Post-COVID-19 Dermatomyositis: A Delayed Reaction That Evades Early Detection.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare autoimmune disease that causes symmetrical and predominantly proximal muscle weakness in the limbs and typical skin lesions. Its prevalence increased during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Viral infections may cause autoimmunity and trigger the pathogenesis of myositis. We present the case of a man with a long history of myalgia and muscle weakness, who was initially diagnosed with post-COVID-19 myalgia and subsequently developed progressive muscle weakness. Biochemical and muscle biopsy results confirmed DM. The patient responded favorably to the course of steroid treatment.

Challenges in Implementing the WHO Hospital Readiness Checklist for the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesian Hospitals: A Qualitative Study.

Purpose: To assist hospitals in preparing for a surge of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an assessment tool called the rapid hospital readiness checklist. This checklist has been used by numerous countries, including Indonesia. However, several technical issues were discovered, primarily as a result of the manual recording of the checklist on a spreadsheet. This study aimed to identify challenges related to the hospital readiness checklist that was implemented in Indonesia. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study used focus group discussions to collect data. The study was conducted in East Java, Indonesia, in October 2021, with the participation of nine organizations from the provinces of East Java and Bali. Data were thematically analyzed, and the findings were presented in a narrative format. Results: Hospital participants had experience in filling out a hospital readiness checklist every 3 months. Some challenges faced by the hospital was the need to manually enter data into the checklist, lack of coordination and communication, there were various perceptions in hospitals as there was no technical guide in completing the checklist, absence of feedback, and the data returning empty due to filling errors. Additionally, City X health office also identified challenges in monitoring and evaluating the hospital checklists. Conclusion: This study, which included both hospitals and the health office, described the challenges encountered in the assessment of the hospital readiness checklist. Both hospitals and DHO experienced some challenges with the current system. The checklist has the potential to evolve into a public reporting to improve efficiency and faster decision-making.

Effects of Group and Individual Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Depression and Sexual Satisfaction among Perimenopausal Women.

AIMS: Previous research has shown the efficacy of culturally adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CA-CBT) in reducing depression, yet its effect on increasing sexual satisfaction is not well documented. In this study, an embedded randomized controlled trial design was used to examine the effect of group and individual CA-CBT on depression and sexual satisfaction among perimenopausal women. METHOD: A total of 64 depressed Iranian perimenopausal women were randomly assigned to two formats of treatments; sixteen sessions of group CA-CBT and eight sessions of individual CA-CBT, as well as a waitlist control group. Depression and sexual satisfaction were measured using BDI-II and ENRICH, respectively, at T1 (pre-treatment), T2 (post-treatment) and T3 (follow-up). RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that the women who underwent both group and individual CA-CBT had effectively reduced depression and increased sexual satisfaction between pre-treatment and post-treatment, and it was sustained after six months of follow-ups with large effect sizes of significant differences (p < 0.001), but the control group did not. CONCLUSION: The results showed promising evidence for the efficacy of both treatment groups of CA-CBT for depression and sexual satisfaction among perimenopausal women. The population mental health burden among perimenopausal women may likely be reduced by propagating this effective treatment.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Presenting as Conjunctivitis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The world is currently challenged to handle this pandemic. The common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. There are few reports on the association of SARS-CoV-2 with ocular abnormalities including conjunctivitis. We report a case of a 54-year-old woman who presented solely with conjunctivitis subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19. A lack of full history of her travel abroad was another issue leading to a delay in evaluating her COVID-19 status that increased the infection risk to her managing team. Thus, primary care practitioners should be suspicious of this atypical feature of COVID-19, thus enabling us to identify such patients at entry points. Maintaining safety measures while managing patients is also crucial.