Teachers' Digital Competence in Basque Country during the COVID-19 pandemic

The objective of this research is to measure the perception that teachers had about their own performance when they were forced to carry out an Emergency Remote Teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was provided to teachers of every educational stage in the Basque Country (Child, Primary and Secondary Education, Professional Training and Higher Education) obtaining a total of 4,586 responses. The statistical analysis of the data shows that the greatest difficulties reported by educators are shortcomings in the training of teachers in digital skills, as well as a lack of resilience of the system and / or lack of a 'plan B' in extraordinary situations. The existing digital divide between teachers based on their gender, age and type of school should be highlighted. Another worrying result is the lower technological competence in lower educational levels, which are the most vulnerable in remote teaching. These results invite us to reflect on the measures to be taken to improve equity, social justice and resilience of the educational system.

Inclusion of students with special educational needs and the COVID-19 pandemic: The collaboration of school and family in distance education conditions

With schools closed around the world during the pandemic, the use of technology and distance education has solved the problems and dysfunctions that have arisen. Students, their families, and school personnel have all been affected by the numerous challenges and barriers that have arisen because of distance education. This chapter seeks to evaluate school-family collaboration throughout the pandemic period. The study focuses on families with children who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their experiences with inclusive education. While the COVID-19 pandemic was underway, parents of children with SEND faced a variety of challenges, including a lack of resources, financial difficulties, communication difficulties, and a lack of attention from teachers. Parents believe that economic, social, and language limitations impede the effectiveness of online inclusion, whereas their digital abilities enable them to aid their children on both technical and psychological levels in overcoming distant learning difficulties. © 2023 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

ANALYSIS OF CURRENT RESEARCH IN WEARABLES: TOWARDS GREATER DIGITAL HEALTH

Background and importance Digital health is the concept that incorporates information and communication technologies into healthcare services. Nowadays, and favoured by the SARSCoV- 2 pandemic, hospital pharmacy has been forced to adopt digital technologies and tools to improve patient care. Aim and objectives If any area of hospital pharmacy has gained prominence in recent years, it is the area of digital health. Therefore, it was decided to analyse current clinical trials in relation to technological devices or wearables. Material and methods Descriptive study of current clinical trials on technological devices from the pharmacological aspect. The following filters were applied: active trials, devices in digital pharmacy, all phases, all ages and both sexes. The type of device was analysed as intervention, pathology, location, and study topic. Both observational and interventional studies were included. The tool used for evaluation was the ClinicalTrials. gov clinical trials registry. Results Nineteen current active phase clinical trials were analysed. The phases of the projects were: phase I-7, phase II-3, phase III-2 and phase IV-7. The main pathologies of the clinical trials were: musculoskeletal disorders (6), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3), Parkinson's neurodegenerative diseases (3), oncology (2), autism (1), renal system (1), cardiac system (1) and self-injection devices (1). The main countries conducting clinical trials were: United States (13), Europe (4), Asia (1) and Oceania (1). Seven projects were detected in the patient recruitment phase. Conclusion and relevance Although the use of wearables in the field of hospital pharmacy is a little known topic, it is increasingly gaining prominence in the literature and in scientific research. Digital health is the driver of change towards new models of care between patients and healthcare professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to continue with research and clinical trials to promote digitisation in hospital pharmacy.

IMPACT OF THE SARS-COV PANDEMIC ON THE TRAINING OF HOSPITAL PHARMACY RESIDENTS

Background and importance The Pharmacy Service is committed to resident training. The residency programme in the Hospital Pharmacy Service covers all areas of the training programme. The high hospital demand and the weekly updates of the pharmaceutical protocols made it necessary to dedicate almost the entire working day to the hospital pharmacy residents. Aim and objectives To evaluate the impact of the SARS-CoV pandemic on the training period of resident pharmacist interns. Material and methods A survey was conducted among all hospital pharmacy residents in Spain. It was carried out by the Teaching and Hospital Pharmacy units. The survey was anonymous, voluntary and disinterested. Data collected: place of residence, year of training, hospital level, resident supervision, internal and external rotations missed, emotional impact and sick leave. Results The survey was completed by 122 hospital pharmacy residents. The completion period was from 15 March to 15 April 2021. The geographic distribution of the residents was: Andalusia (48.3%), Madrid (11.7%), Catalonia (10%), Valencia (8.3%), Murcia (8.3%), Castilla y León (3%), Galicia (3%), Asturias (1.7%), Cantabria (1.7%) and the Basque Country (1.7%). The year of residence of the respondents was: 4th year (56.7%), 2nd year (18.3%), 1st year (13.3%) and 3rd year (11.7%). With respect to supervision and concern for the work: 65.6% felt adequately supervised, while 27.9% said they were deficient in the process. Regarding rotations in other services and/or hospitals: 50.8% stated that they had missed some type of rotation, of which 13.1% were irrecoverable. 63.9% recognized that the pandemic has had some emotional impact on their lives, while 34.4% stated that it has had a great impact. Of the residents, 50.81% said they had been on sick leave due to SARS-CoV. Conclusion and relevance Pharmacy services met the demand of the hospital and associated residences with increased activity. Despite the situation, residency in a crucial stage of professional training, therefore changes must be faced in order to find the best way to meet the goals.

Home management of acute multiple sclerosis outbreak: Adaptation to coronavirus pandemic

Background and importance An outbreak of multiple sclerosis (MS) is defined as symptoms and neurological signs typical of demyelinating disease, with a duration of at least 24 hours. It appears in all forms of MS, contributing to short and long term disability. The main treatments for outbreaks are high dose steroids given intravenously or orally for 3-5 days. In our clinical practice, we used oral prednisone 1400 mg for 5 days prepared in a hospital pharmacy to avoid staff attendance at health centres. Aim and objectives To evaluate oral prednisone effectiveness as a treatment for acute MS outbreaks. Material and methods This was a retrospective multidisciplinary study, from March to June 2020 (4 months), during the limited mobility period due to the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2). The results of 31 patients were analysed. The following data were collected: sex, age, type of MS, expanded disability status scale (EDSS), treatment at the time of the outbreak, symptoms and evolution. The programmes used were: patient medical history (DIRAYA), outpatient dispensing (DOMINION) and MRI (CARESTREAM). Specialist role was: the neurologist made the clinical evaluation, the pharmacist prepared the prednisone capsules from original tablets and its dispensation, and the nurse provided patient education. Results 31 patients (25 women) with a mean age of 44.85 ±13 years were assessed. Every patient had a diagnosis of recurrent remitting MS. Treatments were: interferon beta (20), dimethyl fumarate (10) and cladribine (1). The mean EDSS was 3. The main symptoms were: paraesthesias, muscle weakness and urinary incontinence. The EDSS progressed positively: 83.78% of patients evolved favourably, a subjective decrease in paraesthesia and weakness was observed and MRI showed less inflammation signs. Another aspect was the comfort of the patient in carrying out this treatment at home rather than attending hospital. Conclusion and relevance The results suggested that 1400 mg of oral prednisone administration for 5 days could be considered a safe, effective and comfortable alternative treatment for acute outbreaks of MS. Multidisciplinary care is essential to obtain better clinical results.

Short report - Usefulness of point-of-care ultrasound in pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection.

SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is uncommon compared to adult population. However, some children required hospital and/or PICU admission. The aim of this short communication is to share our experience with Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) when managing these patients. Remarkably, all cases presented pleural and pericardial effusions, detected by POCUS, despite showing an adequate urinary output and prior to receiving any kind of fluid resuscitation. Effusions have been described as rare among SARS-CoV-2 infection in adult population. By performing portable chest X-Ray they would have gone unnoticed in our patients. Other POCUS findings consisted of all types of consolidations and coalescent B-line patterns. POCUS was also performed in order to optimize PEEP, checking adequate endotracheal intubation positioning (avoiding the risk of contagiousness related to auscultation in this framework), and to assess volemia status, cardiac performance, and brain neuro-monitoring. There was not cross-infection. In pediatric SARS-CoV-19 effusions are frequent but easily unnoticed unless lung and echo POCUS are performed.

Tocilizumab treatment in critical COVID-19: Report from a hospital center

A descriptive study was carried out, in which clinical and laboratory characteristics were evaluated in patients with a diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection and who received Tocilizumab. Twenty-four patients received Tocilizumab, the majority were male (95.8%), the most frequent comorbidity was obesity (33.3%). At the time of receiving Tocilizumab the median PAO2/FiO2 was 159.5 (IQR 114.5-255, 3). Twenty-one (87.5%) patients presented clinical improvement and 3 (12.5%) died. Fifteen patients (62.5%) developed hepatotoxicity, the majority grade 3 (33.3%) and three (12.5%) patients presented grade 4 liver injury. Eleven patients (45.8%) presented bacterial superinfection, the more common organism being Acinetobacter baumannii. After the administration of Tocilizumab, more than half of the patients presented an adverse reaction;despite this, mortality was low, and the majority had a clinical improvement.