Perception and practice of 4th year MBBS students on self- medication

Background: Self-medication practice is widespread in many countries and the irrational use of drugs is a cause of concern. It assumes a special significance among medical students as they are exposed to knowledge about diseases and drugs. Medical students must be able to distinguish about their drugs outcomes on body. Aim: To assess perception and practice of self-medication among undergraduate medical students. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out among 4thyear MBBS students of Lahore Medical & Dental College in January 2019. Students of 4th year MBBS were asked to engage in the study after getting voluntary informed consent. A structured questionnaire was used. Data was entered, analyzed in SPSS 20. Results: In this study respondents 39.1% were male and 60.9% female. It was found that 77(67%) students practiced self-medication. The principal morbidity for seeking self-medication was headache as reported by 96(83.5%) students. NSAIDS were most commonly self-medicated as reported by 67(58.3%) students. Only 31(27%) students advised others for self-medication. Conclusion: Self-medication is widely practiced among under- graduate medical students. In this situation, we should educate the students about advantages and disadvantages of self-medication. Keywords: Self-medication, medical students, perception, practice.

Consent. Modern interpretation: "Voluntary Informed Consent"

The article is devoted to voluntary informed consent. It considers the historical issues of the formation of this concept in modern health care and medical science. The article highlights a historical role of the Nuremberg Code which was taken as the basis for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the World Medical Association (WMA) Code of Ethics, the Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, i.e. documents that defined the world order after the end of World War II.

To the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Nuremberg trials and the creation of Nuremberg codex: global significance and the enduring lessons

The article reveals the significance of the Nuremberg trials for rethinking the moral foundations of medicine; the role of the Nuremberg Code in the development of voluntary informed consent in clinical practice and in clinical trials, as well as its impact on the international legal regulation of the health sector is considered. The authors focus on the importance of the lessons of Nuremberg for understanding the ethical challenges that have emerged in the 21st century as a result of the development of artificial intelligence technologies, editing of the human genome and the emergence of new forms of parenting, largely associated with the achievements of new reproductive technologies.

Ethical aspects of voluntary informed consent in vacсination against COVID-19

Not only quarantine measures should be the main strategy for preventing COVID-19, but also large-scale vaccination of the population. Therefore, there are many ethical questions associated with obtaining voluntary informed consent in biomedical research and clinical practice. An ethical review of vaccination against a new coronavirus infection can be carried out fully and adequately provided that the ethical aspects of voluntary informed consent are observed. Without this, it is impossible to control the quality, efficacy and safety of the vaccine, and, consequently, the vaccination of patients and its results.

Respecting patient autonomy: voluntary informed consent in modern medicine

The article reveals the most influential in modern bioethics approach to understanding voluntary informed consent as a way to implement the principle of respect for patient autonomy, which is determined by both legal regulation and socio-cultural factors. The authors discuss the main elements of informed consent, its specificity in clinical trials, and criteria for autonomous choice.

Voluntary informed consent

This article discusses voluntary informed consent (VIC), a prerequisite for any medical intervention. The article touches upon the history of this issue in modern health care and medical science. The role of the Nuremberg Code is emphasized, which is the basis for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Code of Medical Ethics of the World Medical Association, and the Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. These documents helped define the world order after the end of World War II. The first part of the article reflects the history of the concept of VIC, while the second outlines the modern ethical views on this issue.

Psychological well-being in young people who have been infected with COVID-19

The article presents the results of a study that analyzed the features of subjective well-being and the search for sensations in young people who have been infected with the SARSa Corresponding author. Вестник СПбГУ. Психология. 2021. Т. 11. Вып. 3 235 COV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19). 62 convalescents who underwent COVID-19 (men aged 21.84 ± 4.46 years) were examined 90 days after being discharged from the hospital. The main clinical forms (CF) of COVID-19 in this study were inapparent form (20 people — 32.25 %), acute respiratory viral infection (22 people — 35.49 %) and pneumonia without respiratory failure (20 people — 32.25 %). The diagnosis of all clinical cases of COVID-19, examination, treatment and discharge of patients from the hospital were carried out in accordance with the regulatory documents. Psychodiagnostic research was carried out according to the questionnaires “Scale of subjective well-being” and “Scale of the search for sensations”. Voluntary informed consent to take part in the study was received from all participants. The indicators of subjective well-being in all groups were mainly of average values, and indicators of the desire for stimulation in all groups were generally low. The data on the correlation between the scales of methods indicate the direction of possible psycho-prophylactic work with convalescents. The article notes that self-preserving behavior today allows us to combine the psychological and somatic characteristics of the respondents, therefore, their medical and psychological support should be at the proper level in order to timely identify and stop (if necessary) postcovid syndrome.

INFLUENCE OF OFFICE BLEACHING SYSTEMS ON THE RESISTANCE OF HARD TOOTH TISSUES

One of the non-invasive methods for treating discoloration of hard tooth tissues is teeth whitening. The aim of this work is to assess the dynamics of changes in the acid resistance of enamel and hard tissues of teeth and the rate of its remineralization after the procedure of office teeth whitening. The study involved 123 patients aged 18 to 35 years with discoloration of various origins, with the color of hard tooth tissues on the Vita Classic A2 scale and darker. Before performing the office, teeth whitening procedure, all patients gave their written voluntary informed consent to participate in this study, as well as consent to the processing of personal data. Depending on the chosen method of office teeth whitening, patients were divided into 3 groups. The resistance of hard tooth tissues was judged based on the determination of TOER and CASRE tests. These indicators were determined at various times (5 days before the office teeth whitening procedure, 5 days after it, after 14, 30 days and 6 months). Regardless of the chosen whitening system, the office teeth whitening procedure is accompanied by a decrease in the enamel's resistance to acids and a decrease in the rate of its remineralization. The remineralizing function of oral fluid promotes the positive dynamics of the studied parameters after 14 days and after 30 days values increased due to the appointment of remineralizing therapy to all patients in 2 weeks after the teeth whitening procedure. After 6 months, all patients had high enamel resistance and the rate of its remineralization.

Legal problems related to transfer of genetic information in the case law: medical and research spheres

The subject of this article is the analysis of mainly foreign case law on the transfer of genetic information in the spheres of medicine and scientific research.. The author addresses the positions of courts on private issues such as: the responsibility of attending physician and third parties to inform relatives of a patient about the risks of genetic diseases, rights of relatives to access genetic information after a patient has died, acquisition of a voluntary informed consent for participating in research. Comparison is conducted on approaches of the courts in other regions and countries in reviewing similar cases. The novelty of the research lies in the choice of the topic and obtained conclusions. The author analyzes foreign case law on the transfer of genetic information in the medical and research spheres, which has not previously been a subject of separate study in the Russian literature. The conclusion is formulated on the absence of universal position of the courts on the question of understanding the content of genetic information, limits of the rights of relatives to receive genetic information of a patient. The courts are unanimous in their decisions (or the cases are isolated) on the matter that participation in genetic research must be preceded by a voluntary informed consent, which can be presumed and applies exclusively to the research agreed to. The participants do not have rights to results of the research, and the discovered genes cannot be patented by the researchers.

Effect of neuroendocrine component in pancreatic adenocarcinoma on blood levels of steroid hormones.

e16695 Background: 90% of pancreatic cancers are adenocarcinomas. Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET) are much less common. However, some adenocarcinomas carry a neuroendocrine component and have an effect on the hormonal profile of the body. The purpose of the study was to analyze the content of steroid hormones and ACTH in the blood of patients with pancreatic cancer in dependence on the neuroendocrine component presence. Methods: Standard RIA methods were used to measure blood level of testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), cortisol and ACTH in 10 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA), 12 patients with PNET and 20 patients with PA with a neuroendocrine component (PA+NEC). The results were compared with the levels in 23 healthy donors. All patients gave voluntary informed consent for the study. Results: Levels of all measured hormones were elevated in the blood of patients with PA: T by 1.8 times, P4 by 4.8 times, E2 by 2.7 times, cortisol by 2 times and ACTH by 2.5 times, compared to donors. In PNET, E2 was 1.5 times (p < 0.05) lower, and T 1.6 times (p < 0.05) higher than in donors. Levels of P4, ACTH and cortisol in PNET were similar to normal values. In PA+NEC, T was decreased by 1.3 times, P4 and ACTH increased by 1.4 and 2.2 times respectively. E2 and cortisol were similar to normal values. Conclusions: The hormonal profiles of patients with PNET and PA differ, except T with blood levels increasing in both tumors. The presence of NEC in PA decreases blood levels of T and normalizes E2 and cortisol.