Resilience and psychological factors among dentistry students who received face-to-face lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This research evaluated whether the relationships between factors of resilience, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety in dental students with changes in teaching and learning methods. We also studied the psychological impact of face-to-face lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study used Google Forms to collect data with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Connor-Davidson Risk Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI and BDI-II). An open-ended question was also asked about important learning difficulties. RESULTS: The analysis revealed very high levels of resilience (30.23 ± 5.84), self-esteem in the normal range (29.08 ± 4.03), minimal depression levels (12.32 ± 8.05), and low anxiety levels (17.20 ± 12.41). There were no significant differences between sociodemographic variables ranges in regard to all psychological questionnaires. No high levels of depression and anxiety were found. CONCLUSIONS: The levels were low compared to other studies in which online teaching was used, which is explained by the fact that the students retained adequate resilience and self-esteem thanks to being able to contact teachers and, above all, their own peers.

Accuracy of Modified Blue-Dye Testing in Predicting Dysphagia in Tracheotomized Critically Ill Patients.

(1) Background: Diagnosis of dysphagia in critically ill patients with a tracheostomy is important to avoid aspiration pneumonia. The objective of this study was to analyze the validity of the modified blue-dye test (MBDT) on the diagnosis of dysphagia in these patients; (2) Methods: Comparative diagnostic test accuracy study. Tracheostomized patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were studied with two tests for dysphagia diagnosis: MBDT and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) as the reference standard. Comparing the results of both methods, all diagnostic measures were calculated, including the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC); (3) Results: 41 patients, 30 males and 11 females, mean age 61 ± 13.9 years. The prevalence of dysphagia was 70.7% (29 patients) using FEES as the reference test. Using MBDT, 24 patients were diagnosed with dysphagia (80.7%). The sensitivity and specificity of the MBDT were 0.79 (CI95%: 0.60-0.92) and 0.91 (CI95%: 0.61-0.99), respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.95 (CI95%: 0.77-0.99) and 0.64 (CI95%: 0.46-0.79). AUC was 0.85 (CI95%: 0.72-0.98); (4) Conclusions: MBDT should be considered for the diagnosis of dysphagia in critically ill tracheostomized patients. Caution should be taken when using it as a screening test, but its use could avoid the need for an invasive procedure.