RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Literature suggests that the presence of the current Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) policy appears to mitigate COVID-19 disease burden but no information exists on the nature of the BCG strain and disease burden. OBJECTIVES: To study the association between type of BCG strain, BCG coverage (%), and COVID-19 disease burden. METHODOLOGY: An audit of global data on strains and disease burden was done. Country-specific data for COVID-19 cases and deaths, BCG-related data, and income level were obtained from the online databases, and the association was analyzed using linear regression. RESULTS: Data of 139 countries were studied and 117 (84%) had a current BCG policy. Data on BCG strains were available for 51 countries and 18/51 (35%) used the Danish strain. While the choice of strain did not impact COVID-19-related disease burden, the presence of a current BCG policy was significantly associated with lower COVID-19 mortality. CONCLUSION: The presence of current BCG policy is associated with decreased COVID-19-related disease burden, but the type of strain used by a country in its vaccination program does not impact disease burden.
RESUMO
CONTEXT: Fresh Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery graduates (FMGs) are responsible for the majority of prescription errors and irrational use of medicines. Little research has explored their knowledge on rational prescribing practices. AIMS: The present study aimed to evaluate the awareness of rational use of medicines (RUMs) among the FMGs. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A multicentric, cross-sectional, and questionnaire-based study was conducted among 308 FMGs during the internship orientation program. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The structured and prevalidated questionnaire consisted of 35 statements on important aspects of RUM. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 at 95% level of significance with Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Nearly 31% of FMGs did not know that the generic drugs are equally efficacious as branded drugs whereas 53% were in support of pregnant female should not consume any drug. Nearly 58% of FMGs were confused about deciding the dose in children and 18% were in favor of using antibiotics in common cold. Almost 55% of FMGs were disagree for adjusting the dose of antidiabetic drugs by patient depending on the meal taken whereas 12% were not aware of the importance of compliance of antihypertensive drugs and 40% were supporting the safety of fruits in chronic renal disease. The FMG from government colleges answered more correctly than that of the private colleges. CONCLUSIONS: The awareness of RUM among FMG is not satisfactory, and also there is a gap in its implementation. Thus, they should be supervised during the initial phase of their medical practice.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: The educational environment (EE) plays a very important role in effective student learning. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is a validated tool to assess the EE. This study aimed to collect baseline information about our medical student's perception of the EE, and to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses as well as scope for improvements in the current EE. METHODS: Medical students and interns were included in this cross-sectional study. The DREEM questionnaire was used to measure students' perceptions about the EE, which has five domains: students' perceptions of learning; students' perceptions of teachers; students' academic self-perceptions; students' perceptions of atmosphere; and students' social self-perceptions. Students were asked to respond using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Data was analyzed using suitable tests and statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The mean global DREEM score was 123/200. All students had more positive than negative academic self-perception (21.24/32), perception of atmosphere (29.21/48), and perception of learning (28.99/48), while their social self-perception (17.48/28) was not too bad and perception of teachers (26.71/44) moved in the right direction. The fifth semester students perceived EE more positively than other semester students. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that all students perceived their EE positively. The positive points were that teachers were knowledgeable, that students had good friends, and they were confident about passing their exams. Problem areas observed were authoritarian teachers, overemphasis on factual learning, overly teacher-centered teaching, teachers getting angry, and the need for a support system for stressed students.
