Socio-demographic determinants of knowledge, attitude and practices towards food safety among Lebanese population during the economic crisis: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Lebanon has been gripped by an economic crisis and the local currency has lost more than 90% of its value; besides, a lack of consistent electricity supply which has contributed to rising concerns about food safety especially among households. This study aimed to assess Lebanese society knowledge, attitude and practice towards food safety during the economic crisis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lebanon between September 5 and January 30, 2021. Data was collected through an online survey that included information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice of Lebanese consumers towards food safety. Two multivariate regression models were performed on the knowledge and practices as a dependent variable. 95% confidence interval was calculated. All tests were two-sided and statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: The majority of participants had good knowledge regarding food safety (74.9%) while more than half of the respondents adopted good preventive practices (62.8%). Multivariate regression of factors associated with good knowledge regarding food safety showed married participants (adjusted OR = 2.1; p < 0.0001), who had university degree and above (adjusted OR = 2.0; p < 0.0001), and who had income < 1,500,000 LBP (adjusted OR = 1.7; p < 0.0001) had a significantly good knowledge score compared to their counterparts. Finally, participants aged more than 35 years old and who had income higher than 1,500,000 LBP (adjusted OR = 1.8; p < 0.0001 and adjusted OR = 1.9; p = 0.01 respectively) were positively associated to good practice towards food safety. CONCLUSION: This study offers useful insights into the knowledge, attitude and practices of Lebanese consumers towards food safety during the economic crisis.

Smoking status and SARS-CoV-2 infection severity among Lebanese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: A paradoxical hypothesis about the effect of smoking on patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrom 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection still exists. Furthermore, gender-discrepancy in the impact of smoking on COVID-19 severity was given little attention. Thus, the aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of smoking and the COVID-19 infection severity in a sample of adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and to explore the relationship between smoking status and SARS-CoV-2 infection severity in the overall sample and stratified by gender. METHODS: A retrospective analytical study was conducted on patients diagnosed with COVID-19 cases between December, 2020 and April, 2021 from three leading laboratories in Lebanon. Sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status and clinical symptoms were collected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between smoking status and SARS-CoV-2 infection severity. RESULTS: A total of 901 confirmed COVID-19 cases participated in the study, 50.8% were females. The mean age of patients was 38.4 years (SD = 15.3). Of the total sample, 521(57.8%) were current smokers. Regarding infection severity, 14.8% were asymptomatic, 69.9% had mild symptoms, while 15.3% had severe infection. In the overall sample, smoking status, smoking types and dose-response were not significantly associated with infection severity. Upon stratifying the entire sample by gender, no association was found between all the considered variables with infection severity among females. However, a significant association was found among male with mild infection compared to their asymptomatic counterparts (OR = 1.78 95% CI (1.01-3.13)). Waterpipe smoking was found to be associated with infection severity among male with mild infection (OR 2.64 (95% CI 1.32-5.27)) and severe infection 2.79, 95% CI (1.19-6.53) compared to their asymptomatic counterparts. CONCLUSION: Our fundings highlight sex differences in the association between tobacco smoking and COVID-19 severity. Current tobacco smoking was not associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection severity among female patients, however, tobacco smoking, particularly waterpipe, was found to be associated with infection severity among male. Thus, the battle against smoking should continue by assisting smokers to successfully and permanently quit.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Lebanon: findings from the first nationwide serosurvey.

BACKGROUND: Lebanon, a small country in the Middle East, remains severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seroprevalence surveys of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies provide accurate estimates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hence evaluate the extent of the pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Lebanon and to compare the estimated cumulative number of COVID-19 cases with the officially registered number of laboratory-confirmed cases up to January 15, 2021. METHODS: A nationwide population-based serosurvey study was conducted in Lebanon between December 7, 2020, and January 15, 2021, before the initiation of the national vaccination program. The nCOVID-19 IgG & IgM point-of-care (POCT) rapid test was used to detect the presence of anti-SARS-COV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the blood. Seroprevalence was estimated after weighting for sex, age, and area of residence and adjusting for the test performance. RESULTS: Of the 2058 participants, 329 were positive for IgG SARS-COV-2, resulting in a crude seroprevalence of 16.0% (95% CI 14.4-17.6). The weighed seroprevalence was 15.9% (95% CI of 14.4 and 17.4). After adjusting for test performance, the population weight-adjusted seroprevalence was 18.5% (95% CI 16.8-20.2). This estimate implies that 895,770 individuals of the general population were previously infected by COVID-19 up to January 15, 2021 in Lebanon. The overall estimated number of subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was three times higher than the officially reported cumulative number of confirmed cases. Seroprevalence was similar across age groups and sexes (p-value > 0.05). However, significant differences were revealed across governorates. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the Lebanese population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and far from achieving herd immunity. These findings represent an important contribution to the surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon and to the understanding of how this virus spreads. Continued surveillance for COVID-19 cases and maintaining effective preventive measures are recommended to control the epidemic spread in conjunction with a national vaccination campaign to achieve the desired level of herd immunity against COVID-19.

Projeto de implantação da gestão da qualidade com base na norma PALC e metodologia ONA em um laboratório de análises clínicas / Project of quality management implementation based on the PALC standard and ONA methodology in a clinical analysis laboratory

O laboratório clínico tem a responsabilidade e compromisso de assegurar que os resultados dos exames reflitam de forma fidedigna a situação clínica apresentada pelos pacientes, por isso é necessário a implantação de um sistema da qualidade e a busca por um certificado de acreditação. O presente trabalho tem como principal objetivo analisar os processos da fase pré-analítica, analítica e pós-analítica em relação aos critérios estabelecidos na metodologia ONA e na norma PALC, identificando as melhores práticas para elaborar um projeto de implantação de um sistema de gestão de qualidade em um laboratório de análises clínicas através de uma análise comparativa com os processos do laboratório clínico. A metodologia usada foram pesquisas em bibliografias especializadas nas plataformas SciELO, PubMed, Lilacs e livros para avaliar a implantação de um sistema de qualidade no laboratório de análises clínicas. Como resultados após comparação das metodologias ONA e PALC, definimos a PALC como a melhor metodologia para o laboratório de análises clínicas, mostrando as ações necessárias para garantir que o processo seja realizado de forma correta.

[Adherence to medication among hypertensive patients participating in the Medicine at Home Program]. / Adesão ao tratamento farmacológico de pacientes hipertensos entre participantes do Programa Remédio em Casa.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze adherence to medication and associated among factors hypertensive individuals taking part in the Medicine at Home Programme. METHODS: this was a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire administered to patients with full access to medication participating in the São Paulo City Health Department's Medicine at Home Programme; treatment adherence was analyzed according to sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics using Poisson regression. RESULTS: 106 patients with arterial hypertension and with full access to medication were interviewed and 80.2% had high adherence; there were no significant differences (p>0.05) between adhering and non-adhering participants with regard to sociodemographic, behavioral or clinical characteristics. CONCLUSION: with adequate provision of health care and full access to medicine, sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical factors did not influence adherence to medicine indicating that health service organization and health policies play a fundamental role in controlling hypertension.