Strategies for Oxygen Ecosystems in Middle-Income Countries: A Review and Case Study from Lebanon.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge of critically ill patients and a sudden increase in the need for oxygen treatment worldwide. Pre-existing gaps in oxygen systems became apparent, and governments, multilateral agencies, and other partners scrambled to increase the production, supply, and use of oxygen to meet this need. The importance of an oxygen ecosystem that is appropriate for the local context became clear. This review describes strategies for oxygen ecosystems in middle-income countries, with specific experiences from Lebanon, following the authors' extensive assessment of the country's oxygen ecosystem, on behalf of the government and UNICEF. In the assessment, fifteen governmental hospitals were visited and evaluated using the UNICEF Oxygen System Planning Tool, discussions were held with key stakeholders, and documents were reviewed. An optimal oxygen ecosystem needs to take into consideration the production of oxygen and delivery to facilities, the maintenance system within facilities, and the clinical use of oxygen. Lebanon, a lower-middle income country in the Middle East, is contending with an extensive economic crisis affecting the health system. Eighteen recommendations for strengthening the oxygen ecosystem in Lebanon that are relevant for other middle-income countries include the establishment of a National Oxygen Committee, installation of additional oxygen plants, strengthened systems for maintenance and electricity supply, increased production, procurement and supply chain resilience, improved training and human resources, the use of data collection and regular information to guide the ecosystem, and integration of oxygen into the rest of the health system.

Drug persistence in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases during a major economic crisis: results from a nationwide cross-sectional online survey.

To evaluate the drug persistence in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) during the current economic crisis in Lebanon and to estimate predictors of persistence. A nationwide multicentric cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted in Lebanon with patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (CIRDs) and non-inflammatory RMDs controls between July and October 2022. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were categorized as conventional synthetic (cs), biological (b), subcutaneous (SC) or intravenous (IV), and targeted synthetic (ts). Persistence was defined as "number of tablets or injections taken during the past month versus prescribed". The percentage of patients who discontinued or changed treatment due to cost or non-availability was reported. Factors associated with persistence were identified using multivariable linear regression. The study included 317 patients with RMDs (286 CIRDs); mean age 49.5 years, 68% females, 58% reporting currently low economic level. Persistence at one month was low for tsDMARDs (36%) and bDMARDs (SC55%, IV63%), and acceptable for csDMARDs (88%). A persistence ≥80% was found in 23.3% of patients on tsDMARDs, 42.9% on SC bDMARDs, 45.0% on IV bDMARDs, and 74.7% on csDMARDs. During the past 6 months, 55.8% of CIRD patients discontinued or changed treatment due to non-availability (45.3%) or cost (21.2%). Persistence was positively associated with finding alternative sources such as buying abroad (36%), depending on friends or families abroad (20%), charities (10%), and negatively associated with unemployment and low financial status. Persistence was significantly compromised for essential antirheumatic drugs and was mostly driven by treatment unavailability and cost.

Knowledge management tools and mechanisms for evidence-informed decision-making in the WHO European Region: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge management (KM) emerged as a strategy to promote evidence-informed decision-making. This scoping review aims to map existing KM tools and mechanisms used to promote evidence-informed health decision-making in the WHO European Region and identify knowledge gaps. METHODS: Following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance for conducting scoping reviews, we searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and Open Grey. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the general characteristics of the included papers and conducted narrative analysis of the included studies and categorized studies according to KM type and phase. RESULTS: Out of 9541 citations identified, we included 141 studies. The KM tools mostly assessed are evidence networks, surveillance tools, observatories, data platforms and registries, with most examining KM tools in high-income countries of the WHO European region. Findings suggest that KM tools can identify health problems, inform health planning and resource allocation, increase the use of evidence by policymakers and stimulate policy discussion. CONCLUSION: Policymakers and funding agencies are called to support capacity-building activities, and future studies to strengthen KM in the WHO European region particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. An updated over-arching strategy to coordinate KM activities in the WHO European region will be useful in these efforts.

Public health effects of travel-related policies on the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To map travel policies implemented due to COVID-19 during 2020, and conduct a mixed-methods systematic review of health effects of such policies, and related contextual factors. DESIGN: Policy mapping and systematic review. DATA SOURCES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: for the policy mapping, we searched websites of relevant government bodies and used data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker for a convenient sample of 31 countries across different regions. For the systematic review, we searched Medline (Ovid), PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and COVID-19 specific databases. We included randomized controlled trial, non-randomized studies, modeling studies, and qualitative studies. Two independent reviewers selected studies, abstracted data and assessed risk of bias. RESULTS: Most countries adopted a total border closure at the start of the pandemic. For the remainder of the year, partial border closure banning arrivals from some countries or regions was the most widely adopted measure, followed by mandatory quarantine and screening of travelers. The systematic search identified 69 eligible studies, including 50 modeling studies. Both observational and modeling evidence suggest that border closure may reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, disease spread across countries and between regions, and slow the progression of the outbreak. These effects are likely to be enhanced when implemented early, and when combined with measures reducing transmission rates in the community. Quarantine of travelers may decrease the number of COVID-19 cases but its effectiveness depends on compliance and enforcement and is more effective if followed by testing, especially when less than 14 day-quarantine is considered. Screening at departure and/or arrival is unlikely to detect a large proportion of cases or to delay an outbreak. Effectiveness of screening may be improved with increased sensitivity of screening tests, awareness of travelers, asymptomatic screening, and exit screening at country source. While four studies on contextual evidence found that the majority of the public is supportive of travel restrictions, they uncovered concerns about the unintended harms of those policies. CONCLUSION: Most countries adopted full or partial border closure in response to COVID-19 in 2020. Evidence suggests positive effects on controlling the COVID-19 pandemic for border closure (particularly when implemented early), as well as quarantine of travelers (particularly with higher levels of compliance). While these positive effects are enhanced when implemented in combination with other public health measures, they are associated with concerns by the public regarding some unintended effects.

The use of evidence in decision making by hospital managers in Lebanon: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge synthesis products have emerged as support agents for decision making in clinical practice and policy. However, their use for evidence-informed decision making remains limited in health care management especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study assesses the use of evidence by middle and senior managers in Lebanese hospitals. METHODS: This multihospital cross-sectional study used a self-administered web survey of middle and senior managers. Hospitals were purposively selected, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Hospital participation rate was 25%, while adjusted managers' response rate was 44.8%. Prevalence of using evidence was 70%, while prevalence of evidence-seeking behavior was 90%. Evidence was mainly used in design of policies, protocols, and procedures; nursing issues; or procurement decisions. Facilitators for evidence-informed decision making included upper management support and organizational culture, whereas limited resources such as funding, time, and training hindered use of evidence. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that utilization of evidence was comparable with that of high-income countries. Training and continuous education were crucial for advancing evidence-informed decision making among hospital managers. However, neither the quality nor the sources of evidence used for decision making were assessed in this study. Future studies should assess the quality and sources of evidence utilized in decision making.

Postpartum sacral stress fracture: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Stress fractures are classified as insufficiency and fatigue fractures. Insufficiency fractures occur when normal stresses are placed on bone with decreased mineralization and elastic resistance; whereas fatigue fractures occur when abnormal forces are applied to normal bone. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of postpartum bilateral sacral fracture in the absence of documented osteoporosis in a 30 year old Lebanese female, thus satisfying the classification of fatigue fractures. Clinical presentation was mainly low back pain, pelvic pain, and abnormal gait. CONCLUSIONS: This case stresses the importance of including sacral fractures in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with similar symptoms during pregnancy or the postpartum period.

Ascites as the presenting symptom of multiple myeloma in a scleroderma patient.

Several reports have demonstrated associations between scleroderma and cancer and between multiple myeloma and autoimmune diseases. Few papers have also reported the concurrence of scleroderma and multiple myeloma. We report a case of multiple myeloma that developed in a male patient after 28 years of fulfilling a diagnosis of scleroderma. The main presenting feature of multiple myeloma was ascites, solely explained by the increased vascular permeability that occurs in this disease.