COVID-19-Associated Dysautonomia.

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) refers to a significant reduction in blood pressure (BP) that occurs on standing. It mainly results when autonomic reflexes are impaired or when the intravascular volume is depleted. Symptoms can range from syncope, dizziness, even angina or stroke. Major mechanisms causing OH are autonomic dysfunction affecting the baroreflex, severe volume depletion, and adverse medication effects. Case reports have described neurologic symptom association with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) including dysautonomia. Although most common symptoms of COVID have been primarily respiratory including fever, cough, shortness of breath, myriad other presentations including neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiac, and thromboembolic presentations have also been described. We describe a patient who was found to have OH and recurrent falls secondary to underlying COVID-19 infection and associated dysautonomia who was successfully treated with midodrine and fludrocortisone.

Perception of health-related case studies in the context of introduction to clinical medicine course: students' and teachers' perspective.

BACKGROUND: Integrating theoretical and practical knowledge and stimulating students' active learning is the most important task of modern and high-quality healthcare education. By analyzing clinical cases, undergraduate medical students are trained to make accurate diagnoses, to choose appropriate therapy based on laboratory results and on adequate diagnostic tests. AIM: To examine the effect of clinical cases presentations on short-term memory as well as on the student's and teachers' evaluation of this method of teaching and learning in undergraduate medical studies. METHODS: A total of 107 students in term 4 and term 5 enrolled in Trinity Medical Sciences University in St. Vincent and the Grenadines participated in this cross-sectional study. At the end of the semester, the students and the faculty were asked to complete a survey to assess their perception of case presentations (10 items, 4-point Likert-type scale, strongly agree to strongly disagree). The results of pre- and post-presentation quizzes were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired samples. RESULTS: Term 4 and term 5 students significantly improved their achievement after intervention (Wilcoxon test Z = - 11.282, p < 0.001, and Wilcoxon test Z = - 10.167, p < 0.001, respectively). The analysis of progress among low- and high-performance students in both terms showed a significant increase in performance. Overall, median students' and teachers' attitude scores were positive. CONCLUSION: Clinical case presentation has a learning potential and facilitates positive interaction between instructors and students and supporting students to become reflective and competent physicians.