ABSTRACT
Introduction Several studies investigated the effect of wearing eyeglasses on self-esteem measures; however, most of these studies were conducted on western populations. We aim to assess the perception of attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence of young people of college-going age with and without glasses among university students. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in five main Jordanian universities. We designed a survey with photos of four people with and without glasses (a total of eight photos). Participants rated the photos on a scale of 10 regarding attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence. Results A total of 517 participants were included in this study. We found significantly higher ratings for all domains of pictures without glasses compared to the same pictures with glasses. Moreover, participants not wearing glasses provided significantly higher attractiveness scores for most pictures not wearing glasses. Conclusion In our study on Jordanian college students of Arabian ethnicity, we found that eyeglasses may have a negative impact on a person's image in regard to attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence.
ABSTRACT
AIM: We aimed to study the rate and pattern of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) infections at the Jordan University Hospital (JUH) over 10 years and investigate the yield of ventricular catheter tip culture in the evaluation of shunt infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients operated on at our institution for ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) insertion, reinsertion, and revision between 2009 and 2018 were included. Data (age, gender, pathology, and history of shunt infection) were collected from patients' files. Rates of infection and results of culture (cerebrospinal fluid and ventricular catheter tip) were obtained from laboratory records. RESULTS: According to our hospital database, 310 patients were eligible for this study. The rate of infection was 11.1% per ventriculoperitoneal procedure, and the most common -organism was coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) which was the cause of infection in 51.4% of the cases. Twenty-one percent of proved shunt infection cases showed a positive ventricular catheter tip culture. CONCLUSION: The rate and pattern of shunt infections at our institution are comparable with the international figures and data. Methods of catheter tip culturing should be improved to increase the yield of this practice.
