Outcome of Neurocritical Disorders, A Multicenter Study from Sudan

Background:Patients with neurocritical disorders that require admission to intensive care units (ICUs) constitute about 10–15% of critical care cases.Objectives:To study the outcome of neurocritical disorders in intensive care units.Methodology:This is a prospective observational study which was conducted in neurocritical patients who were admitted in four intensive care units of major hospitals in Khartoum state during the period from November 2020 to March 2021.Results:72 neurocritical patients were included in this study, 40(55.6%) were males and 32(44.4%) were females. 21 (29.2%) patients fully recovered, 35 (48.6%) partially recovered and 16 (22.2%) died. The mortality of the common neurocritical diseases were as follows: Stroke 30.4%, Encephalitis (8.3%), Status epilepticus (11.1%), Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) (16.7%) and Myasthenia gravis (MG) (25%).Conclusion:This study identified that near two third of the patients required mechanical ventilation. Delayed admission was observed due to causes distributed between the medical side and patient side. The majority of patients were discharged from ICU with partial recovery.

The HCT Index: a typology and index of health conspiracy theories with examples of use

Background: Conspiracy theories regarding vaccination programmes, medical side effects, and cover-ups by governments or pharmaceutical companies are prevalent in many countries and have highly detrimental and far-reaching effects on people’s wellbeing. For research and policymaking in public health, it is vital to understand the nature, construction and dissemination of these health conspiracy theories (HCTs). Inspired by tale typologies developed in folkloristics, this paper presents a typology and index of international HCTs as a tool for researchers to identify and categorise the HCTs they come across, and to provide a pool of examples of HCTs which could be used in various fields of research. To illustrate this, two studies are also presented (Study 1 and Study 2). Methods: HCTs were collected from relevant academic literature, news journalism, a survey of known health-related, general conspiracy theorist websites, and web searches based around known HCTs. From this, 14 core types were identified, and a numbered index was constructed with brief descriptions, examples, and motifs. Study 1 is a survey of HCT exposure and belief in the UK. Study 2 is a focus group discussion of health rumours in rural Sri Lanka including discussion of HCTs. Results: The HCT Index provides valuable insights into the international dissemination of HCTs. Study 1 found that familiarity with and belief in HCTs were high: 97% of Britons are familiar with at least one HCT and 49% of Britons believed that at least one HCT was likely to be true. Study 2 highlighted concerns over threats to fertility and about how to verify information that falls outside of typical experience. Conclusions: The HCT Index provides a useful framework for future cross-cultural research. As a typology it encompasses a wide range of beliefs which can be more effectively categorized and compared and, ultimately, challenged.

Book Review DATANGNYA PAGEBLUK: COVID-19, FLU BURUNG DAN WABAH KAPITALISME (Arrival of Pagebluk: Covid-19, Avian Flu and the Plague of Capitalism)

The book was written to provide information about the plague that is now attacking the world. From a historical point of view author connects the afflictions of the past and the curses that strike the world today. From the Spanish flu, bird flu to Covid-19 can kill at least 40 million people until now is still growing. Through this historical approach, the information submitted can be used as the latest reference about Covid-19 or previous outbreaks, as an analysis so that they can survive in the pandemic.The book is intended for anyone who is really interested in the latest issue that is shaking the world. Because this book not only contains the Covid-19 outbreak, but also contains histories of previous outbreaks and is related to today's situation. The author writes from the health or medical side, historically, anthropology to philosophy critically. So it is clear that the book will be very suitable for those who like to think critically, those who want to study the latest information about the outbreak, they are beginners of biotechnology research and everything that is related to the Covid-19 outbreak research and previously without an age benchmark this book will match those who are interested in this issue.The book, at least it provides new information regarding research on the Covid-19 virus. Especially the conditions in America before and during Covid-19, in fact, almost all chapters must describe the requirements and policies of the American government both in the Covid-19 pandemic or previous pandemics. The author provides many information and data from research by experts on outbreaks and pandemics that may still be unknown in developing countries.The author explains about the pandemics that have shocked the world until the pandemic that we are facing today. By reviewing, it is hoped that many people, especially the younger generation, will find out about the conditions we face today. By reviewing it, you can also describe the book's contents a little to be more interested in this book. Because the content conveyed is in accordance with the current state of the world, this review can be used as the latest analysis and study about outbreaks and pandemics in several decades.

Aripiprazole or Risperidone for Tourette’s Disorder in Children and Adolescents? Efficacy and Impact on Weight Comparative study of therapeutic efficacy and body mass index of risperidone and Aripiprazole in children and adolescents with Tourette’s syndrome

Introduction: Due to the high prevalence of Tourette’s disorder among children and adolescents and its negative consequences, an appropriate and effective medical treatment with minimal complications is necessary. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the effects of Aripiprazole and Risperidone on Tourette’s disorders in both children and adolescents. Method: The statistical population of this clinical trial was children and adolescents aged from seven to eighteen years old. They were diagnosed with the Tourette’s disorders based on the DSM-V criteria by the clinical interview of a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the child Psychiatry clinic of Ibn-e-Sina's Psychiatric Hospital (Mashhad-Iran) in 2018. A total of forty participants were selected by the convenience sampling method, and they were randomly divided into two groups treated by medicines, named as Risperidone or Aripiprazole for two months. Then, the demographic information questionnaire was completed. The Y-GTSS Scale was completed. Clinical Effect Rating Scale (CGI-Tics Scale) was completed. Calculation of body mass index and medical side effects complications were completed. The evaluation was carried out both at the beginning and on second, fourth and eighth weeks, and the results were compared. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 14) through using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and variance analysis. Results: The two groups were homogeneous for demographic variables. There was no significant difference in BMI between the two groups. Despite the positive effect of both medicines, no significant difference was observed among the general scores of such disorders, the overall score of severity, Tourette’s recovery, and BMI of these two groups at the intervals and at the end of treatments. (p <0.05). Due to the low number of complications reported, statistical comparisons of the medical side effects were not done for us Conclusion: According to the results, it seems that the two medicines, Aripiprazole and Risperidone, were effective in improving the symptoms of Tourette’s disorders and its overall severity. However, there was no significant statistical differences between them. In terms of the medical side effects, the statistical comparison between the two medicines was not possible due to the small number of complications. Keywords: tic, Tourette’s syndrome, Aripiprazole, Risperidone

Visual Representations of Science in a Pandemic: COVID-19 in Images

This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the social dimensions of the 2020 pandemic, with a particular emphasis on the visual practices of science communication in times of health emergency, by analyzing how the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is being visually represented. It seeks to identify the format and content of images used to illustrate online information about the pandemic, in particular, from websites of policy institutions, research promoters, and media in Portugal and Spain. By examining a sample containing 600 images, it aims to identify the messages being conveyed and the effects these images intend to provoke and to illuminate the differences in representations among the three sources of communication. Differences and similarities with visual images of previous pandemics (influenza, AIDS) are examined. This article ascertains that policy websites aim to be mostly prescriptive, relying on infographics to convey prevention and care instructions to its audiences. On the other hand, science websites rely mostly on stock photos and images from scientific articles to illustrate current research, while newspaper websites are the most diversified in terms of the images they use and the topics they cover. This study concludes that representations of science are still very much based on stereotypical imagery of labs and white coats, that representations of the medical side of the pandemic are focused on images of intensive care that aim to generate fear and stimulate responsible behavior, and that the social aspects of the pandemic are illustrated by images that focus either on pandemic prevention (e.g., washing hands) or on the impacts of the pandemic itself (e.g., empty streets during lockdown).

Morvan syndrome associated with LGI1 antibody: a case report

Background Morvan syndrome (MoS) is a rare autoimmune syndrome associated with antibodies against two kinds of potassium channel proteins, contactin associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2) and leucine-rich glioma inactivated protein 1 (LGI1). MoS patients with only LGI1-antibody seropositivity have rarely been reported. Here, we describe a 64-year-old male MoS patient with only LGI1-antibody seropositivity. Case presentation A 64-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital due to limb pain, widespread myokymia, insomnia, constipation, and hyperhidrosis for 1 month. The patient was diagnosed with MoS based on the clinical symptoms and positive LGI1-antibody in serum. He was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), intravenous methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisone, and other drugs for symptomatic relief. Several days later, myokymia and insomnia symptoms improved. After 60 days of follow-up, all the drugs had been stopped for 2 weeks, and the patient achieved complete remission without any medical side effects. Conclusion We report the clinical characteristics of a Chinese MoS patient with only LGI1-antibody seropositivity, and further support the view that non-neoplasm MoS patients respond well to immunotherapy.

Digital Health

Digital health has been touted as a true transformation of health care, but all medical interventions have associated risks that must be understood and quantified. The Internet has brought many advancements, which quickly jumped from our computers into our pockets via powerful and completely connected mobile devices that are now being envisioned as devices for medical diagnostics and care delivery. As health care struggles with cost, inequity, value, and rapid virtualization, solid models of benefit-risk determination, new regulatory approaches for biomedical products, and clear risk-based conversations with all stakeholders are essential. Detailed examination of emerging digital health technologies has revealed 10 categories of digital side effects or “toxicities” that must be understood, prevented when possible, and managed when not. These toxicities include cyberthreat, loss of privacy, cyberchondria and cyber addiction, threats to physical security, charlatanism, overdiagnosis and overtreatment, medical/user error, and the plague of medical misinformation. For digital health to realize its promise, these toxicities must be understood, measured, warned against, and managed as concurrent side effects, in the same fashion as any other medical side effect.

Rhetoric, Accounting and Accountability: COVID-19 and the Case of Italy

The current dramatic context of COVID-19 has urged academics and practitioners to tackle the topic of the pandemic not only regarding its medical side but from the perspective of social sciences, accounting and accountability as well. In this sense, our paper moves from the pivotal work of Higgins and Walker (2012) and Merkl-Davies and Brennan (2017) and tries to trace the use and the extent of accounting communication by companies during the peculiar context of the pandemic. Considering the nature of the elements to be evaluated, we applied a manual content analysis, a more suitable technique than software to capture subjective and emotional elements. Among the main preliminary results of the paper, the volume and the importance of emotional content come to the surface, such as self-assessment and emotional tone. The paper confirms the important role of rhetorical analysis in understanding the quality and the meaning of the information provided by companies and contributes to the stream of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) studies on corporate reporting.

To Study Appropriateness of Patient Stay in the Emergency Medicine Department of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of North India

Inappropriate hospital stay increases hospital costs, decrease available resources for patients with critical situation and put patients at risk of nosocomial infections. It was observed that 24.3 % cases of hospital stay studied were inappropriate in Medical Side while as 41.38% cases of hospital stay studied were inappropriate in Surgical Side.

Exoskeleton - wearable devices. Literature review

Exoskeletons are companion devices that help a person to perform various daily activities. These can range from work to medical rehabilitation. The type of activity performed depend on the construction and control of the exoskeleton, so that some devices are for only one arm, others for both, can be driven by motors directly or through cables. Exoskeletons can be driven based on information received from position, force, speed sensors or by using EMG, EEG signals. Exoskeleton wearable devices began to appear around 1980, as an aid in physical work, in the handling of various heavy objects. Over time, they also covered the preventive-rehabilitation medical side, in order to reduce muscle pain or to restore specific movements, attenuated or even missing following accidents or diseases of the muscles. The paper presents an overview of the exoskeletons developed for the human arm.