The Relationship between Resilience and Human Dignity in Patients With COVID-19

Background: One of the most important ethical requirements of the medical profession is to maintain the human dignity of patients. COVID-19 pandemic imposes a lot of stress on patients, which can be an obstacle to maintain the patients' dignity. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between resilience and human dignity in patients with COVID-19. Method: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2021 on 180 patients admitted to COVID wards in Birjand, Iran. Data were collected using the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) and Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RIS). Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 20) and descriptive and inferential statistics. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean overall human dignity score of the patients was 51.41 ± 19.56. The women reported a poorer perception of dignity and its distress symptom and social support dimensions than men (p <0.05). The mean overall resilience score of the patients was 65.95 ± 12.96. In control dimension, the mean resilience scores of men was significantly higher than women (p < 0.05). Inverse relationship was found between resilience and human dignity in patients COVID-19 (p <0.001). Implications for Practice: The resilience is a protective factor for the patients' dignity. The preservation of dignity in patients care process during COVID-19 pandemic and the use of effective methods to improve their resilience can be helpful to overcome these stressful situations. © 2022 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamic simulation with protein and detection of repurposable drugs for COVID-19

In December 2019, the outbreak of acute respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) keeps spreading at a rapid pace around the world. Lack of an effective vaccine, repurposing inhibitors, or de novo drug design might provide a long-term plan to combat this and potential infections due to specific virus conditions. The emergence of highly contagious COVID-19 and its high mortality rate among human populations has recently been declared a deadly pandemic that has provoked economic chaos and severe health problems. SARS-CoV-2 is an essential virus within its proteome, with several druggable components. The disease is a worldwide health issue that is instigated by severe acute coronavirus-2 syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) in the respiratory system. It is therefore of interest to research the binding features of 1615 drugs with FDA approval on the newly discovered main protease structure of 2019 novel coronavirus having strong sequence homology to that of SARS-CoV. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relationship Between Quality of Life and Coping Strategies in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may have destructive effects on patients’ mental health and quality of life (QoL). Objectives: This study aimed to assess the relationship between QoL and coping strategies in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: This cross sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed at Imam Reza Hospital in Tabriz City for 2 months. Seventy hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were recruited by convenience sampling. The patients completed the adapted version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). We indicated a critical value of 60 as the optimal cut-off point to assess perceived QoL. Also, low, moderate, and high coping strategies are dedicated to 0-66, 66-110, and > 110, respectively. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS version 21. Results: Seventy patients were enrolled, including 35 males and 35 females with a mean age of 39.69 ± 11.31 years. QoL’s social and physical dimensions had the highest and lowest mean scores (65.18 ± 18.99 and 41.40 ± 17.22, respectively). The results showed that 3 out of 5 dimensions had a mean score of < 60. Regarding CSQ, the mean scores of problem-and emotional-oriented coping strategies were 87.27 ± 15.45 and 85.05 ± 12.47, respectively. Most participants had moderate problem-and emotional-oriented coping strategies (85.5% and 92.8%, respectively). Conclusions: The current study showed that the QoL score was less than 60 in most of the QoL dimensions in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, most of the participants used coping strategies moderately. Therefore, it is recommended to perform further studies to compare the impact of coping strategies on QoL in patients and the control group. © 2022, Author(s).

Designing a Guideline for Elective and Emergency Spinal Cord Surgeries During the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: There is a need to prepare clinical guidelines for conducting elective or emergency spinal cord surgeries in people who may be carriers of the COVID-19. Therefore, the study aimed to design a guideline for conducting elective spinal cord surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The clinical guidelines and systematic reviews providing recommendations for elective and emergency spinal cord surgeries were collected by an initial search. A group of nine experts were designed a domestic preliminary guideline using six available guidelines presented in four studies. Scoring was conducted based on the AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation) tool. Results: The guideline was prepared in eight subscales, including outpatient visit and counseling, protective measures for health personnel, surgical considerations during the coronavirus pandemic, intraoperative considerations, managing aerosol producing activities, elective and emergency spinal cord surgery, and patient intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Each of these subscales included several specific recommendations. Conclusion: It recommended to reduce the capacity of inpatient wards to half during the coronavirus pandemic, give priority only to emergency surgeries, presence of skilled residents (senior year residents), use personal protective equipment, use the least number of people in the operating room, and reduce the length of surgery without compromising its quality.

Analyzing the Elderly's Quarantine-related Experiences in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives The present study aimed to discover the lived experiences of the older adults from quarantine during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods & Materials This qualitative study employed a content analysis method. Sampling was performed in 10 subjects using a purposive sampling method and continued until data saturation. Semi-Structured face-to-face interviews were used to collect the necessary data. The texts of the interviews were analyzed by qualitative method. Results As a result of the interviews, the two main themes of negative outcomes with the sub-themes of illness anxiety, low mood, death anxiety, interpersonal conflicts, social isolation, treatment limitations, and reduced physical activity as well as the main themes of positive outcomes with the sub-theme of lifestyle improvements were discovered. Each of the above-mentioned themes had several supporting semantic units. Conclusion The themes discovered based on lived experience provided useful information about the effects of quarantine on biopsychological health and quality of life of the elderly;these characteristics can be considered in treatment planning and measures for this group.