Prevalence of Carpal Tunnel syndrome among dental health care providers -systematic review protocol

Review question / Objective: What is the prevalence of Carpal Tunnel syndrome among dental health care providers? Condition being studied: Carpal tunnel syndrome is median nerve peripheral neuropathy which causes paresthesia, pain, and numbness in territory of median nerve (thumb, index, middle, and lateral half of the ring finger). Information sources: Pubmed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Sciences, Dentistry and Oral Science Source from inception to January 1st 2022.

Facility level factors that determine consistent delivery of essential newborn care at health centers in Ethiopia

Background Essential newborn care (ENC) is a package of interventions which should be provided for every newborn baby regardless of body size or place of delivery immediately after birth and should be continued for at least the seven days that follows. Even though Ethiopia has endorsed the implementation of ENC, as other many counties, it has been challenged. This study was conducted to measure the level of essential newborn care practice and identify health facility level attributes for consistent delivery of ENC services by health care providers. Methods This study employed a retrospective cross-sectional study design in 425 facilities. Descriptive statistics were formulated and presented in tables. Binary logistic regression was employed to assess the statistical association between the outcome variable and the independent variables. All variables with p < 0.2 in the bivariate analysis were identified as candidate variables. Then, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using candidate variables to determine statistically significant predictors of the consistent delivery of ENC by adjusting for possible confounders. Results A total of 273, (64.2%), of facilities demonstrated consistent delivery of ENC. Five factors—availability of essential obstetrics drugs in delivery rooms, high community score card (CSC) performances, availability of maternity waiting homes, consistent partograph use, and availability of women-friendly delivery services were included in the model. The strongest predictor of consistent delivery of essential newborn care (CD-ENC) was consistent partograph use, recording an odds ratio of 2.66 (AOR = 2.66, 95%CI: 1.71, 4.13). Similarly, providing women-friendly services was strongly associated with increased likelihood of exhibiting CD-ENC. Furthermore, facilities with essential obstetric drugs had 1.88 (AOR = 1.88, 95%CI: 1.15, 3.08) times higher odds of exhibiting consistent delivery of ENC. Conclusion The delivery of essential newborn care depends on both health provider and facility manager actions and availability of platforms to streamline relationships between the clients and health facility management.

Preclinical Validation of a Novel Injection-Molded Swab for the Molecular Assay Detection of SARS-CoV-2

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, many actions have been undertaken to help ensure that patients and health care providers have timely and continued access to high-quality medical devices to respond effectively. The development and validation of new testing supplies and equipment, including collection swabs, has helped to expand the availability and capability for various diagnostic, therapeutic, and protective medical devices in high demand during the COVID-19 emergency. Here, we report the initial validation of a new injection-molded anterior nasal swab, ClearTip™, that was experimentally validated in a laboratory setting as well as in independent clinical studies in comparison to gold standard flocked swabs. We have also developed an in vitro anterior nasal tissue model which offers a novel, efficient, and clinically relevant validation tool to replicate the clinical swabbing workflow with high fidelity, while being accessible, safe, reproducible, and time- and cost-effective. ClearTip™ displayed greater inactivated virus release in the benchtop model, confirmed by its greater ability to report positive samples in a small clinical study in comparison to flocked swabs. We also quantified the detection of biological materials, as a proxy for viral material, in multi-center pre-clinical and clinical studies which showed a statistically significant difference in one study and a reduction in performance in comparison to flocked swabs. Taken together, these results emphasize the compelling benefits of non-absorbent injection-molded anterior nasal swabs for COVID-19 detection, comparable to standard flocked swabs. Injection-molded swabs, as ClearTip™, could have the potential to support future swab shortages, due to its manufacturing advantages, while offering benefits in comparison to highly absorbent swabs in terms of comfort, limited volume collection, and potential multiple usage.

Bacterial profile and antimicrobial resistance patterns of common bacteria among pregnant women with bacteriuria in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Globally, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) restricted the armamentarium of the health care providers against infectious diseases, mainly due to the emergence of multidrug resistant. This review is aimed at providing contemporary bacterial profile and antimicrobial resistance pattern among pregnant women with significant bacteriuria. Methods Electronic biomedical databases and indexing services such as PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE and Google Scholar were searched. Original records of research articles, available online from 2008 to 2021, addressing the prevalence of significant bacteriuria and AMR pattern among pregnant women and written in English were identified and screened. The relevant data were extracted from included studies using a format prepared in Microsoft Excel and exported to STATA 14.0 software for the outcome measure analyses and subgrouping. Results The data of 5894 urine samples from 20 included studies conducted in 8 regions of the country were pooled. The overall pooled estimate of bacteriuria was 15% (95% CI 13–17%, I2 = 77.94%, p < 0.001) with substantial heterogeneity. The pooled estimate of Escherichia coli recovered from isolates of 896 urine samples was 41% (95% CI 38–45%) followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococci, 22% (95% CI 18–26%), Staphylococcus aureus, 15% (95% CI 12–18%), Staphylococcus saprophytic, 12% (95% CI 6–18%) Proteus mirabilis, 7% (95% CI 4–10%), Enterococcus species, 6% (0–12%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4% (2–6%), Citrobacter species, 4% (95% CI 2–4%), Group B streptococcus, 3% (1–5%), and Enterobacter species, 2% (1–4%). Multidrug resistance proportions of E. coli, Klebsiella species, Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase negative staphylococci, 83% (95% CI 76–91%), 78% (95% CI 66–90%), 89% (95% CI 83–96%), and 78% (95% CI 67–88%), respectively. Conclusion The result of current review revealed the occurrence of substantial bacteriuria among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Resistance among common bacteria (E. coli, Klebsiella species, Staphylococci species) causing UTIs in pregnant women is widespread to commonly used antibiotics. The high rate of drug resistance in turn warrants the need for regular epidemiological surveillance of antibiotic resistance and implementation of an efficient infection control and stewardship program.

Effect of Community Support on the Implementation of Primary Health Care-Based Measurement of Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol measurement delivered by health care providers in primary health care settings is an efficacious and cost-effective intervention to reduce alcohol consumption among patients. However, this intervention is not yet routinely implemented in practice. Community support has been recommended as a strategy to stimulate the delivery of alcohol measurement by health care providers, yet evidence on the effectiveness of community support in this regard is scarce. The current study used a pre-post quasi-experimental design in order to investigate the effect of community support in three Latin American municipalities in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru on health care providers’ rates of measuring alcohol consumption in their patients. The analysis is based on the first 5 months of implementation. Moreover, the study explored possible mechanisms underlying the effects of community support, through health care providers’ awareness of support, as well as their attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy, and subsequent intention toward delivering the intervention. An ANOVA test indicated that community support had a significant effect on health care providers’ rates of measuring alcohol consumption in their patients (F (1, 259) = 4.56, p = 0.034, ηp2 = 0.018). Moreover, a path analysis showed that community support had a significant indirect positive effect on providers’ self-efficacy to deliver the intervention (b = 0.07, p = 0.008), which was mediated through awareness of support. Specifically, provision of community support resulted in a higher awareness of support among health care providers (b = 0.31, p < 0.001), which then led to higher self-efficacy to deliver brief alcohol advice (b = 0.23, p = 0.010). Results indicate that adoption of an alcohol measurement intervention by health care providers may be aided by community support, by directly impacting the rates of alcohol measurement sessions, and by increasing providers’ self-efficacy to deliver this intervention, through increased awareness of support. Trial Registration ID: NCT03524599; Registered 15 May 2018; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03524599

Evaluation of prescribing pattern of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and assessing effectiveness of sildenafil and tadalafil in patients with erectile dysfunction

Several factors may affect identification and treatment of erectile dysfunction by health care providers, this study evaluates prescribing pattern of PDE-5 inhibitors and assess effectiveness of Sildenafil and Tadalafil in patients with erectile dysfunction.This is a descriptive and observational study, observed participants without providing any interventions, after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients were enrolled into study and informed written consent was obtained from all patients, data was obtained from medical records, analysed descriptively. International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) Questionnaire is used in assessment of erectile dysfunction and treatment outcomes.In our study, 80% of patients were prescribed with phosphodiesterase inhibitors and 20% received nutritional supplements. 80 percent of drugs were prescribed under generic name, subjects treated with Sildenafil/Tadalafil were found to be associated with higher mean scores for questions of International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Tadalafil scored high in terms of sexual desire domain.PDE5 inhibitors represent major first-line oral therapy option for men with erectile dysfunction, shift of market from brand to generic products allows more freedom of choice, although multiple reports suggest general equivalency of four major PDE5 inhibitors, tadalafil suggested to be preferable.

A Comparison of Self-Referral and Referral via Primary Care Providers, through Two Similar Digital Mental Health Services in Western Australia

Digital mental health services (DMHSs) deliver mental health information, assessment, and treatment, via the internet, telephone, or other digital channels. The current study compares two DMHSs operating in Western Australia (WA)—The Practitioner Online Referral System (PORTS) and MindSpot. Both provide telephone and online psychological services at no cost to patients or referrers. However, PORTS is accessed by patients via referral from health practitioners, and is designed to reach those who are financially, geographically, or otherwise disadvantaged. In contrast, MindSpot services are available to all Australian residents and patients can self-refer. This observational study compares characteristics and treatment outcomes for patients of PORTS and MindSpot in WA. Eligible patients were people who resided in WA and registered with either clinic from January 2019 to December 2020. Results showed that PORTS patients were more likely to be older, male, and unemployed. They were less likely to report a tertiary education and were more likely to live in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Despite these differences, treatment outcomes were excellent for patients from both clinics. Results provide further evidence for the accessibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of DMHSs regardless of referral pathway or patient characteristics.

Overexpression of PBK/TOPK Relates to Poor Prognosis of Patients With Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis

Background: PDZ-binding kinase/T lymphokine-activated killer cell-derived protein kinase (PBK/TOPK) is a potential prognostic indicator for patients with breast cancer. The objective of the present study was to explore the relationship between PBK/TOPK expression and clinicopathological indicators as well as the survival of patients with breast cancer.Methods: Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of PBK/TOPK in 202 cases of breast cancer tissues. The relationship between PBK/TOPK and clinicopathological parameters was evaluated using Spearman's rank-order correlation. The difference in PBK/TOPK expression among different molecular types was analyzed with the chi square test. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to create a survival curve and the log rank test was used to analyze the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Prognostic correlation was assessed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.Results: Among 202 breast cancer samples, PBK/TOPK was expressed ('+' and '++') in 182 samples (90.1%). In addition, the histological grade, TNM stages, lymph node metastasis, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), and Ki-67 were positively associated with PBK/TOPK expression. With regard to the molecular type, the expression of PBK/TOPK is different. The expression level of PBK/TOPK was negatively correlated with both the OS and DFS of breast cancer patients. The difference in the above results is meaningful (P<0.05).Conclusions: PBK/TOPK is over-expressed in breast cancer and the expression is closely related to the clinicopathological characteristics of the disease. Breast cancer patients with high expression of PBK/TOPK have a poor prognosis. Therefore, health care providers can optimize breast cancer management using this indicator.

FAMILY SUPPORT-BASED PSYCHOEDUCATION IN CARING SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Background: The burden of family in caring a schizophrenia impacts on psychological shock and emotional burden; lack of disease knowledge and care skills; poor patient medication adherence; the difficulty of getting along with patients; conflict in the family or at work; financial burden; and need adequate social support. Aim: This study discussed how family support takes care of people with schizophrenia with a psychoeducational approach in mental health service settings. Method: A non-systematic literature review was carried out using the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) framework utilizing Scopus, CINAHL, and ProQuest databases in the last 5 years, searching with keywords: Family Support AND Schizophrenia OR Family Psychoeducation. Results: Families with schizophrenia experience the most potent stressors on the burden of care borne, in addition to stigma and the frequency of relapse of sufferers. Community care providers can involve the family in various ways, such as providing psychoeducation, supporting the family's physical, emotional and social needs, and behavioral family assessment or family therapy. Conclusion: Mental health services must develop and imply family psychoeducation training.

Misbeliefs about non-specific low back pain and attitudes towards treatment by primary care providers in Spain: a qualitative study

Aim To identify misbeliefs about the origin and meaning of non-specific chronic low back pain and to examine attitudes towards treatment by primary health care providers. Design Generic qualitative study. Methods Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted between October and November 2016 with physicians and nurses from primary health care centres in Lleida. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis via Atlas.ti-8 software. Results Five themes were identified: i. beliefs about the origin and meaning of chronic low back pain, ii. psychosocial aspects of pain modulators, iii. Therapeutic exercise as a treatment for chronic low back pain, iv. biomedical attitudes of primary health care providers, and v. difficulties in the clinical approach to chronic low back pain. Conclusion Primary health care providers have a unifactorial view of chronic low back pain and base their approach on the biomedical model. Professionals attribute chronic low back pain to structural alterations in the lumbar spine while psychosocial factors are only recognized as pain modulators. For professionals, therapeutic exercise represents a possible solution to chronic low back pain; however, they still do not prescribe it and continue to educate on postural hygiene and recommend limiting physical and/or occupational activities, as opposed to clinical practice guidelines. These findings suggest that to improve the adherence of primary health care providers to the biopsychosocial model, it may be necessary first to modify their misbeliefs about non-specific chronic low back pain by increasing their knowledge on pain neurophysiology. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02962817. Date of registration: 11/11/2016.