The Impact of Information Sources on COVID-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) among University Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

COVID-19 is an emerging respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus accompanied by a tsunami of misinformation and fake news. This can weaken the public health responses by affecting the COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the public. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was designed during the early stage of the pandemic to evaluate the KAP of Palestinian university students and their commonly used information sources. We found that the most trusted information source among students was the World Health Organization (WHO), followed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) briefings and healthcare workers, whereas social media was the most frequently used source of information. The participants exhibited a high level of COVID-19-related knowledge, having an average score of 8.65 (range: 0-10). In total, 76% avoided going to crowded places, and only 33% wore a mask while being outdoors. The vast majority (93%) checked the accuracy of COVID-19-related information before publishing it, 56% used the WHO and MoH briefings for fact-checking, and only 8% relied on healthcare workers. This was particularly the case for those who lived in refugee camps. This study provides an insight into the information sources used by Palestinian university students, the sources they trust, and the information formats they prefer. These results may help public health authorities to locate the information sources through which university students should be targeted. Efforts should be made to recommend healthcare workers as credible information sources. In this way, they will be able to prevent the spread of misleading information and provide high-quality information, especially within unconventional settings such as refugee camps.

First case recognized as autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 2 with myasthenia gravis in Palestine: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis is an organ specific autoimmune disorder that is potentially serious but treatable. It is characterized by fatigability of the voluntary muscles and weakness caused by antibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) on the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction.Sometimes, and in very rare cases, it can be associated with other autoimmune conditions in a so called autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 2, which consists mainly of autoimmune adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease) with autoimmune thyroid disease and/or type 1 diabetes mellitus. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of a 47-year-old male patient presenting with weakness, difficulty swallowing (mainly liquids) and dysarthria. He was discovered to have low cortisol and TSH levels with high T4 and T3. These findings lead to the suspicion of a more complex disease process and through a thorough research of literature we discovered an association between myasthenia gravis and autoimmune polyglandular syndrome specifically type 2 which fits with our patients' presentation. CONCLUSION: In any autoimmune disease, it is important to keep in mind associations and susceptibilities to other autoimmune processes and syndromes in order to reach a correct diagnosis and treatment preventing life threating events.

Misdiagnosis of persistent asthma of a patient suffering from acute bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA).

BACKGROUND: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a condition characterized by an exaggerated immune response (a hypersensitivity response) to the fungus Aspergillus (most commonly Aspergillus fumigatus).ABPA causes airway inflammation that if left untreated can lead to bronchiectasis (an abnormal dilation of the airways) due to the immune system and fungal spores damaging sensitive lung tissues and ultimately leading to scarring. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 32-year-old female patient who was misdiagnosed with persistent asthma and treated accordingly for several months until a reexamination was done and a diagnosis of ABPA was concluded. Treatment was altered which led to the successful recovery of the patient. CONCLUSION: A reevaluation of the patients' condition was needed to arrive to the correct diagnosis and to put her on the correct treatment as an ABPA patient instead of persistent asthma, concluding that the medical history and physical examination are both of vital significance to stipulate a correct diagnosis.