The Libyan journal of medicine
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Many COVID-19 infected people remain asymptomatic, and hence the diagnosis at first presentation remains a challenge. Assessment at a presentation in primary care settings is usually done by visual triaging and basic clinical examination. This retrospective study involved investigating the medical e-records of COVID-19 positive patients who presented to a COVID-19 centre in Qatar for July 2020. ⋯ Compared to the asymptomatic group, the symptomatic group had lower Ct values (age groups [21-30], [31-40], [41-50] and [51-60]), higher temperature (age groups [21-30] and [31-40], Ct ranges [20.01-25.00] and [25.01-30.00]), higher HR (age groups [21-30] and [31-40], Ct range [15.01-20.00]); and lower SpO2 (age groups [41-50] and [51-60], Ct ranges [15.01-20.00] and [35.01-40.00]). Compared with asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients with COVID-19 are most likely to be febrile, tachycardic, hypoxic and having higher viral load. Higher viral load was associated with higher HR, higher temperature, lower SpO2, but there was no relation between viral load and age.
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The issue of school reopening has raised several concerns; therefore, the parent's opinion is essential to consider. This study aimed to evaluate the parent's attitudes and concerns toward school reopening in the COVID-19 era. A cross-sectional survey was performed using in-person self-administered questionnaires, the data was collected in the period between January and April 2021 covering parents' concerns and attitudes toward school reopening. ⋯ Importantly, there was a strong correlation between parents' opinions towards school reopening and their level of education, and their concerns about their children's safety if the school was reopened. Despite parents' concerns, it does seem that slightly over half were in favour of school reopening and would send their children to school only if the schools did apply strict precautions and restriction measures. Sharing parents' views toward school reopening with school leaders and decision-makers is important to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of return to schools and to improve existing prevention programs.
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The meniscus is a relatively avascular fibrocartilaginous structure that provides a key role in shock absorption and load transmission. However, accurate diagnosis of meniscal retear can present a clinical challenge. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the available literature, which compare the sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies of different diagnostic modalities of diagnosing knee meniscal retears in patients who have undergone surgical meniscal repair, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Magnetic Resonance Arthrography with intraarticular contrast (direct MRA), and a combination of MRI and direct MRA. ⋯ We recommend the use of direct MRA for the diagnosis of meniscal retears due to its higher sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as compared to MRI and its reduced cost and invasive nature as compared to second-look arthroscopy. However, our review is limited by the number of studies available on this topic. More studies using study designs such as randomized controlled trials, involving MRI, direct MRA, and combinations of such techniques, should be performed to accurately assess the different techniques and aid in designing guidelines to guide the diagnosis of meniscal retears following meniscal repair.
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The mechanisms of diabetogenesis in children remain largely obscure. This study aimed to determine the impact of vitamin D and calcium supplementation on pancreatic β-cells function in terms of insulin secretion and sensitivity. This was a quasi-experimental study involving 30 obese and prepubescent Tunisian children (57% boys). ⋯ Hyperinsulinism and insulin-resistance decreased significantly by 56.67% (p < 0.0001) and 70.00% (p < 0.0001), respectively. Complete reversibility of these two disorders was noted in 26.6% of children. To conclude, in obese and prepubescent children, vitamin D and calcium supplementation led to the reversibility of the pancreatic β-cells dysfunction.
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The objective of this work was to establish the bibliometric profile of Tunisian theses in 'general surgery' and to describe their themes, their study designs, and their writing quality. This is a retrospective descriptive bibliometric study, covering all the theses in medicine in the specialty of 'general surgery', defended in the four medical faculties of Tunisia, during the forty last years from 1980 to 2019. During the study period, 739 theses in 'general surgery' were discussed in Tunisia, with an average of 19 theses per year. ⋯ Only 20.7% of these theses had a scientific writing quality deemed satisfactory. The least respected elements in writing their summaries were statistical (confidence intervals and standard deviations) and documentary (keywords). Despite the plethora of themes of Tunisian theses in 'general surgery', their basic methodology and their editorial non conformity require the educational reform of the dissertations, both doctoral students and supervisors, by strengthening their skills in research methodology and scientific communication written.