5 research outputs found
Monkeypox: a systematic review of epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes
Introduction. Since May 2022, an unusually large number of new monkeypox infections-a previously rare viral zoonotic disease, mainly reported from central and western Africa has been reported globally, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency in July 2022. We aimed to systematically review the monkeypox virus epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, presentations, and outcomes.
Materials and methods. Our aim is to systematically review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes of Monkeypox disease. We searched the keywords in the online databases of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science and investigated all English articles until December 2022. In order to ascertain the findings, this study adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. In order to optimize the quality, this review study benefits from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. To minimize any probable bias risk, we utilized the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) risk assessment tool.
Results. The most prevalent symptoms were rash and fever. The infection was accompanied by different complications such as, but not limited to, encephalitis (mainly in children), septicemia, bacterial cellulitis, retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscesses, etc. A wide range of hospitalization from 3.7% to 100% has been reported. The mortality rate ranged from 0% to 23%, which mainly occurred in infants and children. High mortality of the monkeypox rate was reported among pregnant women. The mortality rate of monkeypox is lower among women and those who received the smallpox vaccine compared to men and those who did not receive the vaccine. A wide range of the overall second-rate attack was reported, which is more pronounced in unvaccinated patients.
Conclusion. In our systematic review of 35 studies on monkeypox, we cast light on the existing evidence on its epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestation, and outcomes. Further studies are needed to elucidate the natural history of the disease in various patientsâ population, as well as detailing the monkeypox attack rate
Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviors in prisoners: A systematic review
Abstract Background and Aims Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the major health concerns globally. Generally, prisoners are at higher risks for STIs due to risk factors including; drugâuse, highârisk sexual behaviors, densely populated prisons, and poor living conditions. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the existing data on STI prevalence, and its associated risk factors among prisoners. Methods We conducted a systematic search of the literature using the keywords in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar online databases. We selected all the relevant original studies in English through title/abstract and fullâtext screening process.â Results Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected and reviewed 32 studies out of 96 identified papers. The most important STIâassociated risk factors among prisoners were drug use, low educational levels, and unsafe sex. The prevalence of STIs was heterogenous in selected studies and was reported as follows; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)Â (0%â14.5%), hepatitis B viruses (HBV) (0.04%â27.23%), hepatitis C viruses (HCV) (0.17%â49.7%), Syphilis (0.2%â22.1%), Chlamydia Trachomatis (CT) (1.02%â6.7%), Gonorrhea (0.6%â7.8%), and herpes simplex virusâ2 (HSVâ2) 22.4%. Conclusion This systematic review indicates that the prevalence of STIs (HIV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis, Chlamydia Trachomatis, Gonorrhea, and HSVâ2) among prisoners appears to be higher than the general population, with drug abuse, low educational levels, and unsafe sex as major risk factors
Design, development, and evaluation of a registry system for hyperbaric oxygen therapy: A methodological study
Abstract Background and Aims Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), utilizes 100% oxygen at pressures greater than seaâlevel atmospheric pressure, for the treatment of conditions in which the tissues starve for oxygen. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) has granted HBOT approval for the treatment of various conditions. On the other hand, applying informatics registry systems can improve care delivery, ameliorate outcomes, and reduce the costs and medical errors for the patients receiving HBOT treatment. Therefore, we aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a registry system for patients undergoing HBOT. Methods In the first phase, the conceptual and logical models were designed after conducting symposiums with experts and having other experts review the models. In the second phase, the system was developed on the web using ASP.NET  and C# programming languages frameworks. The last phase involved Nielsen's heuristic evaluation method for the system's usability. Five experts evaluated the system, including three health information management specialists and two medical informatics specialists. Results The hyperbaric patient information registry system (HPIRS) interacts with three types of usersâa specialist physician, a nurse, and a system administrator. A scenario for each predefined activity was designed, and all the information was stored in the SQL servers. The five experts independently found 152 issues, of which 84 were duplicates. The 68 distinct issues of the system were then resolved. Conclusions The design and development of such registry systems can make data available and stored carefully to improve clinical care and medical research and decrease costs and errors. These registries can provide the healthcare systems with Eâhealth applications, improved data management, more secure data transfer, and support for statistical reporting. The implemented heuristic evaluation method can also provide a lowâcost and readily available system to fix the issues of the designed systems
Gut microbiota and COVIDâ19: A systematic review
Abstract Background and Aims Alteration in humans' gut microbiota was reported in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirusâ2 (SARSâCoVâ2). The gut and upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota harbor a dynamic and complex population of microorganisms and have strong interaction with host immune system homeostasis. However, our knowledge about microbiota and its association with SARSâCoVâ2 is still limited. We aimed to systematically review the effects of gut microbiota on the SARSâCoVâ2 infection and its severity and the impact that SARSâCoVâ2 could have on the gut microbiota. Methods We searched the keywords in the online databases of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane on December 31, 2021. After duplicate removal, we performed the screening process in two stages; title/abstract and then fullâtext screening. The data of the eligible studies were extracted into a preâdesigned word table. This study adhered to the PRISMA checklist and NewcastleâOttawa Scale Bias Assessment tool. Results Sixtyâthree publications were included in this review. Our study shows that among COVIDâ19 patients, particularly moderate to severe cases, the gut and lung microbiota was different compared to healthy individuals. In addition, the severity, and viral load of COVIDâ19 disease would probably also be influenced by the gut, and lung microbiota's composition. Conclusion Our study concludes that there was a significant difference in the composition of the URT, and gut microbiota in COVIDâ19 patients compared to the general healthy individuals, with an increase in opportunistic pathogens. Further, research is needed to investigate the probable bidirectional association of COVIDâ19 and human microbiome
A systematic review of sarcopenia prevalence and associated factors in people living with human immunodeficiency virus
Abstract People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) appear to be at an increased risk of sarcopenia, which can have a devastating effect on their life due to consequences such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and finally death. This systematic review examined sarcopenia prevalence and its associated factors in PLWH. A systematic search was conducted using the keywords in the online databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases from the dates of inception up to May 2022. The retrieved articles underwent a twoâstep title/abstract and fullâtext review process, and the eligible papers were selected and included in the qualitative synthesis. Data relating to the study population, purpose of study, gender, age, race, body mass index, medical history, paraclinical results and antiretroviral therapy as associated factors of sarcopenia were extracted. In addition, the prevalence of sarcopenia in PLWH and its promoting and reducing factors were also extracted. We reviewed the 14 related studies for identifying of sarcopenia prevalence and its associated factors in PLWH. The total number of PLWH in all the reviewed studies was 2592. There was no criterion for the minimum number of people with HIV and the lowest number of PLWH was 27, and the highest number was 860. Some studies reported a significantly higher prevalence of sarcopenia in HIVâinfected individuals compared with HIVânegative controls as follows: 24.2â6.7%, 15â4% and 10â6%, respectively. We showed that, age (30â50Â years), being female, >5Â years postâHIV diagnosis, multiple vertebral fractures, cocaine/heroin use and lower gammaâglutamyl transferase level were the main promoting factors of sarcopenia. Higher educational level, employment, physical exercise, calf circumference >31Â cm, and gait speed >0.8Â m/s were also factors to reduce sarcopenia. Sarcopenia prevalence in PLWH is higher than HIVânegative population. Given the importance and prevalence of sarcopenia among PLWH and its associated consequences (i.e., mortality and disability), determining its risk factors is of great importance