STIs during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary: Gonorrhea as a Potential Indicator of Sexual Behavior.

The social distancing measures introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the sexual behavior of the population. We collected data retrospectively from the National STD Center of Hungary. The overall patient influx data of the STD Center and the number of patients diagnosed with syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea infections were assessed in the three-month period of 2020 when the strict governmental lockdown was introduced in Hungary. Data were compared to the pre- and post-lockdown quarters of 2020 and matched to the respective quarters of 2018 and 2019. The number of patients diagnosed with syphilis and chlamydia infections in 2020 during the lockdown decreased compared to 2018 and 2019, while the number of gonorrhea cases increased. The lower number of STI screenings resulted in a significant decrease in asymptomatic syphilis and chlamydia case numbers. However, the growing number of gonorrhea cases in 2020 during lockdown highlights that sexual behavior remained unchanged regardless of restrictions. Therefore, gonorrhea may be considered as an indicator of STI incidences during the pandemic.

Ocular syphilis / Ocularis syphilis.

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés és célkituzés: A syphiliseredetu uveitis szemészeti és általános tüneteinek ismertetése, a prognózis elemzése olyan esetek kapcsán, amelyekben az uveitis kivizsgálása során derült fény a syphilisre. Módszer: 2011 és 2019 között 14 uveitises beteg vizsgálata során derült fény syphilisre (13 férfi, 1 no), a tünetek 25 szemen jelentkeztek. A betegek adatait retrospektíven elemeztük. Eredmények: A betegek átlagéletkora 46 év volt (23-72 év). A szemészeti diagnózis felállítását követoen 2 beteg nem jelent meg a további borgyógyászati és szemészeti vizsgálaton, 1 beteget más intézetben kezeltek. A gondozott 11 betegnél a gyulladásban érintett szemeken az elso alkalommal észlelt átlagolt látóélesség a jobb szemen 0,71 (0,001-1,0), a bal szemen 0,53 (0,04-1,0) volt. A követési ido átlagosan 22 hónap (1-72) volt. A követési ido végén az átlagolt látóélesség a jobb szemen 0,9 (0,15-1,0), a bal szemen 0,82 (0,08-1,0) volt. A leggyakoribb szemészeti manifesztáció a hátsó uveitis volt, amely papillitis, chorioretinitis vagy kombinált formákban volt megfigyelheto, összesen 20 szemen. A neurosyphilis-protokoll alapján alkalmazott penicillinkezelés után a gyulladásos tünetek minden betegnél megszuntek, a követési ido végén a betegek többségénél a látóélesség teljes volt. A gyengébb látóélesség hátterében látóideg-atrophia, illetve a macula károsodása állt. Következtetés: Eseteinkben a betegek foként középkorú férfiak voltak. Bár jellemzo volt a hátsószegmentum-érintettség, megfelelo kezelés mellett a prognózis jónak volt mondható. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(45): 1927-1935. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: To describe the ocular and general characteristics and to assess prognosis of patients with uveitis, whose syphilis infection was revealed during uveitis workup. METHOD: Between 2011 and 2019, 14 uveitis patients were diagnosed with syphilis (13 males, 1 female) with symptoms in 25 eyes. Patients' clinical records were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 46 years (range 23-72 years). 2 patients did not show up for further dermatological and ophthalmic examinations, and 1 patient was treated at another institute. In the 11 patients we treated, the mean visual acuity observed for the first time in the eyes affected by inflammation was 0.71 (0.001-1.0) in the right eye and 0.53 (0.04-1.0) in the left eye. The mean follow-up was 22 months (1-72). At the end of the follow-up period, the mean visual acuity was 0.9 (0.15-1.0) in the right eye and 0.82 (0.08-1.0) in the left eye. The most common ocular manifestation was posterior uveitis (papillitis, chorioretinitis, or in combined forms) in a total of 20 eyes. After receiving penicillin therapy according the neurosyphilis protocol, inflammatory symptoms resolved in all patients, and at the end of the follow-up, the majority of patients had complete visual recovery. Lower visual acuity was due to optic nerve atrophy and macular damage. CONCLUSION: In our case series, the patients were predominantly middle-aged men. Although most patients showed posterior segment involvement, with appropriate treatment the visual outcome was good. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(45): 1927-1935.

Did You Get What You Wanted? Patient Satisfaction and Congruence Between Preferred and Perceived Roles in Medical Decision Making in a Hungarian National Survey.

OBJECTIVES: In a growing number of countries, patient involvement in medical decisions is considered a cornerstone of broader health policy agendas. This study seeks to explore public preferences for and experiences with participation in treatment decisions in Hungary. METHODS: A nationally representative online panel survey was conducted in 2019. Outcome measures included the Control Preferences Scale for the preferred and actual role in the decision, the 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire, and a Satisfaction With Decision numeric rating scale. RESULTS: A total of 1000 respondents participated in the study, 424 of whom reported having had a treatment decision in the preceding 6 months. Overall, 8%, 18%, 51%, 19%, and 4% of the population preferred an active, semiactive, shared, semipassive, and passive role in decision making, respectively. Corresponding rates for perceived role were as follows: 9%, 15%, 35%, 26%, and 15%. Preferred and perceived roles matched for 52% of the population, whereas 32% preferred more and 16% less participation. Better health status, attaining role congruence, and higher 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire scores were positively associated with satisfaction, accounting for 32% of the variation in Satisfaction With Decision scores (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the first national survey on decisional roles in healthcare in Hungary and, more broadly, in Central and Eastern Europe. Shared decision making is the most preferred decisional role in Hungary; nevertheless, there is still room to improve patient involvement in decision making. It seems that patient satisfaction may be improved through tailoring the decisional role to reflect patients' preferences and through practices that encourage shared decision making.

Validity and reliability of the 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) in a national survey in Hungary.

BACKGROUND: The nine-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) is one of the most frequently applied instruments for assessing patients' involvement in medical decision-making. Our objectives were to develop a Hungarian version of SDM-Q-9, to evaluate its psychometric properties and to compare its performance between primary and specialised care settings. METHODS: In 2019, a sample of adults (n = 537) representative of the Hungarian general population in terms of age, gender and geographic region completed an online survey with respect to a recent health-related decision. Outcome measures included SDM-Q-9 and Control Preferences Scale-post (CPSpost). Item characteristics, internal consistency reliability and the factor structure of SDM-Q-9 were determined. RESULTS: The overall ceiling and floor effects for SDM-Q-9 total scores were 12.3% and 2.2%, respectively. An excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.925) was demonstrated. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a one-factor model explaining 63.5% of the variance of SDM-Q-9. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the acceptability of this model. Known-groups validity was confirmed with CPSpost categories; mean SDM-Q-9 total scores were higher in the 'Shared decision' category (72.6) compared to both 'Physician decided' (55.1, p = 0.0002) and 'Patient decided' (57.2, p = 0.0086) categories. In most aspects of validity and reliability, there was no statistically significant difference between primary and specialised care. CONCLUSIONS: The overall good measurement properties of the Hungarian SDM-Q-9 make the questionnaire suitable for use in both primary and specialised care settings. SDM-Q-9 may be useful for health policies targeting the implementation of shared decision-making and aiming to improve efficiency and quality of care in Hungary.

Subjective well-being in patients with pemphigus: a path analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus is a chronic autoimmune blistering disease of the skin and mucosa severely impairing patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). To date, no studies have measured subjective well-being in terms of life satisfaction in pemphigus. Our main objective was to evaluate satisfaction with life in patients with pemphigus, and to analyse its relationship with clinical severity and HRQoL. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out enrolling 77 patients with pemphigus. Subjective well-being was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). HRQoL was assessed by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and EQ-5D-5L. Disease severity was measured by Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS). RESULTS: Mean ABSIS, DLQI, EQ-5D-5L and SWLS scores of patients were 11.7 (SD 17.3), 5.4 (6.8), 0.84 (0.22) and 4.76 (SD 1.52), respectively. The proportion of patients indicating extreme dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction, slightly below average in life satisfaction, average satisfaction, high satisfaction and very high satisfaction with life was 6 (7.8%), 5 (6.5%), 14 (18.2%), 16 (20.8%), 21 (27.3%) and 15 (19.5%), respectively. Life satisfaction was independent from age, gender, level of education and type of disease. A path analysis revealed that there was no direct relationship between ABSIS and SWLS (beta = - 0.09; p = 0.428); however, the following indirect path was confirmed: ABSIS → DLQI → EQ-5D-5L → SWLS. CONCLUSIONS: Disease severity and HRQoL measures regularly used to assess patients' health status may be complemented with a measure of subjective well-being, such as SWLS, to achieve a more holistic assessment of patients' lives and optimise pemphigus care.

[Skin symptoms associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection]. / A humán immundeficientia vírus fertozéséhez társuló bortünetek.

The recently observed accelerated increase of human immunodeficiency virus infection in Hungary poses a major public concern for the healthcare system. Given the effective only but not the curative therapy, prevention should be emphasized. Current statistics estimate that about 50% of the infected persons are not aware of their human immunodeficiency virus-positivity. Thus, early diagnosis of the infection by serological screening and timely recognition of the disease-associated symptoms are crucial. The authors' intention is to facilitate early infection detection with this review on human immunodeficiency virus-associated skin symptoms, and highlight the significance of human immunodeficiency virus care in the everyday medical practice.

[Yeast species in vulvovaginitis candidosa]. / Vulvovaginitis candidosában eloforduló sarjadzógomba-speciesek.

INTRODUCTION: Vulvovaginal candidiasis is the most common mycosis, however, the available information about antifungal susceptibilities of these yeasts is limited. AIM: To compare the gold standard fungal culture with a new molecular identification method and report the incidence of yeast species in vulvovaginitis candidosa. METHOD: The authors studied 370 yeasts isolated from vulvovaginal candidiasis and identified them by phenotypic and molecular methods. RESULTS: The most common species was Candida albicans (85%), followed by Candida glabrata, and other Candida species. CONCLUSION: At present there are no recommendations for the evaluation of antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic fungal species occurring in vulvovaginal candidiasis and the natural antifungal resistance of the different species is known only. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight identification can be used to differentiate the fluconazole resistant Candida dubliniensis and the sensitive Candida albicans strains.