Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Egypt is part of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that has contributed to substantial deterioration of healthcare systems. The aim of this study was to assess the challenges faced by Egyptian systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Material And Methods: This questionnaire-based study was carried out on 200 patients with SLE from Egypt. The questionnaire provided covered socioeconomic status, lupus disease data, information about COVID-19 infection, and medical and family history of COVID-19 infection.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 30.1 ±8.4 years. 140/200 (70%) of the participants reported difficulty in obtaining medications during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly antimalarials (60%). The lupus disease condition became worse because of the drug shortage in half of the participants. Wearing protective masks (74%) and using disinfectants of the hands several times per day (67%) were the most reported used measures. Forty patients (20%) had to stop or reduce taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs while 10 patients (5%) had to start taking antimalarials as a prophylaxis against COVID-19 infection. Among those who needed hospitalization, the main cause was lupus activity, and most of them (71%) experienced difficulty in hospital admission. Thirty-two patients (16%) had confirmed COVID-19 infection. About half of them had lupus flare and had to change the medications used for treatment of lupus.
Conclusions: The current COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the healthcare provided to SLE patients in Egypt. Patients with SLE faced a shortage of their medications, especially antimalarials, and difficulty in hospital admission.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/reum.2021.108620 | DOI Listing |
Risk Manag Healthc Policy
January 2025
School of Public Health, Gudie University Project, Kampala, Uganda.
Aim: This study examined citizens' knowledge and compliance with COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), vaccine acceptance and hesitancy, and factors that could influence these behaviors.
Methods: The study that utilised the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) approach was conducted in eight districts of Central Uganda; Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Kasanda, Mityana, Luwero, Nakaseke, and Nakasongola districts. Each district was divided into five supervision areas (SAs).
Aim: After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, several municipal offices were forced to evacuate, and municipal public employees (MPEs) had to perform many administrative tasks related to the disaster. Typhoons and the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the area afterwards. We conducted a survey for MPEs to investigate the mental health impacts and related factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorld Allergy Organ J
January 2025
Department of Dermatology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Background: While epidemiological data suggest a connection between atopic dermatitis (AD) and COVID-19, the molecular mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear.
Objective: To investigate whether COVID-19-related CpGs may contribute to AD development and whether this association is mediated through the regulation of specific genes' expression.
Methods: We combined Mendelian randomization and transcriptome analysis for data-driven explorations.
Pak J Med Sci
January 2025
Feyza Koc, MD Associate Professor, Division of Social Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Ege University Children's Hospital, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on frequency of well-child follow-up visits and immunization rate in Turkish tertiary reference hospital's Well-Child Care Outpatient Clinic.
Methods: Children aged one month to 18 years who presented to the Well Child Care Outpatient Clinic of a tertiary referral hospital in Turkey for child health follow-up and immunisation were included in the study. Children with chronic diseases or children who needed to be immunised with a different scheme due to their special conditions were not included.
PNAS Nexus
January 2025
Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Here, we present Link-Seq, a highly efficient droplet microfluidic method for combined sequencing of antibody-encoding genes and the transcriptome of individual B cells at large scale. The method is based on 3' barcoding of the transcriptome and subsequent single-molecule PCR in droplets, which freely shift the barcode along specific gene regions, such as the antibody heavy- and light-chain genes. Using the immune repertoire of COVID-19 patients and healthy donors as a model system, we obtain up to 91.
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