Przeglad epidemiologiczny最新文献

Background: Due to the increasing phenomenon of medical misinformation, unfavourable health behaviours have emerged, including the rise in the number of rejections of mandatory vaccination. Educational interventions are necessary to build public awareness.

Objective: The main purpose of the study was to check students' attitudes towards vaccination, during assessment of the comic titled 'Vigor Fervorous versus The Spreaders of Nonsense'-an electronic educational tool used during lessons-in terms of its educational effectiveness and students' opinions.

Material and methods: A pilot quasi experimental study was conducted among 172 students aged 12-16, from primary and secondary schools located in the Masovia, including municipal and district schools, consisting of three stages: pretest, intervention (a lesson with the usage of the comic in e-book format), and posttest. Participants' attitudes towards vaccination, changes in knowledge levels (before-after), clarity and comprehensibility of the comic and attractiveness of the tool were analysed.

Results: Based on Principal Component Analysis, four distinct attitude groups were identified, differing in self-assessed knowledge and the need for further education. Before the intervention, 22.7% of participants demonstrated low level of knowledge, 46.5% medium, 30.8% high. After the intervention, a relative average score increase of 11 percentage points was observed, with greater gains among secondary school students (15 p.p.) than primary students (9 p.p.). A single common factor was identified, termed "positive assessment of the comic." The strongest associations were with: "more people should read this comic" (r = 0.876), "it supplemented my vaccination knowledge" (r = 0.844), and "it is an interesting way to convey knowledge" (r = 0.823). Weaker but still significant correlations were found for reduced fear of vaccination and content comprehensibility.

Conclusions: The results proved the comic to be an effective and attractive tool for increasing knowledge about vaccination. The identified groups of attitudes confirm the need to tailor educational tools to the needs of target groups.

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a significant contributor to respiratory tract infections (RTI's), presenting a clinical spectrum that ranges from mild flu-like symptoms to severe pneumonia. The overlap of clinical features with other RTI's, often complicates its diagnosis. While HMPV predominately affects young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals, its true burden remains under-recognized due to diagnostic challenges. Currently there is no specific antiviral therapy or approved vaccine for HMPV, underscoring the urgent need for research into effective prevention and treatment strategies. Furthermore, the oral manifestations of HMPV infections remains an unexplored domain with potential correlations to viral kinetics and systemic spread. Investigating these oral signs could provide new insights into disease progression and serve as adjunctive diagnostic markers. The present paper provides a comprehensive review of the epidemiology, immunodynamics and diverse clinical manifestations of HMPV, while also shedding light on recent advancements in diagnostic approaches and vaccine development. By addressing these knowledge gaps, future research can pave the way for a more comprehensive approach to mitigate the global burden of HMPV-related respiratory illness.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare and life-threatening parasitic infection caused by Echinococcus multilocularis. Nonspecific symptoms along with a lowered awareness of the disease among physicians often result in delayed diagnoses and subsequently limiting therapeutic options. Treatment of AE includes surgical resection with wide margins of healthy tissue combined with pharmacotherapy and close monitoring for recurrence. This paper presents two cases of patients who interrupted albendazole therapy administered after surgical removal of parasitic lesions. Both cases demonstrate that discontinuing albendazole therapy after non-radical echinococcal removal can lead to disease progression and life-threatening complications. Additionally, the report highlights socioeconomic challenges such as therapy accessibility, treatment costs, and patient education which can influence adherence to medical recommendations and treatment outcomes.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health threat, with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family classified by the WHO as critical priority pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic affected global antibiotic consumption patterns, potentially influencing the resistance of ESBL(+) strains and the frequency of bacterial infections in hospitals.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the trends in the prevalence of infections caused by ESBL-producing bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae family) in a district hospital in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship during the peri-pandemic period (2017-2023) and assess the relationship between antibiotic consumption and changes in resistance.

Material and methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using microbiological and pharmacological data from the Healthcare Complex in Oława. 34,629 clinical specimen cultures from 77,829 hospitalized patients were analyzed. The study focused on Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter spp. with an ESBL resistance mechanism. The consumption of β-lactam antibiotics from Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System groups J01C and J01D was assessed. Statistical trend and correlation analysis was applied.

Results: The incidence of ESBL(+) bacterial infections showed no significant trends. The pre-pandemic prevalence of ESBL(+) strains was low (6.42%-24.49%), rising to 56.25% in 2020 and peaking at 100% in 2021-2022. In 2023, resistant isolates declined to 77.50%. A 50.2% increase in β-lactam antibiotic consumption (J01D, mainly cephalosporins) was recorded in 2020. The highest proportion of ESBL(+) infections occurred in non-surgical wards (40.97%) and long-term care facilities (25.88%).

Conclusions: Data analysis from 2017-2023 revealed no significant trends in incidence of ESBL(+) infections but an increase in β-lactam resistance. In 2020, the prevalence of ESBL(+) strains and antibiotic consumption, especially cephalosporins, increased. However, the lack of a significant correlation between antibiotic consumption and resistance suggests that other factors, such as resistant strain transmission or persistent colonization, play a crucial role. These findings highlight the need for enhanced resistance monitoring and rational antibiotic stewardship strategies.

Background: Mobile health applications have emerged as powerful tools for improving public health, but their rapid proliferation raises concerns regarding quality, effectiveness, and security. T.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the quality of health applications on the Google Play Store in India, focusing on physical, mental, and social health domains.

Material and methods: Python and Selenium-based web scraping approach was used to extracted data available from the Indian version of Google Play Store using domain-specific keywords. Applications were screened based on preset criteria. The Mobile App Development and Assessment Guide (MAG) was used to evaluate the application quality across eight domains. Kruskal Wallis test and partial least squares regression analysis was used for analysis.

Results: From 866 applications, 322 met eligibility criteria (182 physical, 84 mental, 56 social health). Commercial organizations dominated development. Social health applications demonstrated higher download volumes and superior quality across multiple MAG domains, with higher overall scores (35.18 ± 12.05) compared to physical (26.95 ± 11.27) and mental health applications (26.25 ±1 1.62). Quality metrics influenced user ratings differently across health domains, with weak correlation between MAG scores and ratings for physical health applications.

Conclusions: The study reveals significant variability in mHealth application quality, with concerning deficiencies in privacy and security. Findings highlight the need for enhanced regulatory oversight and quality standards in India's evolving digital health ecosystem.

Background: Dental faculty and students use social media extensively for professional and personal purposes. Optimizing social media use in dentistry is crucial for enhancing its overall efficiency.

Objective: The study's main objective is to assess social media usage, classify its professional engagement using Bloom's Taxonomy, and examine its impact on individual productivity in personal use among dental faculty and students.

Material and methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional design using an English version of a validated self-administered questionnaire to explore the social media usage among 451 participants. It was conducted among dental faculty, postgraduates, interns and undergraduates at a dental institute in Belagavi, India. The content validity and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient value for the questionnaire was found to be 0.76 and 0.85 respectively. Construct validity of the modified Internet Addiction Test was established through exploratory factor analysis. Professional engagement was classified based on Bloom's taxonomy framework across nine cognitive domains. Descriptive statistics, binomial logistic regression, and Kruskal-Wallis tests was carried out with a level of significance set at p ≤ 0.05.

Results: Among the 451 participants, the majority were females belonging to the age group of 21-30 years. Dental postgraduates had the highest professional use of social media platforms such as YouTube for clinical skills (91.1%), LinkedIn for job search (84.3%), Google scholar for knowledge (89.7%) and ResearchGate for clinical reasoning (87.1%) with the highest Bloom's taxonomy scores among all affiliations group. In contrast, social media addiction scores were highest among undergraduates and lowest among dental faculty (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusions: Dental postgraduates had the highest professional social media usage based on the Bloom's taxonomy framework, followed by dental faculty. Interns and undergraduate students showed the highest social media addiction scores, indicating recreational use and distraction, highlighting the need for balanced usage.

Infectious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Zika virus, malaria, and Ebola, pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. Their impact on society can be significant, especially in the context of globalization, migration, and climate change. These diseases can spread quickly and efficiently, which requires the use of modern monitoring and control tools. In this context, mobile technologies can play a crucial role in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. This article will discuss both the benefits and limitations of using mobile technologies in monitoring and combating infectious diseases, such as contact-tracing apps, systems for collecting epidemiological data, and platforms supporting health education.

Rabies is a zoonotic viral infection caused by an RNA virus from the Rhabdoviridae family, a Lyssavirus species with the highest mortality rate among all infectious diseases. Post-exposure propylahis (PEP) should be applied as soon as possible in every person who has potentially been exposed to rabies virus. The procedure depends on the extent of exposure, person's previous vaccination history and animal source of the exposure. Human exposure most commonly occurs through an animal bite that has broken the skin (99% of human rabies occur from infected dogs), the virus is present in the saliva of the sick animal. This case illustrates the post-exposure prophylaxis instituted in non - immunized woman returning from Sri Lanka, who has been exposed to a dog bite. In this case an overdose of the human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) was administered to the patient. During further follow-up, it was determined that the excessive dose of HRIG did not result in any adverse effects, including suppression of the immune response. However ensuring the accuracy of drug administration is crucial to improving patient outcomes.

Background: Until SARS-CoV-2 outbreak telemedicine services in HIV care in Poland were not covered by public health insurance. Therefore experience in this form of healthcare delivery is scarce and its acceptance by patients uncertain.

Objective: We aimed to investigating the opinion of people living with HIV on the first application of telemedicine in HIV care in Poland.

Material and methods: The survey consisted of the qualitative (carried out through online interviews using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview technique) and quantitative module (20 questions:five open- and 15 closed-type questions). Four nongovernmental organizations supporting people living with HIV in Poland, participated in the distribution of invitations.

Results: 156 respondents answered, 25% women, 58% over 50 years old, 53% heterosexual. Most were tested for HIV in public healthcare (51%) or voluntary testing(32%) and diagnosed over 5 years ago. 77/156(49.3%) had opinion about telemedicine, of those 22/77(28.6%) answered that they thought that telemedicine had a future and 29/77 (19%) that it did, but under certain conditions (this constitutes 66.2% of those with opinion). 26/77(33.8%) indicated that in their opinion telemedicine had no future. Respondents who had negative opinion were more likely to be from rural areas and of lower level of education. In logistic regression models we found that that having a primary education increased the odds of not having an opinion (OR=5.37 [2.44 to 11.82], P<.0001). Factors decreasing the odds of not having an opinion were difficulties in getting a visit (0.35 [0.15 to 0.81], P=0.01) and access to telemedicine only (0.20 [0.06 to 0.72], P=0.01).

Conclusions: Although over 60% of respondents with opinion identified potential for telemedicine in HIV care, half of them indicated specific conditions necessary to introduce it. The evaluation of HIV management via telemedicine, as well as patients' and providers' acceptance to this form of care needs to be supervised and corrected to patients' reported outcome measures.

Background: Late syphilis (LS) is rarely reported stage of the infection with Treponema pallidum. It develops after one year of untreated infection and most frequently is asymptomatis. Central nervous system (CNS) can be involved in any stage of syphilis. Neurosyphilis (NS) can be asymptomatic or manifest as meningitis, meningovascular syphilis, parenchymatous syphilis, CNS gummas, ocular or auricular syphilis.

Objective: To evaluate patients with LS and NS hospitalized at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology and treated at Outpatient Clinic of Medical University of Bialystok in years 2014-2023.

Material and methods: A retrospective analysis of socio-demographic, epidemiological and clinical data, treatment of patients with LS and NS and, in part, their serological response after treatment.

Results: Over a ten-year period 25 patients were treated for LS: 14 men and 11 women. The mean age in men was 39.3 and in women - 38.4 years (P>0.05). Majority of patients lived in urban areas and was in a steady partnership. Five men (35.7%) declared homosexual intercourses. Symptomatic LS was diagnosed only in one men. The median titre of a VDRL test was 1/16. After treatment follow up was completed in nine (36.0%) patients. In four of them (44.4%) no decline in VDRL titre was noticed one year after treatment. In the same period eight patients were treated for NS, confirmed by a cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) examination. Only one of them had asymptomatic NS, remaining ones had neurological or ophthalmic abnormalities. In seven (87.5%) the VDRL test titre was at least 1/64. Half of men with NS were co-infected with HIV prior to diagnosis of NS.

Conclusions: The study results confirm that LS is asymptomatic in majority of cases. Adherence to after-treatment follow-up remains suboptimal. The results suggest that in patients with high titre of serological tests for syphilis and concomitant HIV infection examination of CSF might be needed.