Zeinab Haghparast; Ziba Taghizadeh; Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leyli; Azam Bagheri; Farnaz Farnam; Marzieh Azizi
Volume 25, Issue 8 , 2023
Abstract
Background: Up to now, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected and killed millions of people across the globe. In these conditions, Iran was experiencing the fifth wave of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, accrued by the Delta variant, over the course ...
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Background: Up to now, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected and killed millions of people across the globe. In these conditions, Iran was experiencing the fifth wave of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, accrued by the Delta variant, over the course of the present study.
Objectives: The present study aimed to reflect on preventive behaviors, psychological distress, and their associated factors in Iranians during the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant outbreak.
Methods: Utilizing a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional research design, this study was performed on 1,015 Iranian individuals referred to the comprehensive healthcare centers in Kashan, central Iran, selected via simple random sampling. Data collection tools included the sociodemographic information questionnaire, the Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19 Questionnaire (PBCQ), and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).
Results: The study results revealed that the mean±standard deviation (SD) of PBCQ was 17.20±4.18 (12-36). In addition, involvement in preventive behaviors against COVID-19 was at higher levels in male (P=0.007), younger (P?0.001), and self-employed (P=0.016) participants with a fair family economic status (P=0.007), as compared to other cases. Those receiving no vaccines (P=0.023), together with the subjects recently contracting COVID-19, also adhered to only some preventive behaviors (P?0.001). The GHQ-12 mean±SD was equal to 2.15±2.41 (0-12). Moreover, the study results indicated that female (P=0.021) younger (P=0.017), married (P=0.024), self-employed (P=0.003) subjects with a fair or poor family economic status (P=0.001) and recent infection with COVID-19 (P=0.010) were more susceptible to psychological distress, as compared to others.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that engagement in preventive behaviors against COVID-19 significantly dwindled, and the incidence rate of psychological distress augmented in the course of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Iranians. These findings could provide healthcare planners and policymakers with valuable information.
Reza Falahatkar; Siavash Falahatkar; Ardalan Akhavan; Samaneh Esmaeili; Ehsan Kazemnezhad; Emad Moaied Abedi
Volume 25, Issue 7 , 2023
Abstract
Background: Transurethral ureterolithotripsy (TUL) is a common and highly efficient procedure for treating ureteral stones. The need for preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent post-TUL infections remains controversial.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the removal of preoperative ...
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Background: Transurethral ureterolithotripsy (TUL) is a common and highly efficient procedure for treating ureteral stones. The need for preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent post-TUL infections remains controversial.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the removal of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis affects the rate of postoperative complications in patients undergoing TUL.
Methods: A total of 62 patients (aged 15-65 years) undergoing TUL between November 2021 and March 2022 were included in this controlled clinical trial. Patients were divided into two groups by the available gradual and sequential sampling methods: 33 had positive preoperative urine culture (UC), and 29 had negative preoperative UC. None of the patients in the two groups received preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. Perioperative and postoperative outcomes, such as the operative time, stone-free rate, postoperative analgesic use, fever, urinary tract infection (UTI), and hospital stay, were reviewed in both groups.
Results: Patients with positive UC were significantly older than those with negative UC (P=0.018), and had a higher BMI (P=0.016). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in most perioperative variables or postoperative outcomes (P>0.05). In addition, patients in the positive UC group had significantly more underlying diseases than the other group (P=0.022). Postoperative symptomatic UTI was found in neither of the two groups. Fever was reported in 3 (9.1%) and 1 (3.4%) patients in the positive and negative UC groups, respectively, with no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P=0.616). In the matched logistic regression model, the effect of preoperative UC on postoperative fever was not significant (P=0.40).
Conclusion: The results of our study showed that prophylactic antibiotics can be eliminated at the discretion of the surgeon in patients without symptomatic positive UC.
