Objectives: Mobile health app-based interventions are increasingly being developed to support chronic disease management, particularly for epilepsy patients. These interventions focus on managing stress, monitoring drug side effects, providing education, and promoting adherence to medication regimens. Therefore, this scoping review aims to assess how mobile health applications improve epilepsy patients’ knowledge and seizure control, and to identify the features of these apps that are frequently used and have proven to be beneficial. Methods: This scoping review was conducted using scientific databases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar, adhering to the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The review framework consisted of five steps: identifying research questions, finding relevant articles, selecting articles, presenting data, and compiling the results. The literature search included all original articles published in English from 2013 to 2023. Results: Among six articles that discussed mobile applications for epilepsy patients, all featured similar functionalities, including education on epilepsy management and seizure monitoring. Four of the articles highlighted behavioral interventions, such as reminder systems, designed to improve medication adherence. The remaining two articles focused on a side-effect reporting system that enabled doctors or health workers to evaluate and regularly monitor adverse effects. Conclusions This scoping review reveals that mobile health applications employing a combination of educational and behavioral interventions for epilepsy patients significantly improve knowledge about patient self-management and medication adherence. These interventions can prevent seizures, increase awareness, enable better activity planning, improve safety, and reduce the frequency of seizures and side effects of antiepileptic drugs.

Objectives: Epilepsy is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and intervention from health workers. Medication adherence is a factor that influences the success of therapy for patients with epilepsy. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of pharmacists in improving the clinical outcomes of epilepsy patients, focusing on medication adherence. Methods: A scoping literature search was conducted through the ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The literature search included all original articles published in English until August 2023 for which the full text was available. This scoping review was carried out by a team consisting of pharmacists and neurologists following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, including 5 steps: identifying research questions, finding relevant articles, selecting articles, presenting data, and compiling the results. Results: The literature search yielded 10 studies that discussed pharmacist interventions for patients with epilepsy. Five articles described educational interventions involving drug-related counseling with pharmacists. Two articles focused on similar pharmacist interventions through patient education, both verbal and written. Three articles discussed an epilepsy review service, a multidisciplinary intervention program involving pharmacists and other health workers, and a mixed intervention combining education and training with therapy-based behavioral interventions. Conclusions Pharmacist interventions have been shown to be effective in improving medication adherence in patients with epilepsy. Furthermore, these interventions play a crucial role in improving other therapeutic outcomes, including patients’ knowledge of self-management, perceptions of illness, the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in controlling seizures, and overall quality of life.

Objectives: Data on the clinical manifestations and pregnancy outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19 are limited, particularly in developing countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical manifestations and pregnancy outcomes in COVID-19 maternal cases in a large referral hospital in Indonesia. Methods: This study used a prospective cohort design and included all pregnant women with suspected COVID-19. Subjects were divided into COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups based on the results of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics, laboratory results, and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Of the 141 suspected maternal cases, 62 cases were COVID-19-confirmed (43.9%), while 79 suspected cases were negative (56.1%). The clinical manifestations and laboratory findings between the two groups were not significantly different (P>0.05). However, the maternal mortality directly caused by COVID-19 was significantly higher than that in the non-COVID-19 group (8.3% vs. 1.3%; P=0.044; odd ratio, 6.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-60.81). Conclusion The clinical manifestations and laboratory results of suspected pregnant women with positive and negative RT-PCR COVID-19 results were similar. However, within the Indonesian setting, COVID-19 significantly increases the risk of maternal death through both direct and indirect factors.

Introduction: Cancer is a disease that not only causes physical trauma but also affects mental health. Feelings of anxiety and fear of undergoing therapy can trigger stress that causes cancer to get worsened. Qur’an recitation therapy and aromatherapy are considered to have two positive effects that can reduce stress levels in patients. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of Qur’an recitation on reducing stress levels in cancer patients. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental research with one group of pre-test and post-test without control design on 50 cancer patients in the chemotherapy unit of Abdul Wahab Sjahranie Hospital. Interventions are in the form of three therapy sessions of Qur’an recitation and aromatherapy, 30 minutes for each session. Measurements were carried out 4 times, one pretest and three post-tests using questionnaires adapted from DASS. Data then were analyzed using the Friedman Test. Results: There is a decrease stress level in the four groups of measurement time intervals (p <0.0001; χ2 = 143.383> 7.815). These results indicate that Qur’an recitation therapy and aromatherapy may be effective in lowering cancer patients’ stress levels. Conclusion: Hospital is recommended to facilitate cancer patients to access complementary and alternative medicine such as Qur’an recitation therapy and aromatherapy.

BACKGROUND: Population aged 60 years old and above are growing in number; a fact that will have an impact on general and oral health in the future. Oral health is often overlooked in the management of geriatric patients but it is vital to have a knowledged-based practice in order to increase the quality of life of elderly patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the number and types of oral mucosal lesions in geriatric patients who come to the Universitas Airlangga Dental Hospital.

METHODS: This is an observational descriptive study with cross-sectional design. Intraoral soft tissue examination was performed on geriatric patients coming to the hospital between March and December 2018.

RESULTS: One hundred twenty-four (124) new geriatric patients came to the hospital. A total of 152 oral lesions from 63 geriatric patients (50.81%) were identified.  Overall, coated tongue (55.56%) was the most frequently detected lesion, followed by linea alba buccalis (31.74%) and lingual varicosities (26.98%).

CONCLUSION: Coated tongue or white tongue is the most frequently detected oral mucosal lesion, often caused by poor oral hygiene. The dentist should be able to recognize and differentiate them from the worrisome lesions and decide on the appropriate treatment in geriatric patients.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged (a Person 45-64 Years Of Age) ; Adult (a Person 19-44 Years Of Age) ; Mouth Mucosa ; Geriatric Dentistry ; Geriatrics