Quality of life and mental health of volunteers during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Serbia.

OBJECTIVE: There is a paucity of information on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on young volunteers. Therefore, the aim of this survey was to examine the QoL and mental health of young volunteers of the Novi Sad Voluntary Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional prospective study included 255 members of the Novi Sad Voluntary Service, Serbia. The survey instrument probed into the respondents' demographic characteristics and was followed by the anonymous WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire that measured their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic and DASS-21 scale. All statistical analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, vers. 24.0. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 255 young volunteers (71.4% females, 28.6% males), 62.0% of whom were aged 18-25 years, and 52.2% were students. Lower Physical Capacity scores could be predicted by female gender (p < 0.01) and COVID-19 infection among friends (p < 0.05). Male gender (p < 0.05) and being employed (p < 0.05) predicted greater QoL in the Psychological domain. The only predictor of a lower QoL in the Social Relationships domain was the internet as the main COVID-19-related information source (p < 0.05). On the other hand, being female (p < 0.05) and having COVID-19-positive household members (p = 0.01) predicted lower environment domain scores. For the lower overall DASS-21 score, having COVID-19-positive household members was the only significant predictor (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Mental health support should pursue strategies to improve all domains of QoL, especially for vulnerable sub-groups of the population, such as young females and the unemployed. Bearing in mind the importance of public engagement and community support in pandemic circumstances, as well as generally in public health, these results are relevant for interventions far beyond the current pandemic.

Does miliary sarcoidosis really exist? A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Miliary sarcoidosis is a rare form of sarcoidosis characterized by numerous miliary-like micronodules dispersed throughout the lungs. It has been documented in less than 1% of all sarcoidosis cases. We first described a rare case of miliary sarcoidosis and then conducted a literature review on the subject. CASE PRESENTATION: A 51-year-old male complained about a progressive loss of appetite, significant weight loss, occasional night sweats, and fatigue. After a thorough clinical exploration, a differential diagnosis of miliary lung disease was suspected - miliary tuberculosis, fungal infection, metastatic pulmonary carcinoma, or sarcoidosis. High-resolution chest computed tomography revealed bilateral diffuse micronodules with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Histopathological analysis of transbronchial bioptic tissue identified non-caseating epithelioid granulomas, while no malignant cells were found. Lung tuberculosis and fungal infections were excluded. The levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme in the blood, as well as serum's and 24-hour urine calcium levels, were elevated. After a multidisciplinary discussion, the diagnosis of miliary pulmonary sarcoidosis was established. The patient was treated with prednisone for a total of 9 months, with full clinical and radiological recovery. Using PubMed, we also conducted a review of the literature on this topic and discovered only a few case reports of patients with miliary sarcoidosis, with just one systematic review accessible. The key findings of studies investigating patients diagnosed with miliary sarcoidosis are tabularly displayed. CONCLUSIONS: Miliary sarcoidosis is an uncommon type of pulmonary sarcoidosis that can mimic several entities that manifest as miliary nodules. Most patients require treatment since it can have a significant impact on lung function.

Measuring pharmacovigilance knowledge and attitudes among healthcare sciences students: development and validation of a universal questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: Pharmacovigilance education and reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are important competencies that healthcare sciences students should develop before completing their studies and entering clinical practice. Since students frequently lack adequate knowledge in this area and fail to recognize the importance of ADRs monitoring and reporting, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a unique and reliable instrument for assessing health sciences students' knowledge and attitudes toward pharmacovigilance and ADRs reporting. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from February to July 2021 to examine students' knowledge and attitudes toward pharmacovigilance activities. Students of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing science of three faculties in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia were examined. A total of 211 of them completed the specially designed, three-section questionnaire (Demographic data section, Pharmacovigilance Knowledge test, PVKT, and Pharmacovigilance Attitude Questionnaire, PVAQ). The questionnaire was posted on the Google Forms platform, and the link was distributed to respondents via the official websites and social networks of all three faculties. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated good psychometric properties and reliability of the questionnaire. Six questions were removed from the PVKT after item analyses. After excluding these items, the calculated ordinal alpha of the final version of the PVKT, which included 14 items, was good (αord = 0.83), as were other statistical indicators. PVAQ reliability testing also revealed great performance of this questionnaire-calculated ordinal alpha for two PVAQ subscales was excellent (αord = 0.91, for both scales). CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire has favorable validity and reliability in assessing healthcare sciences students' knowledge and attitudes toward pharmacovigilance and ADRs reporting.