY were -7.0 and -6.9 kcal/mol^-1 for MQOAHM (a) and MQOAHM (b), respectively. Both the forms show almost identical superimposed structures and scores indicating that the disorder of the molecule, in this study, has no obvious effect. The high binding score of the molecule was attributed to the multi-hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions between the ligand and the receptor’s active amino acid residues. Worth pointing out here that the aim of using the free energy in Silico molecular docking approach is to rank the title molecule compared to the wide range of approved drugs and a well-established ligand N3. The binding scores of all the molecules used in this study are ranged from -9.9 to -4.5 kcal/mol^-1. These results and the supporting statistical analyses suggest that this malonate-based ligand merits further research in the context of possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19. Cheap computational techniques, PASS, Way2drug and ADMET, online software tools, were used in this study to uncover the title compound’s potential biological activities and cytotoxicity.

PMID:34909067 | PMC:PMC8627592 | DOI:10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.103595

J Geriatr Cardiol. 2021 Nov 28;18(11):897-907. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2021.11.005.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To investigate complications within 30-days following first-time ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF), including a composite of cardiac tamponade, hematoma requiring intervention, stroke or death, in patients ≥ 75 years of age, compared to patients aged 65-74 years. In addition, one-year all-cause mortality and AF relapse were compared.

METHODS & RESULTS: All patients receiving their first catheter ablation for AF between 2012 and 2016 were identified using Danish nationwide registries. Patients aged 65-74 years served as the reference group for patients ≥ 75 years. Relapse of AF within one year was defined as cardioversion following a three-month blanking period, re-ablation or confirmed relapse within follow-up. The composite complication outcome did not differ between the two age groups, with 39/1554 (2.8%) in patients 65-74 years of age, versus 5/199 (2.5%) in older patients (adjusted HR = 0.94), 95% CI: 0.37-2.39, P = 0.896). Patients ≥ 75 years or older had no increased hazard of death within 30 days after the procedure, with an incidence of 3/1554 (0.2%) in younger patients and 2/199 (1.0%) in patients ≥ 75 years of age (adjusted HR = 4.71, 95% CI: 0.78-28.40, P = 0.091). There was no difference in relapse of AF after one year between age groups (≥ 75 years adjusted HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.78-1.26, P = 0.969).

CONCLUSION: In patients ≥ 75 years of age selected for catheter ablation for AF, the incidence of periprocedural complications, as well as one-year freedom from AF showed no statistical difference, when compared to patients 65-74 years of age.

PMID:34908927 | PMC:PMC8648543 | DOI:10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2021.11.005

Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2020 Dec;17(6):339-348. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20200603.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Psychiatric morbidity, impulsive behaviour and use of dysfunctional and maladaptive defences are core features of personality disorder (PD). This study aims to evaluate the significance of the strength of the association between these three core dimensions and PD.

METHOD: Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of co-morbid Axis-I & -II disorders, and a sample of Axis-I disorders with no co-morbid PD were recruited at three general psychiatric mental health resource centres and then compared.PD as dependent variable was analysed both as a categorical and as a dimensional entity using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. The Symptoms Checklist 90-R general severity index (GSI), the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) were used to measure severity of psychiatric morbidity, impulsivity and defensive style, respectively.

RESULTS: BIS was a highly significant predictor of categorical PD (β = .13, SE = .03, p < .001), but not GSI and DSQ. BIS and GSI significantly predicted PD as a dimensional construct (β = 0.32, SE = .08, t = 4.05, p < 0.001; and β = 5.04, SE = 1.54, t = 3.28, p = 0.002, respectively). The diagnostic efficiency statistics found that BIS had greater sensitivity (.82) and specificity (.79), and overall predictive power (.87) of correctly identifying true positive and true negative PD diagnosis compared to the other two measures.

CONCLUSIONS: BIS may be used in routine clinical practice as a screening measure to identify the presence of PD in complex presentations.

PMID:34909012 | PMC:PMC8629056 | DOI:10.36131/cnfioritieditore20200603

Cent Eur J Oper Res. 2021 Dec 10:1-18. doi: 10.1007/s10100-021-00792-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This articles provides a short summary of the research topics and latest research results of the European Working Group “Operations Research Applied to Health Services” (ORAHS) organized as an e-conference in Juli 2020 at the University of Vienna, Austria (https://orahs2020.univie.ac.at/). Furthermore, challenges for OR in health care including application areas, decision support systems, general trends, and modelling techniques are briefly illustrated from an European and international perspective by providing selected essential literature reviews.

PMID:34908906 | PMC:PMC8663758 | DOI:10.1007/s10100-021-00792-z

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Dec 7;14:4897-4905. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S320311. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Depression is the most common mental health disorder among HIV-positive pregnant mothers, which increases mortality, poor quality of life; it also increases the burden of disease. Depression hurts birth outcomes and maternal health.

OBJECTIVE: To assess depression and its associated factors among HIV-positive pregnant women attending antenatal care at Northwest Amhara referral hospitals, 2021.

METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 291 HIV-positive pregnant mothers from March 15, 2021 to April 30, 2021 at Northwest Amhara referral hospitals. Census was applied to reach the study participants. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. A binary logistic regression was conducted to see the relationship between dependent variables and independent. Those variables having a p-value of ≤0.05 were found to be statistically associated with the response.

RESULTS: Depression among HIV-positive pregnant women was found to be 28.7% [95% CI (24.8-33.40)] with a response rate of 96.04. Age ≥30 years [AOR = 1.32, 95% CI (1.24-3.35)], urban residency [AOR = 1.76, 95% CI (1.57-4.61)], having first pregnancy <18 years [AOR = 3.82, 95% CI (1.54-17.34)], known HIV serostatus during pregnancy [AOR = 1.29, 95% CI (1.08-2.47)], and COVID-19-related knowledge [AOR = 0.32, 95% CI (0.12-1.12) were significantly associated with depression.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Nearly one-third of the pregnant women attending antenatal care were depressed. The age of the mother, residence, known HIV serostatus during pregnancy, age in the first pregnancy, and COVID-19-related knowledge were significantly associated with depression, and strengthening the existing care provided was the recalled interventions to combat antenatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PMID:34908887 | PMC:PMC8665771 | DOI:10.2147/RMHP.S320311

Cancer Manag Res. 2021 Dec 6;13:9007-9013. doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S341448. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Due to the poor healing of superficial malignant tumor ulcer wounds, patients suffer great pain and significantly reduced quality of life. Related research shows that oxygen therapy can reduce wound bleeding and promote wound healing.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the therapeutic effect of nano-silver antibacterial dressing combined with high-flow oxygen therapy on surface malignant tumor ulcers.

METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, 64 patients with superficial malignant tumors and ulcer infection were included and divided into the research group and the control group, with 32 cases in each group. After conventional debridement, the control group was treated with vaseline dressing, while the research group was treated with nano-silver medical antibacterial dressing combined with high-flow oxygen therapy. Both groups were treated for 7 days. The frequency of dressing change and the number of times of blood oozing between the two groups after treatment were recorded. The pain, clinical efficacy, and levels of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.

RESULTS: The dressing changes and blood oozing were less frequent in the research group compared with the control group. The pain score and the levels of PCT and CRP in the research group were lower than those in the control group. The overall response rate was significantly higher in the research group as compared to the control group. All the above differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Nano-silver medical antibacterial dressing combined with high-flow oxygen therapy can reduce the frequency of dressing changes in patients, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and accelerate the healing of superficial malignant tumor ulcer wounds.

PMID:34908876 | PMC:PMC8664651 | DOI:10.2147/CMAR.S341448

Local Reg Anesth. 2021 Dec 7;14:167-178. doi: 10.2147/LRA.S303455. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Interscalene brachial plexus block is frequently utilized to provide perioperative analgesia to patients undergoing shoulder surgery to optimize recovery, minimize opioid consumption, and decrease overall hospital length of stay. The use of an indwelling perineural interscalene catheter provides extended analgesia and is efficacious in managing severe postoperative pain following major shoulder surgery. Currently, the only alternative to perineural catheters for extended analgesia with interscalene block involves the perineural infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine. However, there is limited published data regarding the overall analgesic effectiveness of using interscalene liposomal bupivacaine in the setting of shoulder surgery.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 43 patients in the acute trauma setting who underwent major shoulder surgery and received extended analgesia via perioperative interscalene brachial plexus block with either an indwelling continuous catheter or single-dose liposomal bupivacaine to determine if comparable analgesia can be achieved. The primary outcomes of interest were postoperative pain scores and opioid consumption. Due to the ability to titrate and bolus local anesthetic infusions to a desired clinical effect, we hypothesized that opioid consumption and pain scores would be lower when using the continuous catheter technique.

RESULTS: After statistical analysis, our results demonstrated no significant difference between the two techniques in regards to opioid consumption as well as numeric pain scores during the 48-hour postoperative period, but did note a higher rate of complications with patients who received perineural interscalene continuous catheters. Secondary outcomes showed an increase in time required to complete the regional block procedure with the use of indwelling catheters.

CONCLUSION: Interscalene brachial plexus block with liposomal bupivacaine may be a viable alternative to indwelling continuous catheters for providing extended analgesia in patients undergoing major shoulder surgery.

PMID:34908874 | PMC:PMC8665777 | DOI:10.2147/LRA.S303455