Background: Arthroscopy can be used to assist the open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) approach in the treatment of acute ankle fractures. Arthroscopy can also help to assess the articular surface but is performed in only 1% of ankle fracture cases.
Purpose: We aimed to investigate (1) whether arthroscopy-assisted ORIF (AORIF) would lead to improved postoperative functional outcomes compared to conventional ORIF and (2) whether differences in postoperative complication rates exist between these 2 techniques.
Infections by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) pose significant public health challenges, including increased mortality rates, healthcare costs, and significant impacts on the quality of life for patients. Utilizing a systematic review methodology adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we performed a comprehensive search across three databases, identifying 20 relevant studies that investigated the psychological effects of infections due to MDROs on hospitalized adults. The primary outcomes examined included depression, anxiety, and other psychosocial impacts, while secondary outcomes included patient and caregiver understanding of the infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccup Environ Med
October 2024
Background: Our previous analysis showed how in-hospital mortality of intubated patients with COVID-19 in Greece is adversely affected by patient load and regional disparities.
Objective: We aimed to update this analysis to include the large Delta and Omicron waves that affected Greece during 2021-2022, while also considering the effect of vaccination on in-hospital mortality.
Methods: Anonymized surveillance data were analyzed from all patients with COVID-19 in Greece intubated between September 1, 2020, and April 4, 2022, and followed up until May 17, 2022.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation on bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) occurrence (overall; chlamydia; gonorrhea; syphilis), in MSM.
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods: Systematic searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus without language restrictions until 1 February 2023.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, three European countries (Austria, Greece, Italy) announced and/or implemented mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for high-risk groups in the general population. Besides the ethical justification for this policy, it is important to assess and quantify the effectiveness of the mandate in raising vaccination rates.
Methods: Controlled interrupted time series analysis of first-dose vaccination rates in the targeted age groups (Greece: ≥60 years; Italy: ≥50 years) relative to a control group (Greece: 50-59 years; Italy: 25-49 years) between week 35/2021 and week 50/2022.
Aim: To investigate medical students' burnout and motivation levels in each of the six years of their studies during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify independent predictors of burnout and motivation.
Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was sent to the students of all six years within our school. Burnout was measured with the adapted Oldenburg Burnout Inventory questionnaire (OLBI-S) and motivation with the updated Strength of Motivation for Medical School (SMMS-R) questionnaire.
Introduction: Promoting vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially for high-risk groups such as the elderly and persons with comorbidities, is important for reducing the incidence of severe disease and death.
Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study of factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination, including previous influenza vaccination, among all persons who received medical services in a rural area in Crete, Greece, between October 2020-May 2021.
Results: Among 3129 participants, receipt of influenza vaccination in 2020-21 was strongly associated with COVID-19 vaccination, as was influenza vaccination in 2019-20, albeit to a lesser extent.
Epidemic spread models are useful tools to study the spread and the effectiveness of the interventions at a population level, to an epidemic. The workhorse of spatially homogeneous class models is the SIR-type ones comprising ordinary differential equations for the unknown state variables. The transition between different states is expressed through rate functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs national coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mass vaccination campaigns are rolled out, monitoring real-world Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) and its durability is essential. We aimed to estimate COVID-19 VE against severe disease and death in the Greek population, for all vaccines currently in use. Nationwide active surveillance and vaccination registry data during January-December 2021 were used to estimate VE via quasi-Poisson regression, adjusted for age and calendar time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Influenza is one of the most common respiratory viral infections worldwide. Numerous vaccines are used to prevent influenza. Their selection should be informed by the best available evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is controversial whether extensive resection of right-sided colon cancer confers oncological benefits.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate short- and long-term outcomes of extended surgical removal of the mesocolon compared to the conventional approach.
Design: This was a retrospective population-based study.
Scope: The objective of these guidelines is to identify the most appropriate diagnostic test and/or diagnostic approach for SARS-CoV-2. The recommendations are intended to provide guidance to clinicians, clinical microbiologists, other health care personnel, and decision makers.
Methods: An ESCMID COVID-19 guidelines task force was established by the ESCMID Executive Committee.
Aims: While healthcare services have been expanding capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, quality of care under increasing patient loads has received less attention. We examined in-hospital mortality of intubated COVID-19 patients in Greece, in relation to total intubated patient load, intensive care unit (ICU) availability and hospital region.
Methods: Anonymized surveillance data were analyzed from all intubated COVID-19 patients in Greece between 1 September 2020 and 6 May 2021.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been engaged to complement medical surveillance and in some cases to also act as an early diagnosis indicator of viral spreading in the community. Most efforts worldwide by the scientific community and commercial companies focus on the formulation of protocols for SARS-CoV-2 analysis in wastewater and approaches addressing the quantitative relationship between WBE and medical surveillance are lacking. In the present study, a mathematical model is developed which uses as input the number of daily positive medical tests together with the highly non-linear shedding rate curve of individuals to estimate the evolution of global virus shedding rate in wastewater along calendar days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study used a questionnaire to examine how academic staff members in Greece and Cyprus feel about the changes in undergraduate medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, e-learning was not considered an adequate way of teaching and was less enjoyable. Participants aged 31-40 years experienced more (= .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmSphere
June 2021
The novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread rapidly during the first months of 2020 and continues to expand in multiple areas across the globe. Molecular epidemiology has provided an added value to traditional public health tools by identifying SARS-CoV-2 clusters or providing evidence that clusters based on virus sequences and contact tracing are highly concordant. Our aim was to infer the levels of virus importation and to estimate the impact of public health measures related to travel restrictions to local transmission in Greece.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To report on an active case finding (ACF) intervention that took place in the migrant camp of Oinofyta, Greece, upon suspicion of active TB transmission.
Methods: Upon diagnosis of 3 TB cases among camp residents, an ACF intervention among contacts was implemented. All camp residents were offered two-step screening, that is tuberculin skin testing (TST) followed by chest X-ray in case of positive TST (defined as ≥5 mm).
Patients with concomitant features of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a heavy disease burden.Using data collected prospectively in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, we compared the risk factors, clinical history and lung function trajectories from early adulthood to late sixties of middle-aged subjects with asthma+COPD (n=179), past (n=263) or current (n=808) asthma alone, COPD alone (n=111) or none of these (n=3477).Interview data and pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were obtained during three clinical examinations in 1991-1993, 1999-2002 and 2010-2013.
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