Exploring the Dynamic Landscape of Performance Management: A Bibliometric Analysis of Emerging Trends

Performance management, as a systematic and continuous process of planning, measuring and improving performance, is an important endeavor for any organization, regardless of being private or public. To understand the current state of research on performance management, a comprehensive bibliometric study was conducted. This paper aims to provide a co-occurrence analysis to identify and explore clusters, prevailing and emerging themes, and future research directions. For this purpose data was collected from the WoS database and processed with VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel. The paper contains visual representations of clusters, keywords and their relationships, as well as an analysis of the novelty of the concepts. Based on the average published year (APY), the hottest keywords identified are Covid-19 (APY: 2021), followed by Industry 4.0 (APY: 2020.17), together with other 4IR tools (big data analytics, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud, Iot, etc.). Resulting from the analysis of concepts with APY after 2017, in terms of their representativeness (occurrence), links, and total link strengths (TLS) with other items from the map, three concepts significantly emerged: framework (Cluster 1);public sector (Cluster 3);sustainability (Cluster 4). Based on the overall findings, new research directions were proposed.

Post-Covid-19 Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background and aim: The long-term consequences of COVID- 19 infection on the gastrointestinal tract remain unclear. Here we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and post-COVID-19 disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) after hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Material(s) and Method(s): GI-COVID19 is a prospective, multicenter, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were evaluated upon hospital admission and after 1, 6, and 12 months post-hospitalization. Gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, and depression were assessed using validated questionnaires, namely the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale (GSRS), the Hanxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Adults. Result(s): The study included 2183 hospitalized patients. The primary analysis included a total of 883 patients (614 COVID-19 patients and 269 controls) due to the exclusion of patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal symptoms and/or surgery. At enrollment, gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequent among COVID-19 patients than in the control group (59.3% vs. 39.7%, P<0.001). At the 12-month follow- up, constipation and hard stools were significantly more prevalent in controls than in COVID-19 patients (16% vs. 9.6%, P=0.019 and 17.7% vs. 10.9%, P=0.011, respectively). Compared to controls, COVID- 19 patients reported higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to Rome IV criteria: 0.5% vs. 3.2%, P=0.045. Factors significantly associated with IBS diagnosis included history of allergies, chronic intake of proton pump inhibitors, and presence of dyspnea. [Table presented] At the 6-month follow-up, the rate of COVID-19 patients fulfilling the criteria for depression was higher than among controls. Conclusion(s): Compared to controls, hospitalized COVID-19 patients had fewer complaints of constipation and hard stools at 12 months after acute infection. COVID-19 patients had significantly higher rates of IBS than controls. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04691895.Copyright © 2023. Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l.

Post-Infection Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Sars-Cov-2 Patients: The Gi-Covid19 Study

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection, known as COVID-19, may lead to persistent gastrointestinal dysfunction resembling aspects of post-infection disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). However, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the gastrointestinal tract remain unclear. Aims & Methods: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and post-infection disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) up to 12 months after hospitalization and the factors associated with their presence. The GI-COVID19 is a prospective, multicenter, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were assessed at hospital admission and followed up after 1, 6, and 12 months to assess gastrointestinal symptoms using the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale, the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Adults, and the hospital anxiety and depression scale. ClinicalTrials. gov number, NCT04691895. Result(s): The study included2183 hospitalized patients. After excluding patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal symptoms and/or surgery, a total of 883 patients (614 COVID-19 and 269 controls) were included in the primary analysis, of whom 435 COVID-19 and 188 controls completed 12 months of follow-up. At enrollment, gastrointestinal symptoms occurred more frequently in COVID-19 patients than in the control group (59.3% vs. 39.7%, P<0.001). Symptoms more frequently complained by COVID-19 patients at enrollment were nausea, diarrhea, loose stool, and urgency. At 1-month follow-up evaluation, nausea and acid regurgitation were significantly more prevalent in COVID-19 patients than in the control group (8.7% vs. 1.7%, P=0.015 and 8.4% vs. 2.1%, P=0.006, respectively). At 6 months, COVID-19 patients reported lower rates of flatus (17.6% vs. 19.1%, P=0.024), constipation (8.9% vs. 17.1%, P<0.001) and hard stools (9.6 vs. 17.2%, P=0.030) as compared with the control group. At 12 months, constipation and hard stools were significantly less prevalent in COVID-19 patients than in the control group (9.6% vs. 16%, P=0.019 and 10.9% vs. 17.7%, P=0.011, respectively). COVID-19 patients reported higher rates of DGBI during follow-up compared to controls (Table), although statistically significant differences were found only for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to Rome III criteria (4.4% vs 1.1%, P=0.036) and Rome IV criteria (3.2% vs 0.5%, P=0.045). The rate of COVID-19 patients depressed at 6 months and with anxiety at 12 months was higher compared to controls (4.1% vs 2.7%, P=0.014 and 4.5% vs 1.1%, P=0.088, respectively). Factors significantly associated with IBS diagnosis were anamnestic allergies (OR 10.024, 95% CI 1.766-56.891, P=0.009), chronic intake of proton pump inhibitors (OR 4.816, 95% CI 1.447-16.025, P=0.010) and dyspnea (OR 4.157, 95% CI 1.336-12.934, P=0.014). Conclusion(s): Hospitalized COVID-19 patients complain less constipation and hard stools than control at 12 months after acute infection. COVID-19 patients are also more likely to develop IBS.

Digestive involvement in COVID-19: what we have learned in the past 12 months

Background and aim. The year 2020 will remain in the medical history as the year of COVID-19 pandemic. Although COVID-19 is considered mainly a respiratory disease, it is well known now that SARS-CoV-2 can affect major organs including the digestive system. This is a comprehensive review on gastrointestinal involvement in the SARS-CoV-2 infection, also the digestive damage due to COVID-19. Methods. A literature search was undertaken in main databases of medical publications following the search items digestive or gastrointestinal or gastric or enteral and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. Data on gastrointestinal symptoms and alterations in this viral condition were collected and presented. Only observational studies were included. Results. In this review we discuss the recent information on the relationship between COVID-19 and the digestive system. The putative underlying pathogenic mechanisms of COVID-19 as well as the clinical findings in relation to gastrointestinal changes are presented. Conclusions. SARS-CoV-2 virus can affect any part of the digestive system. Patients with chronic diseases are at greatest risk of adverse out-comes. There is a considerable risk for drug-drug interactions in patients who require a large treatment schedule.

Predictive model for the factors influencing international project success: A data mining approach

Considering that international projects with teams in the virtual environment (IPTVEs) contribute to the reduction in the carbon footprint and, at the same time, become life-saving solutions in extreme global situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations familiar with this type of project will have a substantial advantage in their ability to operate efficiently and to achieve their sustainable goals. An important aspect of project management is to identify the factors that influence the success of an international project, increasing its performance. Our first research hypothesis was that the decision to create a project team in the virtual environment is a factor with a major influence on international project success. Data collection was performed through an online survey conducted within international project team members and managers. The success factors were explained through factorial analysis which revealed two main factors and the neural network algorithm on a dataset through IBM SPSS Modeler software. The predictive model revealed that the most important field is setting up a virtual team, followed by organizational culture. These results support our hypothesis. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.