An analysis of suicide rates in Kerman province, the largest province in Iran, before and after COVID-19: (2017-2020).

This study aimed to investigate the suicide incidence rate in Kerman before and after the pandemic and the characteristics of suicides. During four years, 642 suicide occurred in Kerman province. The suicide rate of suicide has increased in 2020 compared to previous years. Suicide among females, singles, people with bachelor's degrees, students, governmental, non-governmental occupations, and people without a history of mental illness, and suicide history increased in 2020. Identifying individuals at risk is crucial in order to get exceptional support from the government and society during crises like COVID-19.

Cost-effectiveness of remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Remdesivir is being studied and used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to systematically identify, critically evaluate, and summarize the findings of the studies on the cost-effectiveness of remdesivir in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. METHODS: In this systematic review, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between 2019 and 2022. We included all full economic evaluations of remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Data were summarized in a structured and narrative manner. RESULTS: Out of 616 articles obtained in this literature search, 12 studies were included in the final analysis. The mean score of the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) for the studies was 87.66 (high quality). All studies were conducted in high-income countries (eight studies in the USA and one study in England), except for three studies from middle-to-high-income countries (China, South Africa, and Turkey). Six studies conducted their economic analysis in terms of a health system perspective; five studies conducted their economic analysis from a payer perspective; three studies from the perspective of a health care provider. The results of five studies showed that remdesivir was cost-effective compared to standard treatment. Furthermore, the therapeutic strategy of combining remdesivir with baricitinib was cost-effective compared to remdesivir alone. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of the present study, remdesivir appears to be cost-effective in comparison with the standard of care in China, Turkey, and South Africa. Studies conducted in the United States show conflicting results, and combining remdesivir with baricitinib is cost-effective compared with remdesivir alone. However, the cost-effectiveness of remdesivir in low-income countries remains unknown. Thus, more studies in different countries are required to determine the cost-effectiveness of this drug.

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in patients with epilepsy during COVID-19: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 pandemic disease has profound consequences for physical and mental health. In this regard, health care for chronic diseases, especially epilepsy is neglected The purpose of this systematic review study was to investigate the epidemic effect of COVID-19 on increasing the prevalence of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders in people with epilepsy (PWE). METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Cochrane, Embase, Web of science, Scopus, and Psych info databases for studies that estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in PWE during the COVID-19 until December 2020. Inclusion criteria included samples of population, with a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy. RESULTS: Irrespective of PWE or people without epilepsy (PWOE), all experienced stress and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the studies showed that PWE and even PWOE during the pandemic, suffer from depression. The highest rate of depression was attributed to female PWE with financial problems (66.7%) and the lowest rate of depression in PWE was reported in 8.6%. 7.1-71.2% and 28.2% of patients reported sleep disorders and insomnia, respectively. Less than 2% experienced a sleep improvement. LIMITATIONS: Due to a large amount of heterogeneities across the results, we could not evaluate the exact rate of prevalence in spite of using effective measures. CONCLUSIONS: People with epilepsy were considered as a susceptible group to the impact of the pandemic. Therefore, great attention should be paid to PWE and adequate psychological supports provided in this period to relieve or inhibit risks to mental health in PWE.

Economic evaluation of programs against COVID-19: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a public health emergency and raised global concerns in about 213 countries without vaccines and with limited medical capacity to treat the disease. The COVID-19 has prompted an urgent search for effective interventions, and there is little information about the money value of treatments. The present study aimed to summarize economic evaluation evidence of preventing strategies, programs, and treatments of COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We searched Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, and specialized databases of economic evaluation from December 2019 to July 2020 to identify relevant literature to economic evaluation of programs against COVID-19. Two researchers screened titles and abstracts, extracted data from full-text articles, and did their quality assessment by the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist. Then, quality synthesis of results was done. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies of economic evaluations met our inclusion criteria. The CHEERS scores for most studies (n = 9) were 85 or higher (excellent quality). Eight studies scored 70 to 85 (good quality), eight studies scored 55 to 70 (average quality), and one study < %55 (poor quality). The decision-analytic modeling was applied to twenty-three studies (88%) to evaluate their services. Most studies utilized the SIR model for outcomes. In studies with long-time horizons, social distancing was more cost-effective than quarantine, non-intervention, and herd immunity. Personal protective equipment was more cost-effective in the short-term than non-intervention. Screening tests were cost-effective in all studies. CONCLUSION: The results suggested screening tests and social distancing to be cost-effective alternatives in preventing and controlling COVID-19 on a long-time horizon. However, evidence is still insufficient and too heterogeneous to allow any definite conclusions regarding costs of interventions. Further research as are required in the future.