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The appearance of COVID-19 changed the lifestyle of many people as it spread rapidly around the world, causing concern to the entire health system due to the high number of infected and leading to a general confinement, changing the lifestyle and eating habits of many people causing diabetes, which is a disease caused by the high level of glucose in the blood, which can generate serious problems in the health of the person since it has no cure, this progressive disease is controlled or monitored by conventional glucometer equipment that generates pain in patients because they require blood samples to measure glucose, worse for those diabetics who must have the measurement several times a day. In view of this problem, this article will make a portable blood glucose meter system for the self-monitoring of diabetic patients and determine the blood sugar level to visualize it by means of a screen, with this system the measurement will be made without pain and will show the value of the glucose level accurately, Helping diabetic patients who perform monitoring several times a day. Through the development of l system, it was observed that it works in the best way with an efficiency of 96.97% in the measurement of glucose, when comparing with others equipment glucometers obtained a relative error of 2.99%, being an error accepted to approach the real value. © 2023 IEEE.
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COVID-19 Self-Monitoring Tool (COV-SMT) is the research developed to address multiple issues in monitoring quarantined individuals due to COVID-19 infection. As COVID-19 is still highly infectious despite the availability of vaccines, the implementation of contactless Internet of Things (IoT) technology should be encouraged to minimize the need for medical staff to perform daily health checks and thus prevent them from being directly infected during checking. This research aims to develop an effective method to monitor quarantined individuals regarding their vital signs, such as body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen level. A contactless self-monitoring tool integrated with a stages algorithm is developed to monitor these quarantined individuals with the help of IoT technology. It can provide a consistent platform for patients or users to transfer information or data through networks, including personalized healthcare domains. COV-SMT is an effective tool to streamlet the overall process of taking measurements from quarantined individuals. It integrates multiple sensors into one tool while providing a better overall picture with its graphical presentation to help patients and medical staff better understand their health conditions. © 2023, International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies. All Rights Reserved.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various aspects of the lives of persons with chronic diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the diabetes care experiences and practices adopted by persons living with T1D after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda have not been well documented. Objectives: We investigated diabetes management practices and experiences of persons with T1D during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in a rural district of southwestern Uganda. Methods: Using interactive sequential explanatory mixed methods, we conducted a cross-sectional study of persons with T1D aged 18-25 years, their caregivers and health workers. Quantitative data was exclusively collected from patients with T1D using Kobo Toolbox™ and analysed with SPSS™ version 26; qualitative interviews were used to elicit responses from purposively selected patients with T1D, plus caregivers and health workers that were analysed using a thematic framework approach. Results: The study enrolled 51 (24 males) patients with T1D; diabetes duration (mean ± SD) 6.6 ± 5 years. Access to insulin syringes significantly worsened in 19.6% of participants (p = 0.03). Insulin injection frequency (p = 0.01), blood glucose monitoring (p = 0.001) and meal frequency (p = 0.0001) significantly decreased. Qualitative interviews highlighted COVID-19 restriction measures had reduced household income, frequency of clinic visits, and access to food, diabetes support and social services. Conclusions: Experiences and practices were consistent with decisions to prioritise survival, even with known risks around metabolic control. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01222-4.
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MHealth technologies play a fundamental role in epidemiological situations such as the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 because they allow people to self-monitor their health status (e.g. vital parameters) at any time and place, without necessarily having to physically go to a medical clinic. Among vital parameters, special care should be given to monitor blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), whose abnormal values are a warning sign for potential COVID-19 infection. SpO2 is commonly measured through the pulse oximeter that requires skin contact and hence could be a potential way of spreading contagious infections. To overcome this problem, we have recently developed a contact-less mHealth solution that can measure blood oxygen saturation without any contact device but simply processing short facial videos acquired by any common mobile device equipped with a camera. Facial video frames are processed in real-time to extract the remote photoplethysmographic signal useful to estimate the SpO2 value. Such a solution promises to be an easy-to-use tool for both personal and remote monitoring of SpO2. However, the use of mobile devices in daily situations holds some challenges in comparison to the controlled laboratory scenarios. One main issue is the frequent change of perspective viewpoint due to head movements, which makes it more difficult to identify the face and measure SpO2. The focus of this work is to assess the robustness of our mHealth solution to head movements. To this aim, we carry out a pilot study on the benchmark PURE dataset that takes into account different head movements during the measurement. Experimental results show that the SpO2 values obtained by our solution are not only reliable, since they are comparable with those obtained with a pulse oximeter, but are also insensitive to head motion, thus allowing a natural interaction with the mobile acquisition device.
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Introduction: Reduced accessibility to routine follow-up visits in GP surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the failure to report to health care facilities for fear of infection may have disrupted doctor-patient cooperation and worsened adherence to therapeutic recommendations. Aim of the research: To examine the quality of life of patients with arterial hypertension and their assessment adherence to therapeutic recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material(s) and Method(s): A total of 103 hypertensive patients of the Independent Public Healthcare Centre of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Wroclaw were examined. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Adherence in Chronic Diseases Scale (ACDS) were used. Result(s): The mean score for perception of quality of life was 3.64 +/-0.73. Quality of life was rated best in the psychological domain (M = 15.05, SD = 2.42) and worst in the physical domain (M = 13.25, SD = 2.67). 57.28% (59/103) of the respondents had medium adherence, 23.30% (24/103) had low adherence, and 19.42% (20/103) had high adherence. The level of adherence was significantly better among patients keeping a self-monitoring diary compared to those who did not keep such a diary (24.19 +/-2.86 vs. 21.86 +/-4.56, p = 0.007). Patient age (r = 0.323, p = 0.001) and systolic blood pressure value (r = -0.193, p = 0.05) significantly correlated with adherence level. The higher the level of adherence, the better the quality of life in the psychological (r = 0.197, p = 0.046) and social (r = 0.198, p = 0.045) domains. Conclusion(s): Adherence to the therapeutic plan and good patient-doctor cooperation are extremely important for the level of quality of life of hypertensive patients.Copyright © 2023 Termedia Publishing House Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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BACKGROUND: Pregnant women at high risk for developing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy require frequent antenatal assessments, especially of their blood pressure. This expends significant resources for both the patient and healthcare system. An alternative to in-clinic assessments is a remote blood pressure monitoring strategy, in which patients self-record their blood pressure at home using a validated blood pressure machine. This has the potential to be cost-effective, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce outpatient visits, and has had widespread uptake recently given the increased need for remote care during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However robust evidence supporting this approach over a traditional face-to-face approach is lacking, and the impact on maternal and foetal outcomes has not yet been reported. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess the efficacy of remote monitoring in pregnant women at high risk of developing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. METHODS: The REMOTE CONTROL trial is a pragmatic, unblinded, randomised controlled trial, which aims to compare remote blood pressure monitoring in high-risk pregnant women with conventional face-to-face clinic monitoring, in a 1:1 allocation ratio. The study will recruit patients across 3 metropolitan Australian teaching hospitals and will evaluate the safety, cost-effectiveness, impact on healthcare utilisation and end-user satisfaction of remote blood pressure monitoring. DISCUSSION: Remote blood pressure monitoring is garnering interest worldwide and has been increasingly implemented following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, robust data regarding its safety for maternofoetal outcomes is lacking. The REMOTE CONTROL trial is amongst the first randomised controlled trials currently underway, powered to evaluate maternal and foetal outcomes. If proven to be as safe as conventional clinic monitoring, major potential benefits include reducing clinic visits, waiting times, travel costs, and improving delivery of care to vulnerable populations in rural and remote communities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620001049965p, on October 11th, 2020).
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COVID-19 , Pregnancy, High-Risk , Pregnancy , Female , Humans , COVID-19/prevention & control , Blood Pressure , Pandemics/prevention & control , Australia , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
Introduction/Aim: Self-management is considered important in people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF);however, components of self-management that are relevant to PF are not well defined. This study aimed to identify the common self-management components used in PF. Method(s): A scoping review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The protocol was registered with Open Science Framework database (doi: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EUZ6S). A systematic search was conducted on August 16, 2022, using five electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL and the Cochrane central register of controlled trials). Search results were screened and studies were included if they (i) described any educational, behavioural and support components that aimed at facilitating self-management;(ii) involved adults with PF;and (iii) employed quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. Two researchers performed record screening and data extraction independently followed by discussions of discrepancies. Result(s): Of the 27081 records screened, 87 studies were included (39% observational studies, 26% randomised controlled trials). The most common self-management components were patient education (78%), information or support for managing physical symptoms (66%) and enhancing psychosocial wellbeing (54%). Majority of the included studies (71%) were rehabilitation programs with evidence of self-management training such as home exercise program and breathing training. Other studies included palliative care programs consisting of components such as patient education and care goal setting (12%), support programs for managing medication (4%), home-based self-monitoring training (4%), disease management programs (4%), mindfulness-focused stress reduction program (1%), telemedicine service delivered during the COVID-19 outbreak that included strategies to prevent infections and self-monitoring of clinical parameters (1%) and PF-specific educational and support website (1%). Over half of the interventions were provided by a multidisciplinary team. Conclusion(s): This review identified the common components used to promote self-management in PF. These findings help to guide the development of optimal interventions to support self-management in PF.
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Introduction: Covid-19 increased the burden on hospitals for patients with symptoms and potential vital complications. Patient home self-monitoring of clinical signs and physiological safety parameters using connected devices was assessed to better detect patients with indication of rehospitalization. Method(s): After clinical/PCR COVID confirmation, patients were given WITHINGS devices: Scanwatch, a thermometer, a blood pressure monitor, a Sleep analyzer and instructed to take measures twice a day with data retrieved on HealthMate app. Reports and questionnaires on clinical symptoms were sent daily to physicians. Result(s): Ten PCR positive patients were included (5 males): mean age 45.5years [31;67], BMI 26.9kg/m2 [19.7;43.2]. Main COVID symptoms were cough (33%), sore throat (27%), tiredness (36%), dyspnea (37%). Delay between COVID onset and self-monitoring start was 7.7days [0-37]. 8 patients had a good adherence to the protocol up to 30 days. SpO2 and Heart Rate (HR) were most frequently measured: 88 [5-177] and 58 [21-195] measures in average respectively. Five patients with polysomnography had Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) equivalent to the Sleep analyzer averaged over several nights: AHISA: 8.53[-1;71.4] vs AHIPSG: 13.01[1.49;28.76]. Temperature remained within normal in 9/10 patients. In most patients Breathing rate (BR) decreased, HR decreased or remained steady, nigthtime HR/BR changed similarly. Daily steps increased throughout along with BR reduction. All patients had favorable outcomes without indication of hospitalization. Conclusion(s): Home self-monitoring during a pandemic is feasible. Safety parameters may be effectively monitored by patients and easily reported to their physicians.
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Teledermatology is a useful tool in facilitating dermatology outpatient services since the advent of COVID-19. Assessment of lesions has become difficult to facilitate in large numbers. Teledermoscopy has been used for remote lesion assessment. However, the majority of teledermoscopy has been facilitated by healthcare professionals rather than the patient themselves (Vestergaard T, Prasad S, Schuster A et al. Introducing teledermoscopy of possible skin cancers in general practice in Southern Denmark. Fam Pract 2020;37: 513-18). Patients referred with lesions deemed to be low risk are now often initially assessed via telephone consultation in conjunction with photographs of the lesion. The majority of patients are subsequently called for dermoscopy. However, many of those referred have benign lesions and could be safely discharged if dermoscopy images of the lesion were available. Low-cost mobile dermoscopy attachments are available and have been marketed to patients for self-monitoring. We compared a smartphone-compatible dermoscopy device (Dermlite HUD) with traditional dermoscopic photography to assess the feasibility of using this device to photograph skin lesions. This device has equivalent magnification (x 10) to dermatoscopes, a smaller field of view (which in all lesions still allowed complete visualization) and employs polarized light. Dermoscopic photography using the Dermlite HUD was taken of 30 consecutive lesions over a 1-month period by dermatology registrars in the dermatology department. Lesions assessed included pigmented lesions, vascular lesions, nonulcerated skin cancers and benign lesions. Images were assessed by a consultant dermatologist and compared to dermoscopic photographs taken using the standard method employed in the department. Images were compared in terms of resolution, field of view and colour quality between the two instruments as per validated image analysis (Celebi M, Mendonca T, Marques J. Dermoscopy Image Analysis, 1st edn. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2015). The photographed lesions were assessed by a consultant dermatologist and compared with the standard method. Photos taken with the smartphone attachment were found to be 97% equivalent in terms of resolution, field of view and colour quality to those taken using the standard method and 29 of 30 were deemed suitable for remote lesion assessment. Low-cost smartphone dermatoscope attachments provide images of comparable quality to those taken with a dermatoscope and camera. This offers an opportunity to facilitate fully virtual assessment of low-risk skin lesions and is of use in patients unable to travel to clinics or during lockdowns to facilitate virtual clinics.
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Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) are highly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection and routine transplant consultations were converted primarily to virtual (VC) rather than face to face (F2F) from the outset of the pandemic. A similar strategy was adopted in our tertiary OTR dermatology clinic, but the implications of this on safe and effective skin cancer surveillance are uncertain. We audited clinical and patient experiences of our hybrid service with the aim of identifying the benefits and limitations of this approach, and improvements required to optimize a future hybrid VC-F2F model for skin cancer surveillance. All OTRs consultations held between 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 were identified through electronic patient records. Data collected included proportions and reasons for VC and F2F consultations, teledermatology requests, VC to F2F conversion rate, rates of skin cancer diagnoses and adherence to established follow-up protocols. All patients were invited to complete an online service evaluation. In total, 554 encounters (80.3% VC, 19.7% F2F) were recorded in 247 OTRs (42% with previous skin cancer). Of routine F2F consultations, this was patient preference in 17 of 109 (16%) and clinician-based risk assessment for the remainder. In 108 (25%) VCs, photographs were requested and received for 63%, of which 82% were adequate for diagnosis. Overall, 12% of VCs were converted to F2F and in 19 of 45 (42%) OTRs this was due to suspected skin cancer, which was confirmed in nine of 19 (47%). All other skin cancers were diagnosed in routine F2F consultations. Surveillance in 167 of 192 (87%) assessable OTRs adhered to established follow-up protocols. Of patients who responded to the online survey, 74% felt that there were benefits to VCs, but 41% expressed concern about the lack of skin examination and 57% reported little/no confidence in self-monitoring. Despite this, 59% expressed a preference to continue hybrid VC-F2F surveillance, with VC as routine and F2F consultation when required. Our audit provides preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness, safety and patient acceptability of a VC-F2F hybrid model for the delivery of OTR skin cancer surveillance. We did not identify major delays in skin cancer diagnosis, although not all patients have yet been seen F2F. Certain aspects of service delivery will require optimization. In particular, despite routine skin cancer education, many patients expressed concerns about self-monitoring. Programmes specifically tailored to address this need will be required, as will information technology support for some OTRs. With this information we are redesigning our service to incorporate a VC-F2F model for routine skin cancer surveillance and are evaluating the incorporation of a patient-initiated follow-up pathway.
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Fear of choking is a relatively understudied phenomenon in older adults, despite the higher incidence of choking to death in this population and the associated mental health burden. This case report presents the use of a cognitive-behavioral (CBT) approach to treating choking phobia in an older adult in her 80s, with sessions conducted over the telephone during the COVID-19 pandemic. A reliable change in self-reported avoidance of solid food was observed, although indices of general distress appeared to have remained stable. By placing a seemingly focal problem (choking phobia) within a comprehensive conceptualization framework using gerontology, we were able to consider additional complexity related to aging-related beliefs and experiences of distress to address therapeutic opportunities and challenges, including the COVID-19 context.Copyright © 2022 Hogrefe.
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Diabetic foot disease is a severe invalidiza-ting complication of diabetes mellitus, which is associated with significant comorbidity, reduced life expectancy and quality of life of the affected person, and with several fold increased burden for health care system as well. It is the leading cause for non-traumatic lower limb amputations. According to its features, diabetic foot disease is a heterogeneous condition. In its pathogenesis are combined metabolic, hemodynamic, mechanical, infectious and genetic factors. There is no single evaluation scale for this diabetic complication, but are present different classifications, which account for neurological, vascular and structural damage, inflammatory state, concomitant diseases, previous ulcers and amputations. In this way, risk category of each patient is defined, which determines the therapeutical plan, the need for hospitalization, the prognosis and the follow-up interval. Due to its multifactorial aspects, diabetic foot disease is approached in interdisciplinary manner. Integrated foot care by highly skilled specialists in combination with structured patient education about self-care and self-monitoring, could reduce diabetic foot wounds with up to 85%. It is also estimated that in 85% of cases lower limb amputations among people withdiabetes are pre-ceded by ulcers, which highlights the significance of the aforementioned measures. During COVID-19 pandemic there are additional risks for worsening of people with diabetic foot. In conclusion, in most cases diabetic foot disease and its consequences are potentially preventable, which determines the paramount importance of revising and timely applying the latest guidelines on its diagnosis and management.Copyright © 2021 Medical Information Center. All rights reserved.
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Diabetic foot disease is a severe invalidiza-ting complication of diabetes mellitus, which is associated with significant comorbidity, reduced life expectancy and quality of life of the affected person, and with several fold increased burden for health care system as well. It is the leading cause for non-traumatic lower limb amputations. According to its features, diabetic foot disease is a heterogeneous condition. In its pathogenesis are combined metabolic, hemodynamic, mechanical, infectious and genetic factors. There is no single evaluation scale for this diabetic complication, but are present different classifications, which account for neurological, vascular and structural damage, inflammatory state, concomitant diseases, previous ulcers and amputations. In this way, risk category of each patient is defined, which determines the therapeutical plan, the need for hospitalization, the prognosis and the follow-up interval. Due to its multifactorial aspects, diabetic foot disease is approached in interdisciplinary manner. Integrated foot care by highly skilled specialists in combination with structured patient education about self-care and self-monitoring, could reduce diabetic foot wounds with up to 85%. It is also estimated that in 85% of cases lower limb amputations among people withdiabetes are pre-ceded by ulcers, which highlights the significance of the aforementioned measures. During COVID-19 pandemic there are additional risks for worsening of people with diabetic foot. In conclusion, in most cases diabetic foot disease and its consequences are potentially preventable, which determines the paramount importance of revising and timely applying the latest guidelines on its diagnosis and management.Copyright © 2021 Medical Information Center. All rights reserved.
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This chapter summarizes key information and formulate guiding principles to move forward and achieve a better understanding and management of long COVID. Long COVID has become a catch-all term for a huge variety of symptoms that are the result of an infection with SARS-CoV-2. Lingering symptoms in hospitalized patients are generally related to well-defined organ damage, what we have termed long-COVID disease;the subsequent medical course is similar to that of any severely ill patient. Although there are many symptoms associated with long COVID, fatigue is almost always a primary problem. There is no simple test to confirm the diagnosis of long COVID, and the diagnosis is made based on a patient's symptoms. Patients with severe symptoms will require multidisciplinary evaluation and care. Long-COVID care should be based on shared decision-making and includes patient self-monitoring and self-management. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Background: Internet of Things (IoT) innovations such as wearables and sensors promise improved health outcomes and service efficiencies. Yet, most applications remain experimental with little routine use in health and care settings. We sought to examine the multiple interacting influences on IoT implementation, spread and scale-up, including the role of regional innovation ‘ecosystems' and the impact of the COVID-19 context. Methods: Qualitative study involving 20 participants with clinical, entrepreneurial and broader innovation experience in 18 in-depth interviews, focusing primarily on heart monitoring and assistive technology applications. Data analysis was informed by the NASSS (non-adoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread, sustainability) framework. Results: Interviewees discussed multiple tensions and trade-offs, including lack of organisational capacity for routine IoT use, limited ability to receive and interpret data, complex procurement and governance processes, and risk of health disparities and inequalities without system support and funding. Although the pandemic highlighted opportunities for IoT use, it was unclear whether these would be sustained, with framings of innovation as ‘disruption' coming at odds with immediate needs in healthcare settings. Even in an ‘ecosystem' with strong presence of academic and research institutions, support was viewed as limited, with impressions of siloed working, conflicting agendas, fragmentation and lack of collaboration opportunities. Conclusions: IoT development, implementation and roll-out require support from multiple ecosystem actors to be able to articulate a value proposition beyond experimental or small-scale applications. In contexts where clinical, academic and commercial worlds collide, sustained effort is needed to align needs, priorities and motives, and to strengthen potential for good value IoT innovation. © The Author(s) 2023.
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BACKGROUND: The detrimental impact of Covid-19 has led to an urgent need to support the wellbeing of UK National Health Service and care workers. This research develops an online diary to support the wellbeing of staff in public healthcare in real-time, allowing the exploration of population wellbeing and pro-active responses to issues identified. METHODS: The diary was co-produced by NHS and care stakeholders and university researchers. It was based on an integrative model monitoring mental health symptoms as well as wellbeing indicators. Diary users were encouraged to reflect on their experience confidentially, empowering them to monitor their wellbeing. The data collected was analysed using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests to determine any significant wellbeing trends and issues. RESULTS: A statistically significant decline in wellbeing (P < 2.2E-16), and a significant increase in symptoms (P = 1.2E-14) was observed. For example, indicators of post-traumatic stress, including, flashbacks, dissociation, and bodily symptoms (Kruskal-Wallis P = 0.00081, 0.0083, and 0.027, respectively) became significantly worse and users reported issues with sleeping (51%), levels of alertness (46%), and burnout (41%). CONCLUSIONS: The wellbeing diary indicated the value of providing ways to distinguish trends and wellbeing problems, thus, informing how staff wellbeing services can determine and respond to need with timely interventions. The results particularly emphasised the pressing need for interventions that help staff with burnout, self-compassion, and intrusive memories.
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Burnout, Professional , COVID-19 , Humans , State Medicine , COVID-19/epidemiology , Personal Satisfaction , Mental Health , Burnout, Professional/psychologyABSTRACT
Background: Lung transplantation is an established treatment option for persons with advanced lung disease. After transplantation, lung function typically returns to near normal levels, however exercise capacity remains low due to chronic deconditioning, limited physical function, and inactive lifestyles which undermine the intended benefits of the highly selective, resource-intensive transplant procedure. Pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended to improve fitness and activity tolerance, however due to multiple barriers, lung transplant recipients either never participate, or fail to complete, pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Purpose: To describe the design of Lung Transplant Go (LTGO), a trial modified for the remote environment based on recommendations to preserve trial integrity during COVID. The aims are to evaluate a behavioral exercise intervention to improve physical function, physical activity, and blood pressure control in lung transplant recipients conducted safely and effectively using a telerehabilitation (telerehab) platform, and to explore the role of potential mediators and moderators of the relationship between LTGO and outcomes. Methods: Single-site, 2-group randomized controlled trial with lung transplant recipients randomized 1:1 to either the LTGO intervention (a 2-phased, supervised, telerehab behavioral exercise program), or to enhanced usual care (activity tracking and monthly newsletters). All study activities, including intervention delivery, recruitment, consenting, assessment, and data collection, will be performed remotely. Conclusion: If efficacious, this fully scalable and replicable telerehab intervention could be efficiently translated to reach large numbers of lung recipients to improve and sustain self-management of exercise habits by overcoming barriers to participation in existing, in-person pulmonary rehabilitation programs.
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The second wave of COVID-19 in India during mid-February has brought an unwarranted fear due to high morbidity and mortality. Instead of being perceived as a panic situation, the depleting medical resources of the country warrant better self-monitoring and medical compliance by the people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection. This strategy can help in diverting the limited medical aid to those who are suffering with severe COVID-19 infection. As a ray of positivity, we report mild COVID-19 in a patient with a history of severe asthma. The patient successfully managed herself at home with remote medical consultation, medication compliance, intensive self-monitoring, and self-proning as key measures.
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Wearable devices have played a key role in the medical industry, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic spread. The need for a self-monitoring system increased since the spread of the virus. With the development of semiconductor technology and the increased research and development in medical wearable devices, wearable devices have been able to detect the medical condition of patients. This paper presents a biomedical wearable device to monitor the vital signs of patients. The device can be used to detect the patient COVID-19 infection. Data were extracted using different sensors and other components, and results were displayed on a mobile application that showed the health status of the patient. A PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design was made for the purpose of making the system a wearable device. The system power consumption ranged from 5-37.5mW. © 2022 IEEE.
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BACKGROUND: Uncontrolled diabetes has appeared as one of the major risk factors for morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Alterations in dietary habits, physical inactivity, and inability to take advice from the physician are some of the contributing factors. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia on medication accessibility, medication adherence, lifestyle, and quality of life of diabetes patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among diabetic patients using a self-reported questionnaire developed on an online platform (SurveyMonkey®). The survey was distributed through social media platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram). For those who were digitally illiterate, responses were collected by family members. The targeted population was type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes patients. The analysis of the data was done using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26. RESULTS: Four hundred forty-nine participants completed the survey. Most of the participants had type 2 diabetes (n=359; 79.8%) and were well educated (83.2%) with a high school degree and above. Complications from COVID-19 infection were reported in 12% (n=54) patients. During quarantine, 78.8% (n=354) of participants measured their blood glucose regularly. Results showed that during quarantine, 68.3% (n=311) participants skipped their scheduled follow-up whereas only 5.1% (n=23) of them took their medication inappropriately. CONCLUSION: This study reported good levels of self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, whereas patients' accessibility to seek healthcare services seemed to be interrupted. Further efforts are needed in the post-pandemic era to empower patients' self-care behaviors and utilize telehealth models to facilitate timely access to medical care.