Knowledge, attitude, and practice of Egyptian medical students towards healthcare workers' recommended vaccines: a nationwide cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) is pivotal in decreasing the incidence of contagious infections in hospital settings. In this study, we assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding HCWs' recommended vaccines among medical students and interns in Egypt. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured, pilot-tested, and self-administered questionnaire among Egyptian medical students and interns. We invited 1332 participants to our survey using a systematic random sampling that included participants across nine medical schools in Egypt during the 2021-2022 academic year. RESULTS: Out of 1332 participants, 1141 completed our questionnaire with a response rate of 85.7%. Overall, 43% of the participants had intermediate knowledge (knew 2-3 HCWs' recommended vaccines). Furthermore, 36.7% had received a booster dose of at least one of the HCWs' recommended vaccines over the last 10 years, with only 6.1% having received all recommended vaccines. Hepatitis B vaccine was the most widely known (71%) and received (66.7%). Interns were more likely to know, receive, and recommend HCWs' recommended vaccines. The majority (> 90%) agreed that vaccination is beneficial and safe, with a median score of eight (interquartile range [IQR: Q25-Q75]: 7-9) out of ten for vaccine efficacy and eight (IQR: 7-8) for safety. However, the median score for hesitancy was five (IQR: 2-7). The most common influential and limiting factors for vaccination were scientific facts (60.1%) and fear of vaccine side effects (44.9%). CONCLUSION: Although medical students in Egypt have good knowledge of and attitudes towards vaccination, there is a gap in their practices. Interventions are needed to improve vaccination uptake among medical students in Egypt.

Comparative effectiveness of ultrathin vs. standard strut drug-eluting stents: insights from a large-scale meta-analysis with extended follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Newer generation ultrathin strut stents are associated with less incidence of target lesion failure (TLF) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the short term. However, its long-term effect on different cardiovascular outcomes remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: We aim to identify the effects of newer-generation ultrathin-strut stents vs. standard thickness second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) on long-term outcomes of revascularization in coronary artery disease. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library databases, and Scopus for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and registries that compare newer-generation ultrathin-strut (< 70 mm) with thicker strut (> 70 mm) DES to evaluate cardioprotective effects over a period of up to 5 years. Primary outcome was TLF, a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) or target lesion revascularization (TLR). Secondary outcomes included the components of TLF, stent thrombosis (ST), and all-cause death were pooled as the standardized mean difference between the two groups from baseline to endpoint. RESULTS: We included 19 RCTs and two prospective registries (103,101 patients) in this analysis. The overall effect on the primary outcome was in favor of second-generation ultrathin struts stents in terms of TLF at ≥ 1 year, ≥ 2 years, and ≥ 3 years (P value = 0.01, 95% CI [0.75, 0.96]), P value = 0.003, 95% CI [0.77, 0.95]), P value = 0.007, 95% CI [0.76, 0.96]), respectively. However, there was no reported benefit in terms of TLF when we compared the two groups at ≥ 5 years (P value = 0.21), 95% CI [0.85, 1.04]). Some of the reported components of the primary and secondary outcomes, such as TLR, target vessel revascularization (TVR), and TVMI, showed the same pattern as the TLF outcome. CONCLUSION: Ultrathin-strut DES showed a beneficial effect over thicker strut stents for up to 3 years. However, at the 5-year follow-up, the ultrathin strut did not differ in terms of TLF, TLR, TVR, and TVMI compared with standard-thickness DES, with similar risks of patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE), MI, ST, cardiac death, and all-cause mortality.

Efficacy and safety of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on prediabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Prediabetes is a condition preceding the development of diabetes and is associated with an increased risk of a number of complications. The primary mode of management is thought to be lifestyle modification. Pharmacological therapy, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), were not well addressed in the literature and were only evaluated in trials as secondary and exploratory outcomes with a limited sample size. Here, GLP-1RAs are evaluated as a comprehensive therapy approach for patients with prediabetes. METHODS: A comprehensive search of Web of Science, SCOPUS, PubMed, and Cochrane was performed on May 5, 2023, to retrieve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of GLP-1RAs to placebo and/or lifestyle modification on prediabetes reversion to normoglycemia, prevention of overt diabetes, glycemic control, anthropometric parameters, and lipid profiles. Review Manager (RevMan) version 5.4 was used. The quality of RCTs was assessed using the revised version of the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. GRADE was performed to evaluate the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: Twelve trials involving 2903 patients in the GLP-1RAs group and 1413 in the control group were included in the meta-analysis. Low quality of evidence revealed that GLP-1RAs significantly increased the incidence of prediabetes reversion to the normoglycemic state [RR = 1.76, 95% CI (1.45, 2.13), P < 0.00001] and moderate quality of evidence showed that GLP-1RAs significantly prevented new-onset diabetes [RR = 0.28, 95% CI (0.19, 0.43), P < 0.00001]. Significant reductions in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, body weight, waist circumference, triglycerides, and LDL were observed in the GLP-1RAs arm (P < 0.05). However, higher incidences of gastrointestinal disorders were reported in the GLP-1RAs group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GLP-1RAs combined with lifestyle modification proved to be a more effective therapy for managing prediabetic patients than lifestyle modification alone, with a tolerable safety profile. Future guidelines should consider GLP-1RAs as an adjunct to lifestyle modification in the management of prediabetic patients to provide better management and improve treatment adherence.