Long- COVID and general health status in hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.

Despite advances in clinical research, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on patients are not clear. Many studies revealed persistent long-term signs and symptoms. In a survey study, 259 hospitalized confirmed COVID-19 patients between 18 and 59 years were interviewed. Demographic characteristics and complaints were studied through telephone interviews. Any patient-reported symptoms that continued or developed from 4 weeks up to 12 weeks after the onset of the disease were recorded only if they did not exist prior to infection. The 12-Item General Health Questionnaire was used for screening and assessing mental symptoms and psychosocial well-being. The mean age of participants was 43.8 ± 9.9 years. About 37% had at least one underlying disease. 92.5% showed ongoing symptoms that the most prevalent complications were hair loss (61.4%), fatigue (54.1%), shortness of breath (40.2%), altered smell (34.4%), and aggression (34.4%), respectively. In terms of factors affecting patients' complaints, there were significant differences between age, sex, and underlying disease with long-remaining complications. This study shows a high rate of long COVID-19 conditions that should be considered by physicians, policymakers, and managers.

Epidemiology of antibiotic resistance of blood culture in educational hospitals in Rasht, North of Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Septicemia is an emergency in medicine due to various dangers and lethality. In patients with septicemia, blood culture and other cultures should be done before antibiotic therapy. Determination of each isolated bacterium from blood culture and pattern of antibiotic sensitivity have an important role epidemiologically in a region and can assist physicians in the determination of primary antimicrobial agents. In this study, the researchers evaluated the schema of resistance of antibiotics in blood culture during the years 2014-2015 at eight educational hospitals in Rasht, North of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The researchers evaluated all blood cultures performed at four educational hospitals in Rasht. Demographic data were completed by a checklist, and antibiotic sensitivity antibiogram for all blood culture samples was done by diffusion agar (Kirby-Bauer method). Data were entered and analyzed in the SPSS software version 16, and the pattern of resistance, sensitivity, and intermediate antibiogram results was classified. RESULTS: From 3,283 cases, 225 subjects were positive (6.85%). Sixty-two percent of patients were male and others were female. The most common agent in the samples were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (66, 29.3%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (including Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus; 50, 22.2%), coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus (29, 12.9%), and Escherichia coli (28, 12.4%). The most resistant antibiotic was ceftriaxone (44%), and the most sensitive antibiotic was ciprofloxacin (54%). CONCLUSION: According to significant changes of microorganisms that cause sepsis and meaningful alterations of antibiogram findings, the current findings showed that choosing the best choice for empiric therapy should be corrected. The rate of positive samples in the current study was higher than the normal range. Consulting with a pharmacist for antibiotic prescription in hospitals and participation of physicians in antibiotic administration workshops could help decrease resistance.

Lack of antibacterial activity of Ruta graveolens extracts against Enterococcus fecalis.

Enterococcus fecalis is responsible for majority of enterococci infections and can cause clinical disorders in adult and pediatrics. In order to adverse effects of synthetic drugs, it has made a positive attitude toward alternative and complementary medicine. Ruta graveolens has a wide therapeutic application for various diseases. Aim of this study was to see the effect of this herb on Enterococcus fecalis growth. In this investigation we used standard Enterococcus fecalis. Effect of hydro-alcoholic, aqueous and methanolic extracts of Ruta graveolens on growth of bacteria has been evaluated by disc diffusion and serial dilution method and compared with eight prevalent antibiotics. None of disks with different extracts in the range of 50 to 400µ/ µl show any non-growth hallo. Disks with 500µg of all type extracts in comparison with antibiotic disks did not avoid from growth of bacteria. Third test showed the growth of bacteria and ineffectiveness of various amount of extracts. It seems that this ineffectiveness is because of low antibacterial substance against the bacteria in extracts of the herb and high resistant nature of Enterococcus fecalis to antibiotics and it needs more studies.