Publications by authors named "Manel Ben Fredj"

Background: In COVID-19 management, a variety of pharmaceutical interventions (PI) and non- pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) were adopted to limit the spread of the disease and its associated deaths. We aimed to evaluate the impact of PI and NPI on risks of COVID-19 transmission and deaths.

Method: We collected aggregate data from March 2nd, 2020, to December 1, 2022 from the Tunisian Ministry of Health's website and OurWorldInData.

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Background: It has become increasingly clear that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to persistent physical and mental health problems lasting weeks or months, requiring prolonged periods of clinical care and increasing the burden on the healthcare system. This phenomenon, known as post COVID-19 syndrome (PCS), is a relatively new condition, its incidence is still unclear and differs between studies.

Objectives: In this cohort study, we aimed to estimate the incidence of PCS and to identify its risk factors in the Tunisian population.

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Objective: We aimed to study the relationship between age and time to negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with asymptomatic and mild forms of COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study including all patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from the national COVID-19 containment center of Tunisia. Patients were subdivided into two cohorts: (under 60 years) and (over 60 years) and were followed up until PCR negativization.

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Background: The rapidly emerging Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the world yielding in significant changes in almost every aspect of daily life. While primary research of the epidemic COVID-19 has focused on the psychological impact on the general population and health professionals, no survey of the pandemic-resulting containment on parents and their children has been yet addressed in the Tunisian-North African population. This study aimed to assess the psychological profile of parents and youth in Tunisia during a period of COVID 19 lockdown, and to identify associated factors to parental anxiety symptoms.

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Introduction: Increasing access to healthcare for expectant mothers is a national goal. In Monastir, Tunisia, some Peripheral Maternity Units (PMUs) required assessment. Our goals were to describe the delivery activities in MUs (maternity units) and to assess whether some of PMUs need to have their activities replaced.

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Injuries are responsible for a high premature mortality and disability. They are poorly explored in low and middle income-countries. We aimed to estimate the burden of hospitalized injuries in the Monastir governorate (Tunisia) according to the nature of the injury, trends and projections of hospitalizations for injuries up until 2024, and to identify the distribution of this disease burden based on age and sex.

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Background: Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) systems have revolutionized the treatment of diabetes, enabling doctors to cope with challenging conditions that were previously almost impossible to manage or were very risky and difficult.

Aims: To assess the efficacy and safety of a hybrid closed-loop (HCL) system during Ramadan fasting in a pediatric cohort with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Research Design And Methods: Glucose control outcomes in older children and adolescents aged 8-16 years with automated insulin delivery for T1D were analyzed during Ramadan and 1 month before Ramadan.

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Introduction: our study aimed to assess the quality of life (QOL) among adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) receiving nonoperative treatment, and to identify the demographic and clinical factors associated with poor QOL.

Methods: this is a cross-sectional study. We included adolescents followed in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Taher Sfar Hospital (Mahdia - Tunisia).

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Aims: Smoking cessation (SC) in Crohn's disease (CD) is widely accepted to be the most important modifiable factor to improve outcomes in these patients. We aimed in this review to provide a summary of the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of SC interventions in patients with CD.

Materials & Methods: The following databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2022: PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library.

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The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia pandemic, caused by the newly discovered coronavirus is a serious public health emergency and a highly infectious disease. Evidence to date suggests that there are groups of people who are at a higher risk of getting severe COVID-19 disease such as pregnant women and their fetuses. We reported 4 cases of pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted in the national containment center, Tunisia (3 imported cases and one local case).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how health education could help reduce anxiety levels in COVID-19 patients during self-isolation, highlighting the impact of social isolation on mental health.
  • Conducted as a randomized controlled trial, patients were divided into an education group receiving health information, and a control group, with their anxiety levels measured on days 1 and 7 after diagnosis.
  • Results showed that anxiety decreased significantly in the education group, with a reduction from 26% to 16.3%, while anxiety levels increased in the control group, indicating that health education may effectively mitigate anxiety during isolation.
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Background: Bullying is a serious problem that significantly affect adolescent well-being and health, needing the attention of teachers, school administrators, parents and public health professionals. In this study, we aimed at estimating the prevalence of bullying, from the perspective of victims in middle school students in the region of Monastir Tunisia, as well as analyzing its association with individual and family context variables.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in December 2017 and January 2018 among a sample of students from two middle schools in the region of Monastir (Tunisia), using the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) self-answered questionnaire.

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Background: The emergence and the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) induced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has multiple consequences in all countries around the world. Male germ cells of infertile patients which are shown to be vulnerable to many environmental conditions, could be particularly vulnerable to such an exceptional pandemic situation. We aimed through the current study to investigate the potential variations in sperm quality of infertile patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia.

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Background: Burnout syndrome may affect the safety of frontline healthcare care workers (HCW) and patients. We aimed to measure the prevalence of burnout among HCW in care facilities in Tunisia during the Covid-19 pandemic and to identify its associated factors.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among HCW practicing during the covid-19 pandemic in health care facilities in the governorate of Monastir.

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Introduction: Medical students should act as a model for the community in terms of compliance with preventive practices toward COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to preventive behaviors related to COVID-19 among medical students and to identify its associated factors.

Population And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in October 2020 in the faculty of medicine of Monastir.

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Introduction: The present study aimed to determine the impact of vitamin D supplementation (VDs) on recovery delay among COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We performed a randomized controlled clinical trial at the national COVID-19 containment center in Monastir (Tunisia), from May to August 2020. Simple randomization was done in a 1:1 allocation ratio.

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Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Indeed, they are exposed to blood and body fluid which put them at an important risk of transmission of various blood borne pathogens including HCV. The goal of this study was to determine the magnitude of occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus infection as well as the factors associated to this exposure among HCWs at a Tunisian University Hospital in 2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the impact of spirometry and lung age communication on smoking cessation rates, as previous evidence on its effectiveness is limited and inconclusive.
  • - Conducted from June 2017 to February 2020, a randomized controlled trial showed that 25.5% of participants in the spirometry group quit smoking after one year, compared to 16.5% in the control group, with significant statistical results.
  • - The findings suggest that using spirometry and lung age estimates can effectively motivate smokers to quit, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool in smoking cessation efforts.
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Article Synopsis
  • Breast cancer is a leading public health issue globally, with increasing incidence rates noted in Tunisia from 2002 to 2013, highlighting the disease's growing impact on women's health.
  • This study analyzed data from 1028 diagnosed female breast cancer cases, revealing an age-standardized incidence rate of 39.12 per 100,000, which has been rising at an annual percentage change (APC) of 8.4%.
  • Predictions indicate the incidence rate could rise significantly to 108.77 per 100,000 by 2030, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced preventative measures to combat this growing health threat.
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Background: Rabies is a disease that still exists in developing countries and leads to more fatalities than other zoonotic diseases. Our study aimed to describe the profile of human exposures to animals over fifteen years and to assess the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) practices in the governorate of Kasserine (Tunisia) on pre- and post-revolution (2011).

Methods: We carried out a descriptive study using surveillance data from a region in Central-West Tunisia.

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Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are a public health problem, especially for reproductive-age women. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and trend of STIs during 11 years in Tunisia (2007-17).

Methods: We conducted a descriptive study including all women with curable STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis) diagnosed with the syndromic approach in all basic health care centers of the Governorate of Monastir (Tunisia) from 2007 to 2017.

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Objective: To define the swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) features which distinguish ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) from other forms of retinochoroiditis.

Methods: This is a prospective diagnostic study enrolling 43 eyes of 43 patients with active toxoplasmic (TOXO) retinochoroiditis matched to 54 eyes (54 lesions) with non-TOXO retinochoroiditis evaluated by structural SS-OCT.

Results: The finding of retinal hyper-reflective round deposits, sub-lesional choroidal thickening, and sub-lesional retinal pigment epithelium elevation were more likely to be found in TOXO lesions with a positive likelihood ratio of 45.

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Background: The aim of this study was to characterize the transmission chains and clusters of COVID-19 infection in Tunisia.

Methods: All cases were confirmed by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction of a nasopharyngeal specimen. Contact tracing is undertaken for all confirmed cases in order to identify close contacts that will be systematically screened and quarantined.

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