COVID-19 Scientific Literacy in Medical and Nursing Students.

The pandemic brought a whole newfound collection of words into our everyday language, some of which had been terms that were infrequently used outside academic and medical settings. However, as familiar as this new pandemic vocabulary has become, there are still several terms that often get mixed in everyday conversations, media communications, and even in the medical field. Some of these terms are often mistaken, which may lead to issues in the understanding of important concepts. Science communication, as a facet of scientific literacy, intends to educate people in an easy-to-understand manner, and this communication is even more important in health care, when a literate patient's medical decisions depend frequently on this process. In this article, we explore the use and misuse of some of the most common terms utilized during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic by nursing and medical students, i.e., future health care professionals, in the hospital environment. This single-center hospital-based cross-sectional study, performed throughout September 2022, included 30 medical and nursing students. All participants completed a self-administered 15-item anonymous questionnaire at a single time point. Nine multiple-choice questions evaluated knowledge, diagnosis, disease manifestations, and vaccines related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Six questions provided demographics and quality assessment information. The analysis of the answers indicated that for at least 75% of the population surveyed, COVID-19 literacy was better for terms related to technology and actions (3/5 questions answered correctly) than for terms related to the disease (1/4 questions answered correctly). The overall median score for questions 1 to 9 was 4.5 of 9 points in total. Based on the results, the language used in the questionnaire was considered easy to understand, with an easy to medium level of complexity, and the perceived time required to complete the questionnaire was less than 5 min. In conclusion, our results showed that efforts need to be made in continuous professional education to increase the knowledge in COVID-19 literacy in the health care environment for medical and nursing students. Larger studies are recommended to identify and to fulfill the challenges that COVID-19 brought to medical and nursing education.

Effectiveness and quality of life in asthmatic patients treated with budesonide/formoterol via Elpenhaler® device in primary care. The "SKIRON" real world study.

Aim: Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting ß2 agonist (LABA) combination therapy is used for the effective control of asthma. Aim of this study was to collect data on the effectiveness, safety, quality of life, and patient satisfaction from a fixed dose combination of budesonide/formoterol administered with the Elpenhaler® device following 3-months' treatment.Methods: A 3-month real-life, multicentre, one-arm, prospective observational study (SKIRON study-NCT03055793) was conducted, using the following questionnaires: Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-6) for asthma control assessment, MiniAQLQ questionnaire for QoL assessment, and Feeling of Satisfaction with Inhaler questionnaire (FSI-10) for patients' satisfaction with the inhaler device. Comorbidities and safety data were also recorded during the study.Results: We enrolled 1,174 asthmatic patients following standard clinical practice in primary care from 126 sites in urban and rural areas of Greece. The majority of patients (71.5%) had at least one comorbidity. A statistically significant improvement in the ACQ-6 score was noted at 3 months compared to the baseline evaluation (mean ± SD 2.19 ± 0.97 at baseline vs. 0.55 ± 0.56 at 3 months; mean change -1.64 (95%CI -1.69, -1.57), p < 0.0001). MiniAQLQ score was statistically and clinically significantly improved, compared to baseline, (4.55 ± 1.04 at baseline vs. 6.37 ± 0.64 at 3 months; mean change 1.82 (95%CI 1.75, 1.87), p < 0.0001). The mean FSI-10 score of 44.2 ± 5.4 indicated patient satisfaction and ease-of-use of the Elpenhaler® device.Conclusions: In this large real-world study of inadequately-controlled asthma patients in primary care settings, the treatment with budesonide/formoterol FDC with the Elpenhaler® device was associated with significant improvement in patients' asthma control and quality of life.

Reactive vaccination as control strategy for an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis C:P1.5-1,10-8:F3-6:ST-11(cc11), Bergamo province, Italy, December 2019 to January 2020.

In Italy, serogroup C meningococci of the clonal complex cc11 (MenC/cc11) have caused several outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) during the past 20 years. Between December 2019 and January 2020, an outbreak of six cases of IMD infected with MenC/cc11 was identified in a limited area in the northern part of Italy. All cases presented a severe clinical picture, and two of them were fatal. This report is focused on the microbiological and molecular analysis of meningococcal isolates with the aim to reconstruct the chain of transmission. It further presents the vaccination strategy adopted to control the outbreak. The phylogenetic evaluation demonstrated the close genetic proximity between the strain involved in this outbreak and a strain responsible for a larger epidemic that had occurred in 2015 and 2016 in the Tuscany Region. The rapid identification and characterisation of IMD cases and an extensive vaccination campaign contributed to the successful control of this outbreak caused by a hyperinvasive meningococcal strain.

Music Playing and Interhemispheric Communication: Older Professional Musicians Outperform Age-Matched Non-Musicians in Fingertip Cross-Localization Test.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous investigations have documented that age-related changes in the integrity of the corpus callosum are associated with age-related decline in the interhemispheric transfer of information. Conversely, there is accumulating evidence for more efficient white matter organization of the corpus callosum in individuals with extensive musical training. However, the relationship between making music and accuracy in interhemispheric transfer remains poorly explored. METHODS: To test the hypothesis that musicians show enhanced functional connectivity between the two hemispheres, 65 professional musicians (aged 56-90 years) and 65 age- and sex-matched non-musicians performed the fingertip cross-localization test. In this task, subjects must respond to a tactile stimulus presented to one hand using the ipsilateral (intra-hemispheric test) or contralateral (inter-hemispheric test) hand. Because the transfer of information from one hemisphere to another may imply a loss of accuracy, the value of the difference between the intrahemispheric and interhemispheric tests can be utilized as a reliable measure of the effectiveness of hemispheric interactions. RESULTS: Older professional musicians show significantly greater accuracy in tactile interhemispheric transfer than non-musicians who suffer from age-related decline. CONCLUSIONS: Musicians have more efficient interhemispheric communication than age-matched non-musicians. This finding is in keeping with studies showing that individuals with extensive musical training have a larger corpus callosum. The results are discussed in relation to relevant data suggesting that music positively influences aging brain plasticity.

Retinal hemorrhages and intermediate uveitis in a patient with drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome: a case report.

PURPOSE: To report a case of drug reaction (or rash) with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome in association with intraretinal hemorrhages and intermediate uveitis. METHODS: Single case report. RESULTS: A 22-year-old Hispanic woman developed a facial rash and blurry vision after the use of oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for a urinary tract infection. Fundus examination revealed bilateral +2 vitritis and intraretinal hemorrhages in all four quadrants. An oral mucosal biopsy revealed V-shaped coagulative necrosis, intraepithelial and superficial acute and lymphoplasmacytic inflammation, consistent with drug hypersensitivity reaction. CONCLUSION: Drug reaction (or rash) with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome can present as cutaneous rash, mucosal lesions, eosinophilia, intermediate uveitis, and intraretinal hemorrhages. In such cases, vitreoretinal manifestations may be considered as diagnostic criteria instead visceral involvement.

Pênfigo foliáceo endêmico (fogo-selvagem) no grupo indígena Xavánte, Mato Grosso, Brasil / Endemic pemphigus foliaceus among the Xavánte Indians, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Foi realizado inquérito soro-epidemiológico através de testes de imunofluorescência indireta e imunoprecipitaçao visando determinar a prevalência do pênfigo foliáceo endêmico (PFE) na populaçao indígena Xavánte do Brasil Central. Do total de 163 amostras de soros testadas, 5 (3,1%) foram positivas à imunofluorescência. Todos os soros positivos procediam de indivíduos com sintomas clínicos da doença. Nao foram observadas diferenças do PFE entre os Xavánte e a populaçao em geral sob o ponto de vista imunológico, já que se verificou uma predominância de IgG4 entre os anticorpos nos pacientes indígenas

Dermatoses entre os Xavánte da área indígena Pimentel Barbosa, Mato Grosso (Brasil) / Dermatosis among the Xavánte from the Pimentel Barbosa Indian Reservation, Mato Grosso, (Brazil)

Os autores descrevem o resultado do inquérito dermatológico realizado entre os Xavánte da área Indígena Pimentel Barbosa, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de doenças relacionadas à higiene inadequada, como a escabiose, pediculose e piodermite. O encontro de perlèche sugere deficiência nutricional. O pênfigo foliáceo endêmico (fogo selvagem) foi a afecção dermatológica de maior gravidade presente nesta população