ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate radiological features of Covid-19 and early lung cancer through High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and demonstrate the disparity between them. Study Design: A retrospective study Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Covid-19 ward, Oncology, Radiology Ward of Nishtar Medical University & Hospital Multan from 12th Nov 2019 to 12th Nov 2020. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 Covid-19 patients and 300 patients with pulmonary ground-glass opacities undergoing lung surgery (control group) were included in the study. After propensity score-matched analysis, patients were divided into two groups with 80 matched pairs each. The clinical, pathological, epidemiological, and radiological characteristics (evaluated through HRCT) of both groups were compared. Results: It was observed that Covid-19 patients presented more definite symptoms, were mostly younger men, and had higher BMI (body-mass index). After the radiological analysis of the matched patients, it was revealed that single lesion patients constituted 17% of Covid-19 cases and 89% of lung cancer cases. Patients in both groups mostly presented peripheral lesions. Covid-19 lesions had more lobes, segments and had various types with patchy forms. On the other hand, lung cancer tended to have only one type and had an oval form. Conclusion: Both Covid-19 and lung cancer showed ground-glass opacities with similar but independent characteristics. These characteristics combined with pathogen detection, short-term CT examination, and laboratory tests will aid in improved diagnosis.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate relationship of social media exposure with prevalence of depression and anxiety among general public in Lahore, Pakistan during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted via Google forms in June-July 2020 among Pakistani citizens aged 18 years. Purposive convenient sampling was done. The questionnaire constituted socio-demographic data, information regarding social media exposure, and scales to assess depression and anxiety. Social media exposure was measured by a questionnaire based on previous literature while depression and anxiety were measured by WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale respectively. Differences in depression and anxiety between groups and their associations with their social media use were examined through Chi-square test. RESULTS: Out of 516 participants who completed the questionnaire, 447 (86.6%) had frequent exposure to social media. Facebook (n=345;66.9%) and WhatsApp (n=224;43.4%) were the most used platforms to obtain COVID-19 related news. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and combined depression and anxiety in the sample was 46.3% (n=239), 45.5% (n=235), and 29.7% (n=153) respectively. Statistically significant association was observed between depression and social media exposure (p < 0.001) and the combination of depression and anxiety and social media exposure (p < 0.05), but not with anxiety. About 56.0% (n=289) participants believed that publishing more COVID-19 related news leads to fear and panic. CONCLUSION: People with frequent social media exposure during COVID-19 experienced detrimental effects on mental health. The awareness about limiting social media exposure during the pandemic and psychological support is required to safeguard their well-being.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the role of learning portfolio in structuring daily routine of medical students in lockdown period by employing Gibbs model of reflection. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in CMH Kharian Medical College from July to August, 2020. Data were collected from 2nd year MBBS students. Paper version of the Questionnaire was distributed based on Gibbs model of reflection. Students responses were recorded based on Likert scale (agree, disagree and neutral. Results: Out of 100 students, 96 responded. Out of these, 71% students felt motivated by mentor's feedback, 62% were of opinion that reflective writing provided them with a summary that can be used as a rapid revision tool later, 60% felt that learning portfolio helped to structure their working days better. Learning portfolio helped 58.56% students to track learning progress against defined learning objectives and 55.68% were of opinion that this learning assessment modality can be continued for other sessions. We found that 51.84% students agreed that keeping the learning portfolio updated fostered reflective thinking process. Conclusion: Incorporation of learning portfolios in early years of medical education can work as efficient reflective tools that facilitate the learner to structure daily working routine systematically. With feedback, this learning modality motivates the learner in a better way by identifying their shortcomings at an earlier stage.