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Objectives: To determine the effect COVID-19 pandemic had on orthodontic patients during the lockdown phase as well as to determine the knowledge of patients regarding the COID-19 disease, its spread, its symptoms, and its prevention. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. It was carried out by distributing a self-administered questionnaire to 300 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment via electronic mail and whatsapp platfortm. The questionnaire assessed the knowledge of the patient regarding the COVID-19 disease, the impact it had on their orthodontic treatment, and their perception of risk and their attitude towards the COVID-19 disease. Result(s): 274 out of 300 patients responded to our questionnaires;Out of them 73% were females and 47.3% were males. A large number of patients were able to correctly identify the cause, spread, symptoms, and necessary measures needed to be taken to contain the disease. Although majority of the patients considered COVID-19 to be severely dangerous and felt highly vulnerable to the disease;54.5% were still willing to continue their treatment during the pandemic. The main reason for their willingness was the fear of increased missed appointments leading to increase in treatment time and cost. Conclusion(s): The pandemic has had an adverse impact on orthodontic treatment regardless. Nevertheless, patients were still inclined to continue their treatment with appropriate infection control and precautionary measures observed both by the patients themselves and the orthodontic clinical staff. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19, highly infectious, respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus. It has devastating effects with high mortality.Infection become worse in patients with pre-existing medical conditions. Hospitals increased the number of critical care units in order to stabilize the pandemic's crisisand to minimize person to person transmission, installation of telemedicine networks, distant workers and internet-based health visits. Objective: To assess the acceptability, attitude and utilization towards telemedicine among COVID19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, a telemedicine network was quickly set during COVID-19 epidemic. A descriptive cross-sectional study comprising 144 study subjects aged between 34-58 year who seek telemedicine problems of surgery, cardiology, ENT, dermatology, gynaecology and obstetrics, pulmonology, medicine and paediatrics. Results: Out of 144 study subjectswith telemedicine consultation percent distribution of ENT and pulmonology was (48) 33.3% followed by medicine, gynaecology and obstetrics, dermatology, pediatrics and surgery.Patient's satisfaction level was 62.5% in cardiac patients. In department of gynaecology and obstetrics patients satisfaction towards telemedicine was 88.9%, (65%) patients in medicine were satisfied, followed by surgery 41.7%. Gender wise distribution showed 64.1% males were satisfied followed by 61.3% females Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a historic global challenge for health care providers, patients, and societies. Telemedicine is now widely available at low-cost, and broadly acceptable by physicians and patients. Current study highlights the use of telemedicine and effective applications throughout COVID-19 crisis. Telemedicine played an important role for medical practitioners to manage the COVID-19 situation.
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Background: Currently, the world is in a challenging situation due to Covid-19. The ministry of health in Pakistan reported the first case of Covid-19 on 26th February 2020 in Karachi whereas on the same day in Islamabad, the second case was confirmed in Pakistan. Objective: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of covid-19 mortality and its impact on social life of Pakistani population Methodology: This retrospective study was carried out at the Department of Pathology, Gomal Medical College, Medical Teaching Institute, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan for a period of ten months from March 2021 to December 2021. All the data was taken from the hospital record to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with the mortality of covid-19. For determining the influence of covid-19 on the social life, online survey was conducted. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 24. Results: In the current study, the overall prevalence of covid-19 was 6%. The most common risk factors associated with the covid-19 was Diabetes mellitus in 25 (71.43%) subjects, hypertension in 22 (62.86%), ischemic heart disease in 16 (45.71%) while chronic liver disease was observed in 3 (8.57%) subjects. According to the survey, 420 (70%) participants thought that covid-19 will be controlled worldwide while 450 (75%) subjects thought that covid-19 will be controlled in Pakistan. Worry of contracting covid-19 even with protective measures was observed in 420 (70%) subjects. Conclusion: Our study reported that the prevalence of covid-19 was 6%. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension and ischemic heart disease were the major associated risk factors with the mortality of covid-19 and the overall impact of covid-19 on social life of Pakistani population was not good according to our study.
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Background: As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, many people's lives and livelihoods are at risk. All aspects of everyday life, including education, have been affected by the epidemic. Objective: As a result, we performed this cross-sectional study to learn more about how students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa feel about COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which respondents completed an online, self-administered form to get the information. Six questions deal with socio-demographics, fourteen ask about knowledge, seven ask about attitude, and eight ask about practice. Raosoft's sample size calculator was used to calculate the final sample size. Results: Five thousand participants, comprising 2250 (45%) men and 2,750 (55%) women from all across the nation, completed this poll. Analysis of the data was done using a chi-square test. Almost all of the students 4750 (95 percent) were aware that COVID-19 is caused by a virus and that it is a respiratory illness 4600 (92 percent). During the lockout, many students continued to see their family members 2,750 (55 percent), and their family members continued to visit them at home 2950 (59 percent). The students' answers to particular questions concerning the spread of the virus differed greatly. Although (p 0.01), women had more awareness about how to avoid illness transmission from patients who had been infected with the virus. Conclusion: In the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, the vast majorities of college students were well-prepared, had a positive outlook, and were actively practicing their knowledge and skills. Aside from demographics and gender, the KAP scores also vary by family size. During times of crisis, it's critical to keep the public informed about the need to practice preventive practices.
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Healthcare-associated infections, commonly caused by poor hand hygiene, represent a significant source of disease and economic burden for healthcare systems, especially those in resource-limited settings. The few existing studies on hand hygiene compliance in resource-limited hospital settings suggest that compliance is insufficient. The difference in compliance rates between units in resource-limited trauma hospitals is largely unknown. We aimed to assess hand hygiene compliance rates among healthcare workers at a trauma hospital in Iraqi Kurdistan and compare the levels of compliance between the emergency room (ER), the intensive care unit (ICU), and the acute care ward (ACW). We carried out overt observations in 2018 using the validated World Health Organization ‘five moments for hand hygiene’ observational tool. We observed a total of 622 hand hygiene opportunities performed by 149 healthcare workers. Hand hygiene compliance was defined as handwashing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-based hand rub, in accordance with the ‘five moments for hand hygiene’ concept. Overall, the hand hygiene compliance rate was found to be 6.8% (95% confidence interval 5.0–9.1). Compliance was significantly lower in the ER (1.0%), compared with the ICU (8.1%) (p = 0.0012), and the ACW (11.1%) (p < 0.0001). In all three units, the availability of alcohol-based hand rub and handwashing sinks was insufficient in relation to the number of patient beds. We conclude that the overall level of hand hygiene compliance was low, with the lowest level of compliance in the ER. Our findings call for improved resource allocation and strengthened hand hygiene routines. These relatively simple measures could potentially lower the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and improve the mortality and morbidity of patients in already overburdened healthcare systems.
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Background & Objective: Covid-19 is a complex disease with unpredictable blended pattern, and it resembles the cytokine release syndrome (CRS), marked with vasculopathy, coagulopathy, ARDS, multi-organ failure, and aggressive rise of inflammation markers in the serum. Tocilizumab (TCZ) has been in use as an off-label drug due to its antagonist activity on IL-6 receptor. This study compared the efficacy of standard of care (SOC), and SOC along with TCZ, in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methodology: In this retrospective cohort, we included 74 critically ill COVID-19 patients, aged between 18 to 90 y. Those who received only SOC were placed in the SOC group, while patients who received TCZ in addition to SOC, were placed in the TCZ + SOC group. The SOC included low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) 60 mg S/C OD, dexamethasone 6 mg IV OD, remdesivir (antiviral) 200 mg IV stat then 100 mg IV OD for 5 days and when needed 10 days, antibiotics for secondary infection e.g., Azithromycin 500 mg IV OD, in the presence of High flow Oxygen (HFO) or CPAP. X-rays chest, serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-Dimers, ferritin, pro-BNP, C-reactive protein (CRP), total leukocyte count (TLC), renal and liver markers, serum electrolytes, sugar levels, and ABGs were obtained from the data, at the time of admission in ICU and on the 7th day of ICU stay. Results: 57% patients received only SOC while 43% received TCZ in addition to SOC. Improvement in hypoxia and radiological findings on day-7 was more in SOC' group than TCZ+ SOC' group (52% vs. 34% and 52% vs. 31% respectively), but it was not statistically significant. Overall improvement in inflammation markers on day-7 was similar in both groups with p = 0.925. Survival was 45% vs. 37.5% in SOC' vs. TCZ+ SOC' group respectively (p = 0.504). Conclusion: Tocilizumab does not alter the overall survival of critically ill COVD-19 patients. © 2021 Faculty of Anaesthesia, Pain and Intensive Care, AFMS. All rights reserved.