Chronic Diseases Journal
Volume:12 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

In patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with multiple organ involvement, interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important biomarker of the hyperinflammatory immune response, cytokine storm, and fatal outcomes. Our research aims to comprehend the value of polysulfone membrane-based hemodialysis (HD), not only in terms of lowering renal load but also in terms of enhancing outcomes by addressing the IL-6 levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on maintenance HD (MHD).

This prospective observational analysis was conducted from July 2020 to January 2022 at a tertiary care hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. 181 patients, with a history of CKD on MHD, hospitalized in COVID-19 wards were chosen for this study. The usual baseline blood values of the patients were assessed. HD was done on the Fresenius polysulfone membrane (FX-8) with an effective surface area of 1.4 m2and an ultrafiltration coefficient of 12 (ml/h × mmHg). Patients' IL-6 levels were initially checked before dialysis,and in patients who survived, they were repeated on the day of discharge. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Out of a total of 181 patients, 95 were survivors and 86 were non-survivors. Most non-survivors were elderly (P < 0.001). The mean neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and D-dimer levels were substantially greater in non-survivors than in survivors (P < 0.001). Non-survivors had considerably higher mean serum levels of IL-6, creatinine, and urea (P < 0.001). The average number of HD treatments received by survivors was higher (P < 0.001). The relationship between delta IL-6 and delta serum creatinine for survivors had a strong positive correlation of r = 0.775 (P < 0.001).

This study demonstrates that IL-6 is a subpar predictor of prognosis in convalescent CKD patients with COVID-19. It also emphasizes the use of HD as a life-saving therapeutic strategy that is also cost-effective. Lowering IL-6 levels can both enhance renal outcomes and calm the cytokine storm.

Among individuals with COVID-19, fear of contamination and compulsive handwashing are recognized as common symptoms. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms among COVID-19 patients in Kurdistan, Iran, and identify potential influential factors.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,434 COVID-19 patients who were randomly selected from Tohid Hospital, a COVID-19 treatment center in Kurdistan province, between July and September 2021. Data were collected using the electronic questionnaire for the 'Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI). The collected data were analyzed using chi-square test and logistic regression modeling in SPSS software.

The study found that 35.8% of COVID-19 patients experienced OCD symptoms, with men showing a higher prevalence than women (P < 0.001). Patients with a lower education level were more likely to have OCD symptoms (P = 0.001). OCD symptoms were also more common among housewives or unemployed individuals (P = 0.002) and patients who paid moreattention to their hygiene (P = 0.001). The study found no significant correlations between OCD symptoms and age, economic status, marital status, family history of COVID-19, history of hospitalization, and having or not having children(P > 0.05).

This study indicates that the prevalence of OCD symptoms among COVID-19 patients in Kurdistan, Iran is relatively high. Therefore, clinicians should provide specialized care to patients to address their psychological well-being along with treating COVID-19 symptoms.

As nurses are in close contact with patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), they are more susceptible to infection and spread of the virus. Limited clinical knowledge of the COVID-19 virus and the lack of adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and lack of medical and personal protective equipmentmay lead to low work morale, absenteeism, apathy, and poor performance in nurses. Therefore, the emotional problems of nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic deserve more attention.This study was conducted to investigate self-efficacy and its relationship with health hardiness and quality of work life in nurses.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 219 nurses working in hospitals (Tohid, Kowsar, and Be’sat hospitals) of Sanandaj City,Iran,in November 2021. The sampling method was proportional stratified random method. Questionnaires of demographic information, self-efficacy, health hardiness, and quality of work life were completed by nurses. Data analysiswas performed using descriptive statistics tests, independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression.The data were analyzed in SPSS software.

The quality of work life of 81.3% of participants was reported as moderate and 18.7% was reported as very good. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that the relationship between self-efficacy and health hardiness was significant and there was a positive correlation between the two variables (P <0.001, r= 0.539).

Given the low level of nurses' self-efficacy and its relationship with health hardiness, there is a need to promote nurses' self-efficacy and health hardiness for health professionals.

The Self-Care of Coronary Heart Disease Inventory-Patient Version 3 (SC-CHDI v3) is a globally used tool for assessing self-care behaviors among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). This study aimed to translate the SC-CHDI v3 into Farsi, validate it, and evaluate its psychometric properties among Iranian patients.

The translation of the original SC-CHDI v3 into Farsi was conducted in 2022 at Shaheed Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical & Research Center, Tehran, Iran, following a standard forward-backward approach. The validation process included face, content, and construct validity. A panel of 10 experts scored each item's necessity on an ordinal Likert scale of three. The content validity ratio (CVR) was computed using the Lawshe formula. Ten judges from the predefined panel rated each item on a 4-point Likert scale regarding relevancy, clarity, and simplicity for individual CVI calculation. The mean individual-CVI was used to determine the Scale-CVI for each domain. Questions with minimum values of CVR and CVI were retained for reliability evaluation. Construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's α and McDonald's Omega. Test-retest reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).

All questions achieved CVR values exceeding 0.62 and CVI scores of 0.80 or higher, and thus were retained in the questionnaire. Face validity evaluation indicated that all questions were deemed acceptable in terms of relevance and clarity. Cronbach's α coefficients for self-care maintenance and monitoring were 0.802 and 0.817, respectively, while McDonald's Omega for the self-care management scale was0.725. The ICC was 0.81, demonstrating good test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed relative goodness of fit for all dimensions.

The Farsi version of the SC-CHDI v3 proved to be a reliable tool for assessing self-care behaviors among Iranian CHD patients, enabling healthcare professionals to develop personalized self-care interventions.

Cognitive games are one of the effective ways to improve the working memory of borderline students. The game plays an effective role in the development of students, and during the game, you can find out many characteristics, problems, and growth of borderline students. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive games on the working memory of sixth-grade borderline students in Saqqez City, Iran.

The research method was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest, with a control group. The statistical population included borderline students studying in the sixth grade of schoolsinSaqqezCity, Kurdistan Province, Iran,in the academic year of 2021-2022. 24 borderline students were selected purposefully and randomly placed in two groups of 12 people, intervention and control. The educational program of cognitive games such as Lomocyte and Tetris was conducted in 8 sessions of 60 minutes twice a week forthe test group. Then the simultaneous post-test was conducted for both performance groups and the data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS software.

Cognitive games improved memory (P < 0.01), and they also caused the expansion of active memory, central processing, phonological loop, and visual-spatial memory.

According to the results of this research and the importance of improving working memory, it is suggested that cognitive games be used in schools and medical centers to improve the working memory performance of borderline students.

Leaders are tasked with making decisions that have substantial impact on an organization's well-being. Decision-making requires critical thinking. Clinical environments are becoming more complex and demanding nowadays. Acquisition of critical thinking skills seems crucial in order to provide effective and safe services in these climates. There are various general definitions regarding critical thinking in the context of health care management which mostly have no positive correlation with clinical performance. The aim of this study is to provide an evolved perspective on critical thinking in health care managers.

Eight-step Rodgers’ concept analysis approach was adopted in this analysis to provide a clear definition about critical thinking in health care managers as well as searching and analyzing online databases. The inclusion criterion included articles published during 2005-2022 in English and Persian languages (just in English or in Persian). Finally, 57 articles, 3 dissertations, were included in the analysis.

The extracted attributes of critical thinking were as follows: responsibility for strategic planning and thinking, making accurate and hesitant decisions and problem solving skills, using professional and inter professional communication skills, applying knowledge in managing clinical settings, organizing human and financial resources, growing of mindsets and disposition for better performances in health care managers, and supervision for insurance of health quality.Provision of critical thinking leads to positive outcomes such as effective and patient-centered care, creativity, evidence-based practices, and professionalism.

A clear and comprehensive definition of critical thinking in health care management context was developed. This definition can correct many misconceptions and conceptual misuses about critical thinking in health care managers.

Dealing with crises in the current era requires a fundamental change in science and technology, consumption patterns, and people’s relationship patterns, which demands new strategies, alternatives, and administrative methods to deal with different realities of life. Due to the severe outcome of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, governments had to intensify their efforts to deal with this disease and make decisions to manage the crisis and its extreme economic, health, and educational consequences. This qualitative study was conducted in 2023 and aimed to explain the healthcare executives’ decision-making structure in the COVID-19 crisis.

This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis method. 14 managers working in health and treatment sectors of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran were selected with purposeful samplingin 2023. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The conventional content analysis method was used to analyze the data.

The results led to the extraction of 3 main categories, seven sub-categories, and 16 primary categories. The executives had made decisions, based on their point of view, to deal with COVID-19 in pre-crisis (including the sub-categories of crisis initiation signal recognition, preparing to resist the crisis, and preventing the geographical spread), during-crisis (preventing the crisis damage, limiting the crisis injuries), and post-crisis (including sub-categories of recovery of management and guidance systems and learning from the experiences) phases.

Based on the results of this study, scientific management and the characteristic of leadership over people can be a way forward for healthcare managers to organize in crises.

Fever, cough, and acute lung involvement are severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) symptoms. Children can be asymptomatic virus carriers and may contribute to the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Like other viral diseases, the involvement of different heart parts is also seen in this disease. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the myocardium, usually caused by a virus. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the occurrence and clinical manifestations of myocarditis among pediatric patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Sanandaj, Iran.

In this study, COVID-19 myocarditis cases in Be’sat Hospital, Sanandaj, were documented. Ten pediatric patients with a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 who were admitted to Be’sat Hospital in Sanandaj in 2020 were included in this study based on clinical trials after seeking echocardiography and confirming myocarditis. The mean age of these 10 study cases was 7.1 years (2 to 13 years). The most common symptoms were fever, respiratory distress, cough, and vomiting. Ceftriaxone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and dopamine were the main interventions in these cases. After these cases, all general practitioners and pediatricians in the province and the country were given the necessary warnings.Based on the results, COVID-19 infections, likeviral infections, such as enterovirus and adenovirus, are known as the main causes of myocarditis, which appear as local or general myocardial inflammation, tissue necrosis, and ventricular dysfunction.

A direct viral attack and overactive immune responses in viral myocarditis can harm heart tissue. Therefore, in COVID-19-infected individuals, serial symptom evaluation and monitoring are necessary.