scholarly journals Protocol of a Systematic Review on Telemedicine Solutions in COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Saeid Eslami ◽  
Raheleh Ganjali
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Review Study ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Abstract Screening ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

Introduction: On March 20, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in most countries worldwide as a pandemic. COVID-19 is mainly disseminated through human-to-human transmission route via direct contact and respiratory droplets. Telehealth and/or telemedicine technologies are beneficial methods that could be employed to deal with pandemic situation of communicable infections. The purpose of this proposed systematic review study is to sum up the functionalities, applications, and technologies of telemedicine during COVID-19 outbreak.Material and Methods: This review will be carried out in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) reporting guidelines. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for related articles. Randomized and non-randomized controlled trials published in English in scientific journals were identified to be evaluated for eligibility. Articles conducted on telemedicine services (TMS) during COVID-19 outbreak (2019-2020) were identified to be evaluated.Results: The literature search for related articles in PubMed and Scopus databases led to the identification and retrieval of a total of 1118 and 485 articles, respectively. After eliminating duplicate articles, title and abstract screening process was performed for the remaining 1440 articles. The current study findings are anticipated to be used as a guide by researchers, decision makers, and managers to design, implement, and assess TMS during COVID-19 crisis.Conclusion: As far as we know, this systematic review is conducted to comprehensively evaluate TM methods and technologies developed with the aim of controlling and managing COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights important applications of telemedicine in pandemic conditions, which could be employed by future health systems in controlling and managing communicable infections when an outbreak occurs.

scholarly journals Ketamine for Adults with Severe Asthma Exacerbation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-97
Author(s):  
Fatimah AlShehri ◽  
Heetaf Aloqaily ◽  
Joud Enabi ◽  
Sharafaldeen Bin Nafisah
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Severe Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Acute Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND: Severe asthma mandates careful attention and timely management, and the benefit of ketamine in severe asthma exacerbations in adult patients require further exploration. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the use of ketamine in cases of acute asthma exacerbation in adults. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane databases, and gray literature (ClinicalTrials.gov and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform); we also searched the reference lists of included articles and any systematic reviews and meta-analyses identified therein. Our search covered the period from 1963 to August 20, 2021. Search terms were “ketamine” AND “asthma”. RESULTS: Of 25 540 articles, two studies were included in the analysis. The total number of patients included in the studies was 136 (68 in the ketamine groups and 68 in the placebo group). The pooled effect size was 0.30 (95% CI: -0.04, 0.63) favouring ketamine over placebo, p=0.08, (I2=0%, p=0.39). A paired t-test revealed that ketamine improved the mean peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) from 242.4 (SD=146.23) to 286.95 (SD=182.22), p=0.33, representing an 18.38% improvement. CONCLUSION: Ketamine can induce a 30% improvement in PEFR, representing a small positive effect in the treatment of acute severe asthma exacerbation in the emergency department (ED). The improvement was not statistically significant; nonetheless, since the improvement could be as great as 63% versus only a 4% possibility of no benefit/harm, the benefit appears to considerably outweigh any harm.

scholarly journals Dynamics of sputum conversion during effective tuberculosis treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. e1003566
Author(s):  
Claire J. Calderwood ◽  
James P. Wilson ◽  
Katherine L. Fielding ◽  
Rebecca C. Harris ◽  
Aaron S. Karat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Tb Treatment ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Culture Conversion

Background Two weeks’ isolation is widely recommended for people commencing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The evidence that this corresponds to clearance of potentially infectious tuberculous mycobacteria in sputum is not well established. This World Health Organization–commissioned review investigated sputum sterilisation dynamics during TB treatment. Methods and findings For the main analysis, 2 systematic literature searches of OvidSP MEDLINE, Embase, and Global Health, and EBSCO CINAHL Plus were conducted to identify studies with data on TB infectiousness (all studies to search date, 1 December 2017) and all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for drug-susceptible TB (from 1 January 1990 to search date, 20 February 2018). Included articles reported on patients receiving effective treatment for culture-confirmed drug-susceptible pulmonary TB. The outcome of interest was sputum bacteriological conversion: the proportion of patients having converted by a defined time point or a summary measure of time to conversion, assessed by smear or culture. Any study design where more than 10 participants were included was considered. Record sifting and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Random effects meta-analyses were performed. A narrative summary additionally describes the results of a systematic search for data evaluating infectiousness from humans to experimental animals (PubMed, all studies to 27 March 2018). Other evidence on duration of infectiousness—including studies reporting on cough dynamics, human tuberculin skin test conversion, or early bactericidal activity of TB treatments—was outside the scope of this review. The literature search was repeated on 22 November 2020, at the request of the editors, to identify studies published after the previous censor date. Four small studies reporting 3 different outcome measures were identified, which included no data that would alter the findings of the review; they are not included in the meta-analyses. Of 5,290 identified records, 44 were included. Twenty-seven (61%) were RCTs and 17 (39%) were cohort studies. Thirteen studies (30%) reported data from Africa, 12 (27%) from Asia, 6 (14%) from South America, 5 (11%) from North America, and 4 (9%) from Europe. Four studies reported data from multiple continents. Summary estimates suggested smear conversion in 9% of patients at 2 weeks (95% CI 3%–24%, 1 single study [N = 1]), and 82% of patients at 2 months of treatment (95% CI 78%–86%, N = 10). Among baseline smear-positive patients, solid culture conversion occurred by 2 weeks in 5% (95% CI 0%–14%, N = 2), increasing to 88% at 2 months (95% CI 84%–92%, N = 20). At equivalent time points, liquid culture conversion was achieved in 3% (95% CI 1%–16%, N = 1) and 59% (95% CI 47%–70%, N = 8). Significant heterogeneity was observed. Further interrogation of the data to explain this heterogeneity was limited by the lack of disaggregation of results, including by factors such as HIV status, baseline smear status, and the presence or absence of lung cavitation. Conclusions This systematic review found that most patients remained culture positive at 2 weeks of TB treatment, challenging the view that individuals are not infectious after this interval. Culture positivity is, however, only 1 component of infectiousness, with reduced cough frequency and aerosol generation after TB treatment initiation likely to also be important. Studies that integrate our findings with data on cough dynamics could provide a more complete perspective on potential transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by individuals on treatment. Trial registration Systematic review registration: PROSPERO 85226.

Links Between Perceptions and Practices in Patient Education: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Roussel ◽  
Mariane Frenay
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Education ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses

Background. Two decades after “patient education” was defined by the World Health Organization, its integration in health care practices remains a challenge. Perceptions might shed light on these implementation difficulties. This systematic review aims to investigate links between perceptions and patient education practices among health care professionals, paying particular attention to the quality of practices in order to highlight any associated perception. Method. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched using the following search terms: “perceptions,” “patient education,” “health care professionals,” and “professional practices.” PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were used. Results. Twenty studies were included. Overall findings supported the existence of links between some perceptions and practices. Links were either correlational or “causal” (generally in a single direction: perceptions affecting practices). Four types of perceptions (perceptions of the task including patient education, perceptions about the patient, perceptions of oneself as a health care professional, and perceptions of the context) were identified as being linked with educational practices. Links can although be mediated by other factors. Results concerning links should, however, be considered with caution as practices were mostly assessed by prevalence measurements, were self-reported and concerned exclusively individual education. When analyzing the quality of practices, the two retained studies highlighted their changing nature and the central role of perceptions with respect to the individual patient. Conclusions. This literature review led us to specify the quality criteria for further research: covering the entire spectrum of patient education, operationalizing variables, exploring specific practices, measuring the quality of practices, developing designs that facilitate causation findings, and considering a bidirectional perspective.

Analysis of out-of-pocket health expenditure using the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (GHED): A systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-479
Author(s):  
Marino J González R
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Expenditure ◽  
Health Financing ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Country Specific

Introduction: Tracking out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure is a very useful reference for knowing the progress of countries in the goal of universal health coverage (UHC) in 2030. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the Global Health Expenditure Database (GHED) to facilitate analysis of health financing in countries or regions. The paper explores the use of GHED in the analysis of OOP health expenditure in the specialized literature. Objective: To perform a systematic review of the studies in which GHED is used to analyze OOP health expenditure in countries or groups of countries. Methods: The systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). The database used was PubMed. All publications that were available on PubMed by July 30, 2020, were identified. Results: Twenty-five papers were identified. The use of the GHED to analyze OOP health expenditure was reported in five studies, one country study, and four studies with regional comparisons. The included studies cover the period 1995-2016. Discussion: The use of the GHED for the analysis of the evolution of OOP health expenditure in countries or regions is not very widespread in the specialized literature. The GHED has proven to be a very useful instrument for international comparison, although the fact that there are differences with national reports (public expenditure reviews) makes it advisable to combine both sources of information in the analysis of country- specific health policies. Conclusion: The systematic use of the GHED can be useful to improve the quality of information and estimates, such as country-specific expenditure analyses. To this end, it is particularly important to characterize the levels of OOP health expenditure and to incorporate policy monitoring into the analyses.

scholarly journals Medical Informatics Applications in COVID-19 Crisis Control: Protocol for Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Saeed Eslami HassanAbady ◽  
Raheleh Ganjali
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Medical Informatics ◽  
English Language ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Informatics Applications ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Health Organization

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 has disseminated globally, and COVID-19 has been labeled as a public health emergency of global concern by the World Health Organization. Since 2019-nCoV (2019 new coronavirus) has a long incubation period and high infectivity, e-Health and its subsets in medical informatics (MI) have evolved as a suitable solution to enable the continuity of health services delivery. Also, new health care models are required during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed systematic review aims to examine and summarize evidence related to medical informatics applications in COVID-19 crisis, as evidence-based approaches. Methods and Analysis: A research team consisting of experts in the fields of medical informatics and systematic review methods were guided this review according to the Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) reporting guidelines. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched. Eligibility criteria for including studies reviewed was randomized and non-randomized controlled trials published in English language. Articles performed on medical informatics applications in COVID-19 pandemic during 2019-2020 were identified. Two independent reviewers will assess articles eligibility and extract data into a spreadsheet using a structured pilot-tested form. Collected data and evidence will be synthesized using a thematic synthesis approach. The risk of bias will be assessed in all included studies using appropriate tools. Results: The literature search led to the identification of a total of 1882 and 854 articles retrieved from the PubMed and Scopus databases, respectively. After removing duplicates, 2716 articles remained and underwent title and abstract screening process. Conclusion: This systematic review aims to identify the applications of medical informatics in COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first attempt undertaken to develop an evidence-based method using a systematic review approach.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 pandemic in America: A preliminary systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Yohanna Sarria-Guzmán ◽  
Carmine Fusaro ◽  
Jaime E Bernal ◽  
Clemente Mosso-González ◽  
Francisco Erik González-Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
On Line ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses

Introduction: On the eleventh of March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic by the number of cases and deaths worldwide: more than 91.1 million confirmed cases and approx. 1.9 million deaths globally, as of date. The aims of this systematic review were to identify and to evaluate the reports associated on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 pandemic in America. Methodology: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were adopted for searching reports published from December 2019 to September 2020, regarding “COVID-19 KAP” across six electronic databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken up to select the articles and focus to the topic. Results: Thirteen scientific papers were finally eligible and included in this systematic review. The surveys were directed to common citizens, healthcare workers and patients with chronic conditions. General public acquired information about COVID-19 mainly through social media; several misconceptions due to falsehoods circulating on-line were identified. The pandemic COVID-19 has severely affected the physical and emotional health of many people in America. Nevertheless, many American citizens do not recognize or have poor knowledge about COVID-19 risks. Conclusions: This systematic review brings information for governments and scientific community that may be useful in the development of official awareness and prevention campaigns aiming mainly at marginated groups of the society.

Coronavirus diseases and pregnancy: COVID-19,SARS, and MERS

2020 ◽  
pp. 276-289
Author(s):  
Mobina Fathi ◽  
Kimia Vakili ◽  
Niloofar Deravi
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Intrauterine Growth Retardation ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wuhan City ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Exponential Increase ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

Around the end of December 2019, a new beta-coronavirus from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China began to spread rapidly. The new virus, called SARS-CoV-2, which could be transmitted through respiratory droplets, had a range of mild to severe symptoms, from simple cold in some cases to death in others. The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was named COVID-19 by WHO and has so far killed more people than SARS and MERS. Following the widespread global outbreak of COVID-19, with more than 132758 confirmed cases and 4955 deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic disease in January 2020. Earlier studies on viral pneumonia epidemics has shown that pregnant women are at greater risk than others. During pregnancy, the pregnant woman is more prone to infectious diseases. Research on both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which are pathologically similar to SARS-CoV-2, has shown that being infected with these viruses during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal death, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation and, preterm delivery. With the exponential increase in cases of COVID-19 throughout the world, there is a need to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the health of pregnant women, through extrapolation of earlier studies that have been conducted on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. There is an urgent need to understand the chance of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to fetus and the possibility of the virus crossing the placental barrier. Additionally, since some viral diseases and antiviral drugs may have a negative impact on the mother and fetus, in which case, pregnant women need special attention for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19.

Outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its manifestation

Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikash Debnath ◽  
Waikhom Somraj Singh ◽  
Kuntal Manna
Keyword(s):  
Antiviral Drug ◽  
World Health ◽  
Family Welfare ◽  
Pregnant Mother ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
The World ◽  
Mode Of Transmission ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Effective Drugs ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first outbreak in Wuhan, China, and the infection is intense worldwide. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed total deaths had noted 4.20% globally (March 21, 2020). Between the intervals of four months (July 21, 2020), confirmed total deaths had recorded 4.17%, globally. In India, 909 confirmed cases and 19 deaths were reported by Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, March 28, 2020. Between the intervals of 123 days In India, 1638870 confirmed cases and 35684 deaths. COVID-19 can potentially spread from person to person through direct contact or respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, and fatigue. A pregnant mother with COVID-19 has fewer chances to transfer this infection of her newborn babies. Children have less affected than an adult. A specific antiviral drug or vaccine has not been developed to cure the disease. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, nafamostat, nitazoxanide, and remdesivir have effective drugs to treat COVID-19. Many vaccine candidates are under pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, sign-symptoms, pathogenesis, mode of transmission, and effects of a pregnant mother with newborns, children, prevention, and drugs affective to COVID-19.

scholarly journals Potential Prophylactic Treatments for COVID-19

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1292
Author(s):  
Noam Ben-Zuk ◽  
Ido-David Dechtman ◽  
Itai Henn ◽  
Libby Weiss ◽  
Amichay Afriat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
Pharmaceutical Drugs ◽  
Mild Disease ◽  
Clinical Background ◽  
Repurposed Drugs ◽  
Prophylactic Use ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Medical Indications ◽  
Respiratory Droplets ◽  
Near Future

The World Health Organization declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at the end of January 2020 and a pandemic two months later. The virus primarily spreads between humans via respiratory droplets, and is the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which can vary in severity, from asymptomatic or mild disease (the vast majority of the cases) to respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death. Recently, several vaccines were approved for emergency use against SARS-CoV-2. However, their worldwide availability is acutely limited, and therefore, SARS-CoV-2 is still expected to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the upcoming year. Hence, additional countermeasures are needed, particularly pharmaceutical drugs that are widely accessible, safe, scalable, and affordable. In this comprehensive review, we target the prophylactic arena, focusing on small-molecule candidates. In order to consolidate a potential list of such medications, which were categorized as either antivirals, repurposed drugs, or miscellaneous, a thorough screening for relevant clinical trials was conducted. A brief molecular and/or clinical background is provided for each potential drug, rationalizing its prophylactic use as an antiviral or inflammatory modulator. Drug safety profiles are discussed, and current medical indications and research status regarding their relevance to COVID-19 are shortly reviewed. In the near future, a significant body of information regarding the effectiveness of drugs being clinically studied for COVID-19 is expected to accumulate, in addition to information regarding the efficacy of prophylactic treatments.

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