Evaluation Of Neopterin Level And Disease Severity In Patients With Psoriasis Vulgaris Treated With Narrowband UVB

Background: Psoriasis is an immunity chronic hyperproliferative illness. An indicator of cellular immunity is neopterin, a biological substance. According to reports, psoriasis causes an increase in serum neopterin levels, which thereafter drop as a result of treatment. Objectives: To evaluate serum levels of neopterin in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Patients and methods: This study is a case-control study that involved 30 patients with psoriasis and 30 healthy subjects as control. Patients were treated with Narrowband UVB (3session /week ) for 3 months. Serum neopetrin levels were measured pre and post treatment by performing an enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). All patients were clinically and photographically evaluated using Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI score). Results: A Statistically significant differences in serum Neopterin level have been found in psoriatic patients comparing to healthy controls. The mean of serum Neopterin levels were 2.8 and 0.7 (nmol/L) in psoriatic patients and healthy controls, respectively (P< 0.001). We found Statistically significant improvement in disease severity, and a significant decrease in PASI scores was detected. The median of PASI score pre and post NB-UVB therapy was 31.4 and 8, respectively, with statistical significant difference (P<0.001). We noted significant difference between serum levels of Neopterin in patients before and after treatment, with a higher level of serum Neopterin among patients before treatment (P< 0.001). Conclusion: Serum neopterin was highly significant in the psoriatic patients compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05). A significant decrease was observed in serum neopterin level after the narrowband UVB therapy

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020