OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to define the cycle threshold (Ct) value of reverse transcription polymerase reaction (RT PCR) as a potential marker in identifying the risk of COVID-19-confirmed patients in developing cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and to present the risk factors associated with such occurrence.

The researcher employed a single center, retrospective, chart review, case-control study among adult RT-PCR confirmed, hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center (LPGH STC) from January to December 2021. The study included 252 patients among 730 RT-PCR-confirmed adult COVID-19 patients who met the study population criteria.

Fifty patients had concomitant CVD, while 202 patients were non-CVD. The majority (n=143, 56.75%) were 19-59 years old male predominance (n=138, 54.76%). More than half of the study population suffered from either hypertension, diabetes, or both, with a high proportion of the subjects being non-compliant or no maintenance medications. Two hundred ten (83.3%) out of 252 patients were unvaccinated. Twenty (7.9%) patients were noted with a history of smoking, and 58 (23%) patients with a history of alcohol intake. The majority of the patients suffered moderate COVID-19 severity during their hospital stay, with a 30.16% (n=76) mortality rate. Ischemic stroke was the most common CVD, with 38 (76%) occurrences. Acute respiratory failure was the leading cause of death, followed by ARDS, brainstem failure, and ACS. The median cycle threshold among CVD patients was 32.84, significantly higher than the majority at 28.64. A higher mean Ct value was noted among patients with CVD infarct at 33.44 as compared to 26.83 among patients with Hemorrhagic Stroke. Utilizing the Point-Biserial Correlation Coefficient to analyze possible association between the Ct value and the occurrence of stroke, a 0.22 correlation coefficient implied a weak positive correlation between the Ct value and CVD occurrence.

The relationship between the cycle threshold (Ct) value and the occurrence of CVD exists weakly, and factors that might affect this relationship must be addressed and resolved. Interpreting Ct value results also requires clinical context; hence, careful utilization of such data must always be observed. Several factors, including old age, male gender, co existing comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus, lack of maintenance medication and noncompliance, vaccination status, smoking, and alcohol intake history, contributed to the poorer outcome of the patients and the high probability of having a stroke.

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading global health concern. Modifiable behavioral risk factors are increasingly recognized in young adults, especially among medical students who often live independently. This study investigated the association between living alone and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors—sleep quality, sodium intake, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI)—among medical students at UERMMMCI during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Researchers conducted an analytical cross-sectional study among 220 medical students. Validated tools were used: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Scored Sodium Questionnaire, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and BMI classification. Researchers performed statistical analyses using Chi-square tests and calculated relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals.

A significant positive association was found between living alone and poor sleep quality (RR 2.132 p = 0.047). No significant associations were observed between living alone and sodium intake (RR 0.96 p = 0.6868), physical activity (RR 1.18 p = 0.2239), or BMI (RR 1.03 p = 0.7367).

Among the studied cardiovascular risk factors, only poor sleep quality was significantly more prevalent among students living alone. These findings highlight the importance of interventions targeting sleep hygiene in this demographic.

BACKGROUND

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is common in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The FIB-4 index is one of the most-studied non-invasive biomarkers that combines age and laboratory parameters (platelet count, alanine-and aspartate- aminotransferase) to evaluate underlying hepatic fibrosis. This study aims to determine the diagnostic value of Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index scoring in screening for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is a high-risk population in development of advance fibrosis.

A single center, analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among adult T2DM patients with and without NAFLD seen at the Out-Patient Department (OPD) and those with NAFLD enrolled under the Liver Disease Databank of the Liver Disease and Transplant Center in collaboration with Research and Biotechnology Division at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City. Medical history was obtained by reviewing charts of eligible patients using data collection form. Liver ultrasound was used as the reference standard in the diagnosis of NAFLD. The FIB-4 index was calculated with this formula: age (years) x AST (U/L)/(platelets (10^9/L) x ALT (U/L)^1/2.

A total of 305 adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study. The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease based on ultrasound among diabetic patients is 76.07%. The median age (p = 0.0204), AST (p < 0.00001), ALT (p < 0.00001) were significantly higher in patients with NAFLD than those without. Platelet count (p = 0.0002) was significantly lower in patients with NAFLD than those without. The proportion of patients with low platelet count, high AST and high ALT were significantly higher in patients with NALFD than those without. In this study, the FIB-4 index cutoff score for screening of NAFLD is ≥0.76, which has an accuracy of 66.23%, sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 38.3%, PPV of 79.46% and NPV of 32.56% in detecting fatty liver.

A FIB-4 index value of ≥0.76 has an acceptable sensitivity for screening NAFLD even in the absence of fibrosis among patients with T2DM. However, due to its low specificity, additional tests to establish NAFLD diagnosis may be required.

Human ; Research Personnel ; Nurses ; Students

During liver injury, intrahepatic macrophage compartment is augmented by circulating monocytes that infiltrate the liver driven by C-C motif chemokine ligand/C-C motif chemokine receptor (CCL/CCR) axis including CCL1‒CCR8 axis, thereby contributing to liver inflammation. Numerous small molecular receptor antagonists, including R243, have been developed for targeting CCR8; however, these agents face challenges in clinical translation, potentially attributed to their poor pharmacokinetic profiles, lack of target specificity, and potential adverse effects. In this study, we designed four CCR8 antagonizing peptides (AP8i-AP8iv) and performed molecular characterization in silico and therapeutic investigation in vitro and in vivo. Based on in silico docking, molecular dynamic simulation using homology build model and in-vitro (competitive) binding studies, AP8ii (YEWRFYHG) evidenced highly favorable and selective interactions at the CCR8-active site. AP8ii inhibited CCL1-driven chemotaxis and LPS/IFNγ-induced pro-inflammatory activation of monocytes-macrophages in vitro. In a CCl₄-induced acute liver injury mouse model, AP8ii treatment decreased intrahepatic infiltration of circulating monocytes. Moreover, AP8ii reduced liver inflammation, as indicated by decreased F4/80, IL6 and iNOS expression, diminished ALT levels, and attenuated fibrosis, as indicated by reduced collagen-I expression. In conclusion, we report a novel CCR8-antagonizing peptide that inhibited CCL1-driven intrahepatic monocytes infiltration and differentiation into pro-inflammatory phenotype, consequently ameliorating liver inflammation and fibrogenesis in an acute liver injury mouse model.

BACKGROUND

The Philippines faces a significant Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden, but only 13% of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients are aware of their status. Barriers to testing include cost, access, risk perception, and stigma. 

To determine the barriers to HIV counseling and testing among clinically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis patients seen at Corazon C. Aquino Hospital.

Cross-sectional research design was employed in this study. Socio-demographic profile and potential barriers to HIV counseling and testing of the respondents was analyzed through descriptive statistics, association was determined through Chi-square. Total enumeration sampling was employed, 33 clinically diagnosed PTB patients was included in this study. 

Results of the study showed 57.58% of respondents lack knowledge about HIV counseling and testing with M < 3.1212. The perceived personal barriers of the respondents are poor knowledge, not perceiving themselves as at risk, and 48.48% not perceiving a benefit in accepting HIV counseling and testing. Socioeconomic barriers include privacy, cost, and fear of rejection from family and friends. Health institutional barriers include unfriendly service providers, privacy issues, queues, delayed results, remote locations, and unavailability. The demographic profile did not significantly correlate with these barriers. 

Increase awareness across all populations is recommended since no correlation with demographic profile was found in this study. Mixed-methods is recommended in this study, to reduce recall bias, validate respondents’ narratives and explore other perceived barriers, increase in sample size is also recommended. 

BACKGROUND

Tobacco smoking remains a primary health concern, more significantly in developing countries and continuously exerts a huge impact on global health. Available treatments for smoking cessation are often associated with adverse side effects, thus there is a great need for new therapies for smoking cessation. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a widely available and well tolerated drug that would increase the intracellular levels of glutathione which modulates oxidative, immune-inflammatory, glutamatergic and neurotrophic pathways. There is suggestive evidence for the use of NAC in smoking cessation. Despite promising preclinical and preliminary clinical findings, randomised controlled trials which aim to evaluate NAC’s efficacy for smoking cessation and substance use disorders have shown mixed outcomes. With this gap in literature this study aims to determine the effect of NAC as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of NAC as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation

The study covered randomised clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals registered in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and PubMed. Study population in the selected studies had patients 18-65 of age years and with tobacco-use disorder or patients who smoke an average of 5 sticks per day. The primary outcome would be the effect of NAC on smoking cessation. The researcher utilised Review Manager 5.4.1 for the analysis of this study.

Initial Search in PubMed and Cochrane Library identified 23 clinical trials (6 PubMed, 17 Cochrane Library). 3 articles were included in the analysis. A total of 238 participants were enrolled in the studies, with 121 enrolled in the treatment group (NAC) and 106 were in the placebo group. The mean age of participants is 36.59 years and treatment duration vary up with the shortest duration of 1 month and longest duration of 3 months. Pooled odds ratio (2.41) shows that the true population odds of smoking cessation were between 1.32 and 4.41 in favor to the participants in the NAC group with 95% confidence interval. Measurement of secondary outcomes showed a significant reduction on carbon monoxide exhaled in the NAC group compared to the placebo group (P-0.0001, MD (95CI) -2.04 (3.09,-0.99). Pooled odds ratio (3.4) shows that there is a higher odds of adverse events between 1.72 and 6.90 higher in the NAC group with 95% confidence interval.

The results of this study showed a favourable effect of NAC as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation. NAC has shown a great potential to address the limited access to therapy due to its good safety profile and its wide availability.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Due to their academic load, medical students are highly susceptible to stress. Stress is one of the factors that can alter sleep quality which may consequently affect the cognitive performance of medical students. There has been a lack of published local literature that looks into the association between stress and sleep quality, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this, the general objective of this study is to determine the effect of stress on the sleep quality of medical students from the University of the Philippines Manila - College of Medicine (UPCM).

A cross-sectional study was conducted using a stratified random sample of 273 males and females of Learning Unit (LU) III (1st year) to VII (5th year) medical students from a college of medicine based in the Philippines, UPCM, during the second semester of the academic year 2021-2022. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to assess sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and stress level using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Kruskal-Wallis was used to test statistical differences between stress scores and the sleep quality of students from different year levels. Spearman's Rho was used to determine the correlation between stress and sleep, and a binary logistic regression was employed to study the association of stress with sleep while accounting for confounding variables namely caffeine intake, year level, daytime nap, duty hours, clinical rotation, sex, and age.

A high prevalence of stress (79.71%) and poor sleep quality (59.73%) among LU III to LU VII UPCM students were found, with a statistically positive correlation (⍴=0.44) 95CI [0.33-0.55] (p-value < 0.001). Both the stress scores and sleep quality indices were not statistically significantly different across LUs. Gathered data and interpreted results showed that medical students suffering from stress are more likely to have poor sleep quality, which can lead to low academic performance and high susceptibility to chronic diseases, compared to those medical students with low levels of stress. Only being an LU IV [OR=1.38 95CI (0.036-4.625)] and LU V [OR=2.13 95CI (0.296-6.936)] student had increased odds of having poor sleep quality compared to LU III students. Caffeine intake, daytime nap, duty hours, clinical rotation, sex, and age were not associated with poor sleep quality.

This study documents a statistically significant association between stress and poor sleep quality among LU III to LU VII UPCM students. A larger study covering multiple medical schools in the Philippines may be of merit for future investigations to generate nationwide data. Additional recommendations include: a) conducting a cross-sectional or a longitudinal study to detect changes in the characteristics of the population, b) observing the differences in the contributing factors at multiple points throughout the year, c) investigating the effect of dwelling set-up on sleep quality may also be investigated and d) determining if sleep quality affects the level of perceived stress of medical students.

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to chemical agents in salon products, such as ammonia and formaldehyde, poses significant respiratory health risks for hairdressers. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Disease Patterns (DPLD) observed in chest X-rays of hairdressers in the National Capital Region and to document their reported respiratory symptoms. METHODS: An analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted involving 100 hairdressers who underwent plain chest X ray examinations to identify any of the 12 recognized DPLD patterns. Participants also accomplished a self administered questionnaire detailing their demographic information, working conditions, health histories and current respiratory symptoms. RESULTS: Thirty nine percent of participants showed DPLD patterns on chest X-rays, primarily fine reticular opacities (69.23%) and coarse reticular opacities (25.64%). Positive associations (RR>1) were linked to over five years of work, lack of PPE, daily exposure to hair iron steam, respiratory symptoms, and salon vapor exposure of exceeding five hours daily. Symptoms reported included shortness of breath (27%) and throat irritation (15%). Logistic regression confirmed a significant link between DPLD and positive respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSION This study highlights the risk of structural lung abnormalities and respiratory symptoms among hairdressers, emphasizing the need for improved workplace safety, consistent PPE use and routine medical screenings to reduce occupational health risks.
Human ; Lung diseases, interstitial

INTRODUCTION

The conventional teaching of laparoscopic surgery in academic centers in the apprentice/mentor model is highly subjective. The Gynecological Endoscopic Surgical Education and Assessment is a well-structured education program proposed by the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (ESGE). This program uses the Laparoscopic Skills Training and Testing (LASTT) kit, an objective, validated, and measurable test to evaluate an individual’s competence level in basic laparoscopic psychomotor skills. The LASTT kit may be used to assess the basic laparoscopic psychomotor skills of Filipino doctors, guide surgical training recruitment, and improve the local minimally invasive surgery curriculum.

The study will describe the implementation of the LASTT kit in evaluating the psychomotor skills of Filipino physicians in training and assess the feasibility and user acceptance of the kit.

A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. A total of 34 trainees (19 medical interns and 15 surgical residents) were included. All trainees underwent the LASTT test to have the baseline data for comparison of each cohort. A posttest questionnaire for the feasibility and user acceptance of the kit was accomplished.

A majority of participants were right-handed, and female, with 0–30 laparoscopic assists. The mean age of surgical residents was higher than medical interns. Surgical residents showed a significantly shorter time to accomplish the exercises than medical interns. Finally, it showed that the kit was clear and understandable, easy to use, and represented a realistic model of the actual laparoscopic surgery.

The surgical residents were superior to medical interns in laparoscopic psychomotor skills, which supports that hands-on training and exposure to procedures improve skill proficiency. Furthermore, the LASTT kit was well accepted and would greatly aid in recruitment and skills training in the Philippines.