Background: Despite the importance of vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines is lower among RA patients than in the general population. Objective: To determine the extent of COVID-19 knowledge among RA patients and their attitudes and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenology approach was performed through face-to-face, individual-based, semi-structured interviews in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, rheumatology unit. A convenient sample of RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was included until the point of saturation. A thematic content analysis approach was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: Twenty-five RA patients participated in this study. Regarding knowledge about COVID-19, most participants were able to define COVID-19, realize its contagious nature, and see the need for masks to get protection from this infection, while only a minority knew COVID-19 symptoms. Most participants obtained information about COVID-19 from TV programs and the public. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, about 1/4 of the participants knew vaccine side effects, and only 12% of them had positive attitudes toward the vaccine. Additionally, 19 participants were unwilling to take the vaccine. The most common reasons behind this reluctance to take the vaccine include fear of the vaccine's short- and long-term side effects and the worsening of RA. Conclusion: RA patients' knowledge about COVID-19 and its vaccines was poor, and their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines were negative.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The
... Show MoreBackground: Self-medication is a practice or action taken by individuals for themselves in order to achieve and maintain health, as well as to avoid and protect against disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of self-medication among medical students at Sudan International University.
Subjects & Methods: This was a prospective study that involved 288 out of 1000 students in the Faculty of Medicine at Sudan International University. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from January to March 2022 to evaluate the self-medication knowledge, attitude, and practice among first, second, and third-ye
... Show MoreObjectives: to assess chronic diseases patients’ knowledge toward stroke risk factors and warning signs, besides
determining the relationship between chronic diseases patients’ knowledge and their sociodemographical
characteristics.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at public medical clinics which has started from December
2
nd, 2008 to August 8th, 2009. A purposive "non-probability" sample of (300) chronic diseases individuals who
were clients of Public Medical Clinics who have one or more of the following chronic diseases (hypertension,
diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, and previous stroke), in Baghdad city. The data were collected through the use
of a constructed questionnaire which consists
Abstract
Objective(s): A descriptive study aimed to determine nurses' knowledge about chest physiotherapy techniques for patients with Corona virus disease and observe the relationship between nurses' knowledge and their socio-demographic characteristics.
Methodology: The study was directed in isolation units of Al- Hussein teaching hospitals in Thi-Qar, Iraq for the period from June 1st, 2022 to November 27th, 2022. Non- probability (purposively) sample comprised 41 nurses. A questionnaire was used for data collection and it consists of two parts: the first part comprises socio demographic features, the second part includes self- administered questionnaire sheet wa
... Show MoreBackground: Coronavirus, which causes respiratory illness, has been a public health issue in recent decades. Because the clinical symptoms of infection are not always specific, it is difficult to expose all suspects to qualitative testing in order to confirm or rule out infection as a test. Methods: According to the scientific studies and investigations, seventy-three results of scientific articles and research were obtained using PubMed, Medline, Research gate and Google Scholar. The research keywords used were COVID-19, coronavirus, blood parameters, and saliva. Results: This review provides a report on the changes in the blood and saliva tests of those who are infected with the COVID-19.COVID-19 is a systemic infection that has
... Show MoreDuring infection, T. gondii disseminates by the circulatory system and establishes chronic infection in several organs. Almost third of humans, immunosuppressed individuals such as HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients are exposed to toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the possibility that Toxoplasma infection could be a risk factor for COVID-19 patients and its possible correlation with C-reactive protein and ferritin. Overall 220 patients referred to the Al Furat General Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq were enrolled from 2020–2021. All serum samples were tested for T. gondii immunoglobulins (IgG and IgM) antibodies, C-reactive protein and ferritin levels. In patients with COVID-19, the results
... Show MoreBackground: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the new respiratory virus SARS-CoV2. It has a tropism in the lung tissues where excess target receptors exist. Periostin plays a role in subepithelial fibrosis associated with bronchial asthma. Since the Coronavirus's target is the human respiratory system, Periostin has been recently described as a valuable new biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease in patients with COVID-19 lung involvement. Objectives: To assess the level of Periostin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and to correlate its role in disease severity and prognosis. Subjects and Methods: Periostin serum levels were measured for 63 patients attending three main COVID
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that is highly prevalent, leading to gradual cartilage distraction, and therefore is important to diagnose in the early stage. This study aimed to estimate the level of rheumatoid factor (RF) and Anti-citrullinated protein (Anti-ccp) in the serum of female patients. We also investigated several female reproductive hormones in the patients and compared their levels in the premenopausal and postmenopausal phases. The study included 88 female subjects, 50 suffering from signs of rheumatoid arthritis who were attending AL-Yarmouk teaching hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, and 38 without clinical signs of RA as a control group. The ELISA technique was used to estimate all the studied parameters. The resul
... Show MoreMethotrexate (MTX) is still one of the gold standard treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It shows diverse outcomes in blood level and clinical response, this was demonstrated by its relation to the genetic polymorphism in the pharmacogenetic study. This study aimed to investigate the role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphisms in relation to MTX efficacy and toxicity in Iraqi Kurdish RA patients. Sixty-four RA patients were involved in this study with an average age of 47.78 ±14.08 and female to male ratio of (8.1). Diagnosis and disease activity were confirmed. Blood analyses, including those of laboratory markers of disease activity, were done. The 28 joint disease activity score (DAS28-CRP) w
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