ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aims to explore the prevalence of anosmia and dysgeusia and their impact on COVID-19 patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between 1st October 2020 and 30th June 2021 were randomly selected from a national COVID-19 registry. COVID-19 cases were diagnosed using molecular testing method which measured the viral E gene. The Anosmia Reporting Tool, and a brief version of the questionnaire on olfactory disorders were used to measure the outcomes via telephone interviews. Data were analysed using SPSS 27 statistics software. Results: A total of 405 COVID-19 adults were included in this study, 220 (54.3%) were males and 185 (45.8%) were females. The mean±SD age of participants was 38.2 ± 11.3 years. Alterations in the sense of smell and taste were reported by 206 (50.9%), and 195 (48.1%) of the patients, respectively. Sex and nationality of participants were significantly associated with anosmia and dysgeusia (p < 0.001) and (p-value=0.001) respectively. Among patients who experienced anosmia and dysgeusia, alterations in eating habits (64.2%), impact on mental wellbeing (38.9%), concerns that the alterations were permanent (35.4%), and physical implications and difficulty performing activities of daily living (34%) were reported. Conclusion: Anosmia and dysgeusia are prevalent symptoms of COVID-19 disease, especially among females. Although transient, anosmia and dysgeusia had considerable impact on patient's life. Neuropsychological implications of COVID-19 in acute infection phase and prognosis of anosmia and dysgeusia in COVID-19 are areas for further exploration.
ABSTRACT
AIMS: The aim was to assess the quality of practice provided to acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients at the cardiac center, within a specified time frame and identify possible areas of improvement. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a retrospective standards-based clinical review, including adults diagnosed with acute STEMI between January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017 of cases admitted and managed at the respective cardiac center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was designed according to recommendations provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines: "The acute management of myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation;" alongside, the local standard: door-to-balloon time ≤90 min, adopted from the American Heart Association. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data analysis was done through excel and SPSS for advanced statistical calculations. P < 0.05 was considered to be statically significant. RESULTS: In total, 277 patients were included in the study. About 72% underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention with 62 min as median door-to-balloon time. Door-to-balloon time >90 min was significantly higher when patients presented outside official hospital hours (P = 0.039). Transradial route was chosen in 77.7% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Practice at the cardiac center was found to show good compliance with the guidelines. However, door-to-balloon time for procedures performed out of official hospital working hours was slightly outside the recommended limit.
ABSTRACT
Juggling-exposure therapy has been employed in the management of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of juggling-exposure in improving emotional states in subclinical conditions. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of a course of juggling on emotional states, sleep quality and blood pressure among medical students at a critical stage of their academic training. Blood pressure, psychometric and quality of sleep assessments were performed pre- and post-examination period for two groups of students: juggling-exposed (n = 9) and non-juggling-exposed (n = 11). Juggling exposure consisted of practice-drills for one hour per week during the period spanning the student's scheduled exams. Comparisons were made between quantitative measures that were collected pre- and post-the course of juggling drills. Differences in scores and measures were expressed as percentage-change and compared between non-juggling and juggling groups. Overall, there was a decrease in depression and anxiety scores between the pre-to post-exam periods. This decrease was statistically significant for both non-juggling and juggling groups with respect to anxiety, but only the juggling-exposed group had a significant reduction regarding depression scores. However, when calculated as percentage-change over the pre-to post-exam period, there was no significant difference in any of the parameters for either of the two groups. Practicing juggling drills had an influence on emotional states.
