Waterpipe Smoking and Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: A Pilot Study.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to investigate the association of waterpipe smoking with lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review study. A total of 286 adults who underwent a lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at a tertiary medical center were included and divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 125) included non-smokers, group 2 (n = 80) smoked cigarettes only, and group 3 (n = 81) smoked waterpipe only. The intervertebral discs were graded using the Pfirmann disc degeneration grading system. RESULTS: The study showed higher lumbar disc degeneration scores for waterpipe and cigarette smokers compared to non-smokers at all spinal levels. Specifically, post hoc analysis showed that there was a significant difference at L1-L2 between cigarette smokers and non-smokers (P = 0.007) and between waterpipe smokers and non-smokers (P = 0.013), and a significant difference at L3-L4 and L4-L5 between non-smokers and cigarettes smokers (P < .001 and P = .029 respectively). CONCLUSION: Waterpipe smoking is associated with lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.

A conceptual framework on pre- and post-displacement stressors: the case of Syrian refugees.

Researchers have documented multiple stressors and mental health problems along the journey of refugees as they are displaced to seek refuge in nearby and remote host countries. This article examines published research on Syrian refugees to propose a framework to conceptualize Syrian refugees' pre- and post-stressors and their collective impact on their mental health. The proposed framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the interconnected pathways between pre-displacement stressors, post-displacement stressors, and mental health outcomes for Syrian refugees. Pre-displacement stressors are best captured by the concept of trauma centrality and emotional suppression. Post-displacement stressors, categorized under financial, political, and social themes, have a direct impact on the mental health of the refugees, but could also play a partial mediating role on the impact of pre-displacement stressors on mental health. The framework suggests a direct pathway between the experience of war-related traumatic events and mental health and introduces the country of residence as a potential moderator of the severity of mental health. The latter is primarily influenced by local policies and the host communities' acceptance of refugees. We believe that the proposed framework can guide the work of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners concerned with the mental health and well-being of Syrian refugees. Additionally, although based on the experience of Syrian refugees, it presents a holistic perspective that could be adapted in other refugee settings.

Hospitals' Collaborations Strengthen Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons Learnt from COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare systems around the world. This study aims to understand the preparedness of private remote hospitals in Lebanon to respond to the pandemic and evaluate the impact of inter-hospital collaborations on the hospitals' readiness. METHODS: A multi-centered study was conducted between August 2020 and June 2021 in ten Lebanese private remote hospitals based on a mixed-methods embedded approach where the quantitative supported the qualitative. Through the AUB-USAID (American University of Beirut-United States Agency for International Development) COVID-19 project, these hospitals received personal protective equipment and medical equipment in addition to COVID-19-related training using the Train-the-Trainer model. The quantitative part used knowledge and evaluation questionnaires and a pre-post-intervention hospital preparedness checklist. The qualitative approach adopted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample from key hospital personnel. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 27, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. For the qualitative data, a thematic analysis was performed by adopting the six-phase process described by Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: Of the 393 healthcare workers who attended the training and completed the evaluation questionnaire, 326 completed the pre- and post-training knowledge questionnaire. A significant improvement was observed in mean knowledge scores following training for infection control, nursing, and polymerase chain reaction sampling staff (p-value < 0.001, p-value < 0.001, and p-value = 0.006, respectively), but not for housekeeping staff. More than 93% of the participants showed high trainer and content evaluation scores. As for the hospitals' preparedness assessments, there was a clear improvement in the pre- and post-assessment scores for each hospital, and there was a significant difference in the mean of the total scores of partner hospitals pre- and post-USAID-AUB project (p-value = 0.005). These findings were supported by the qualitative analysis, where nine hospitals expressed the positive impact of the USAID-AUB intervention in improving their preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at a critical time when it was highly needed. Despite the intervention, persistent challenges remained. CONCLUSIONS: A timely and proactive collaborative program between academic/tertiary care centers and remote community hospitals that includes sharing supplies and expertise is feasible and highly effective during public health emergencies.

Risk Factors for SARS-CoV-2 Among a Cohort of Healthcare Workers in Lebanon.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) faced substantial risk of infection during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a cross-sectional sample of HCWs as well as risk factors associated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: The study was conducted between March and May 2021 at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), a tertiary hospital located in Lebanon. Socio-demographic and clinical data, as well as data on exposure, PCR results, PPE adherence, and vaccination status, were collected using an online questionnaire. Sera were also collected to determine seropositivity using commercially available enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) targeting the spike (S) and the nucleocapsid proteins (NCP) of SARS-CoV-2. FINDINGS: Among 92 recruited HCWs, 72.3% received PPE training, more than 70% were adherent to using appropriate PPEs, and around 80% were vaccinated. Nurses in this study population were at higher risk of exposure compared to medical doctors, technicians, and other HCWs. Among the HCWs who performed a PCR test, 28.6% were infected with SARs-CoV-2 with workplace exposure not associated with COVID-19 infection. All vaccinated HCWs were seropositive for anti-S IgG with high titer (≥384 BAU/mL), with a significantly higher median anti-S IgG titer compared to unvaccinated HCWs with previous infection (384 vs. 140.1 BAU/mL; p = .0043). CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the importance of implementing strict infection control policies among HCWs and deploying an effective COVID-19 vaccination strategy. More studies are needed in Lebanon to assess risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the workplace.

Asthma in the era of COVID-19.

Since its global invasion in 2019, COVID-19 has affected several aspects of patients' lives and posed a significant impact on the health care system. Several patient populations were identified to be at high risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or developing severe COVID-19-related sequelae. Conversely, anyone who has contracted SARS-CoV-2 is at risk to experience symptoms and signs consistent with post-COVID manifestations. Patients with asthma were initially thought to be at increased risk and severity for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, accumulating evidence demonstrates that asthma endotypes/phenotypes and comorbidities influence the risk stratification in this population. Furthermore, initial concerns about the potentially increased risk of poor outcomes with asthma treatments such as inhaled corticosteroids and biologics have not been substantiated. In this review, we provide an update on COVID-19 and asthma, including risk of susceptibility, clinical manifestations and course in this population as well as discuss recommendations for management.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Health and Wellness Programs for Arab Hospitals' Employees: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Compared to the general workforce, hospital staff has a greater incidence of chronic diseases and mental health illnesses. Wellness programs have been shown to improve the health and well-being of hospital employees by reducing risk factors and promoting healthy behaviors. In the Arab World, there are no available studies on the number, nature, or impact of wellness services provided to healthcare workers. Objective: The study aims to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and components of health and wellness programs targeting hospital employees in Arab countries. It also aims to test the association of hospitals' characteristics and the challenges faced by these hospitals with the availability of such programs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire in English and Arabic emailed to directors of Arab hospitals registered in the Arab Hospital Federation. Results: Only 39.5% of the hospitals in the Arab region have an established wellness program. No significant association was found between hospital characteristics and the availability of these wellness programs. The most provided services for hospital staff are Flu vaccine (90.7%), pre-employment medical exam (79.1%), healthy food options (65.1%), and health risk assessment (60.5%), while the least common provided services are mental health (20.9%) and stress management (23.3%). The most common challenges facing wellness services (scale: 0-10) are financial restriction (5.95), creating a culture of health (5.88), and motivating employees (5.56). Only 4.7% of hospitals provide incentives to participate in their wellness programs. Conclusion: In general, Arab hospitals lack a wellness culture, and more investment is needed in essential wellness services such as mental health, weight reduction, stress management, and smoking cessation.

Using Social Marketing to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake: A Case Study from the "AUBe Vaccinated" Campaign.

The availability of and access to COVID-19 vaccines has been challenging in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), coupled with mistrust in public health organizations instigated by misinformation and disinformation diffused by traditional and social media. In the Spring of 2021, the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon spearheaded a nationwide vaccination drive with the ambitious goal of vaccinating its entire community by the beginning of the academic year 2021-2022, as the campus was due to be opened only to vaccinated individuals. This case study outlines the development, implementation, and evaluation of a social marketing campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations among members of the AUB community, comprising students, faculty, staff, and dependents. Following French and Evans' 2020 guidelines, we implemented an evidence-based and co-designed strategy to maximize the availability and facilitate vaccine access. The campaign used a mix of methods to convince the segments of the population to receive their shots before accessing campus, resulting in a 98% uptake among the community segments within three months (July-September 2021). In this case study, we reflect on the experience and share suggestions for future research and applications that other higher education institutions could use to address similar problems.

Gender differences in pulmonology and critical care authorship and editorial boards.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize the gender distribution of first authors, senior authors, and editorial board members across several high-impact factor journals in PCCM. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we analysed gender disparities in critical care authorship and editorial boards, based on publications from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 from the top 20 high impact journals based on the Journal of Citation Reports. RESULTS: Among 20 journals (median impact factor of 6.66), 25% of editors-in-chief and 28.8% of editorial board members were female. From 2019 to 2021, a total of 23,994 articles were published. Female first authors and last authors made up 29.1% and 21.2% of the authorship, respectively (n = 6637 articles). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates significant gender disparities in critical care authorship and editorial boards, with males predominantly filling the roles of editors in chief, editorial members, and first and senior authors. Despite this significant difference in gender distribution, there was no statistically significant correlation between authorship and editor gender.

Evaluation of stroke pre-hospital management in Lebanon from symptoms onset to hospital arrival and impact on patients' status at discharge: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Hospital arrival time after acute ischemic stroke onset is the major factor limiting the eligibility of patients to receive intravenous thrombolysis. Shortening the prehospital delay is crucial to reducing morbidity and mortality for stroke patients. The study was conducted to investigate the factors that influence hospital arrival time after acute stroke onset in the Lebanese population and to assess the effect of the prehospital phase on patients' prognosis at discharge. METHOD: A prospective cross-sectional study was performed in eleven hospitals from April to July 2021 including 100 patients having stroke symptoms or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Two questionnaires were used to collect data addressing patient management in the pre-hospital phase and the in-hospital phase. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were done to evaluate the potential associations between prognosis, pre-hospital characteristics, and other factors. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 70.36 ± 12.25 years, 43 (53.8%) of them were females, and 79 (85%) arrived within 3 hours after symptoms onset. Diabetic patients had a significant delay in hospital arrival compared with non-diabetics (27.0%vs.7.1%, p-value = 0.009). Moreover, 37 (75.5%) of school-level education patients arrived early at the hospital compared to 7 (100%) of university-level education (p-value = 0.009). The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge in patients with hemorrhagic stroke (10 (90%)) was worse than that in patients with ischemic stroke (38 (80%)) or TIA (3 (15%)) (p-value< 0.001). CONCLUSION: The study findings make it imperative to raise awareness about stroke symptoms among the Lebanese population. Emergency Medical Services should be utilized appropriately in the transportation of stroke patients to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

First trend analysis of antifungals consumption in Lebanon using the World Health Organization collaborating center for drug statistics methodology.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance has reached an alarming rate globally, especially in middle-income countries such as Lebanon. The development of antifungal resistance is associated with the increased population's injudicious consumption. This study aims to measure antifungals consumption in Lebanon as a trend analysis of national data from 2004 to 2018. METHODS: This is a trend analysis of the consumption of antifungal agents in the Lebanese community. Data were obtained from the Intercontinental Marketing Statistics Database between 2004 and 2018. It measures the total consumptions per year, per drug, and the percentage of its correspondents for three routes of administration (oral, parenteral, and topical). Results were reported by Defined Daily Dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day and the total number of DDDs. RESULTS: Community consumption of antifungals in Lebanon has increased by approximately 18.64% between 2004 and 2018, as measured by the number of DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day; and amplified by approximately 87.76% as measured by the number of DDDs. The highest consumption level was noted in 2017, with 1.52 DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day and 3,386,930 DDDs. Fluconazole was the most consumed antifungal while micafungin was the least with 6,723,869.2 (20.99%) and 48.5 (0.0002%) DDDs respectively. Topical antifungals ranked the first type consumed followed by oral and parenteral antifungals representing 51.72%, 48.24%, and 0.033% of the total consumption respectively. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study indicate a marked increase in antifungal consumption in the Lebanese community. This accelerates the need of implementing disease management guidelines and national antifungal stewardship. Moreover, these findings may be used in further benchmark utilization and antimicrobial resistance studies in Lebanon.

Anxiety Among Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Lebanon: The Importance of the Work Environment and Personal Resilience.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to their risk of direct exposure to the virus, they were subjected to long working hours, scarcity of PPE, and additional stressors that impacted their psychological wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to assess anxiety and its predictors among a sample of HCWs at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and to evaluate the association between resilience and anxiety. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey between March and June 2021 among HCWs at AUBMC. The psychosocial scale section included the 7-item generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale and a 25-item resilience scale, validated tools used to assess anxiety and resilience respectively. Data were analyzed on SPSS version 27, and descriptive statistics were applied. Predictors were evaluated using bivariate and multivariate linear regression. Results: From a total of 92 participants, 75% were involved in direct patient care, and of those, 95% worked directly with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. The majority (83%) had minimal to mild anxiety, whereas the rest had moderate to high anxiety levels. Around 41% reported moderately high to high resilience, 47% were found to be between the low end and moderate resilience scale and only 12% had very low or low resilience. More than 80% of the participants received PPE training, reported always working with adequate preventive infection control measures, and were vaccinated. Further, more than 70% of participants reported trusting the management and agreed that the safety of the workers is considered a high priority. No significant association between sociodemographic and COVID-19 work exposure factors with anxiety was found. Multivariate analysis results showed that a lower anxiety score was associated with higher resilience (p = 0.011). Conclusion: This study has shown a strong association between low anxiety levels and high resilience scores in this group of mostly vaccinated HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients. The high percentage of vaccination along with PPE availability could explain the low anxiety levels reported among the participants.

Asthma and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2019: current evidence and knowledge gaps.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Although respiratory viruses are common triggers of asthma exacerbation, it is unknown whether this also applies to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, patients with asthma and allergy appear underrepresented in large reports of COVID-19 cases worldwide. In this review, we evaluate existing literature on this topic and potential underlying mechanisms for any interrelationship between asthma and COVID-19. RECENT FINDINGS: Data from several preclinical and clinical reports suggest a lower susceptibility for COVID-19 in patients with underlying type 2 airway inflammation including asthma that may be related to a reduced expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors for SARS-CoV-2. Corticosteroids further decrease expression of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors, hence may also have a protective effect against infection with SARS-CoV-2. In addition, some studies suggest that the reported improvement in asthma control and a reduction in asthma exacerbations during the COVID-19 pandemic may be related to improvement in adherence to controller therapy and reduced exposure to triggers, such as other respiratory viruses and air pollutants. Recent data point towards differential susceptibility for COVID-19 among asthma patients based on their phenotype and/or endotype. On the basis of existing evidence, continuation with controller therapies is recommended for all patients with asthma. For patients with severe uncontrolled asthma infected by SARS-CoV-2, adjustment of controllers and biologics should be based on a multidisciplinary decision. SUMMARY: Underrepresentation of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with asthma and related allergic diseases may be based on potentially protective underlying mechanisms, such as type 2 airway inflammation, downregulation of ACE2/TMPRSS2 receptors, reduced exposures to triggers and improved adherence to controller medications. Although it is imperative that control should be maintained and asthma medications be continued in all patients, management of patients with severe uncontrolled asthma infected by SARS-CoV-2 including adjustment of controllers and biologics should be discussed on an individual basis.

Biological treatments for severe asthma.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Asthma is a heterogenous disease associated with different phenotypes and endotypes. The unmet needs with severe asthma have led to the emergence of potential therapeutic targets beyond the existing therapies. Recently, several biologics were examined and some have now been approved to target T2 airway inflammation in patients with severe disease. We provide an overview of recently approved biologic, those which are emerging and highlight unmet needs in this area. RECENT FINDINGS: Multiple biologics targeting T2 high asthma are now available for clinical use in the appropriate groups of severe asthma. These target overlapping phenotypes, which include allergic and eosinophilic asthma. Available biologics were shown to improve outcomes that include the reduction of exacerbations and improvement of lung function. Some have also demonstrated improvement in patient-reported outcomes. Some of these biologics have also demonstrated beneficial effects on associated asthma comorbidities. Biomarkers help predict response to certain biologics, although only few currently exist. Emerging biologics blocking other pathways of airway inflammation are under development. Several small molecule antagonists and inhibitors are also in development. Biologics and therapies targeting T2 low or non-T2 asthma are needed. SUMMARY: Recently approved biologic therapies improve asthma outcomes in subset of patients. Future research to uncover better predictors of response can improve the precise approach to therapy of patients with severe disease.

A Rare Case of a Benign Primary Pleomorphic Adenoma of the Lung.

Salivary gland tumors (SGT) constitute a small proportion of primary respiratory system neoplasms. Benign SGT comprises pleomorphic adenoma and is exceedingly rare in the lungs. We hereby present a rare case of a benign primary pleomorphic adenoma of the lung. The histological pattern of the tumor was indistinguishable from the head and neck SGT counterparts and showed biphasic morphology. Malignant features were not observed and a metastatic SGT was ruled out. Although little is known about the clinical progression of these rare tumors, surgical resection and interval surveillance remains the treatment of choice.