METHODS: The cross sectional study was conducted on the sample recruited from three drug treatment centers in Pakistan. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants who met ICD-10 criteria for prescription drug dependence. Several aspects like substance use histories, negative health outcomes, patient attitude, pharmacy and physician practices also collected to predict the determinants of (PDD). Binomial logistic regression models examined the factors associated with PDD and PIDU.
RESULTS: Of the 537 treatment seeking individuals interviewed at baseline, close to one third (178, 33.3%) met criteria for dependence on prescription drugs. The majority of the participants were male (93.3%), average age of 31 years, having urban residence (67.4%). Among participants who met criteria for dependence on prescription drugs (71.9%), reported benzodiazepines as the most frequently used drug, followed by narcotic analgesics (56.8%), cannabis/marijuana (45.5%), and heroin (41.5%). The patients reported alprazolam, buprenorphine, nalbuphine, and pentazocin use as alternatives to illicit drugs. PDD was significantly negatively associated with injectable route (OR = 0.281, 95% CI, 0.079-0.993) and psychotic symptoms (OR = 0.315, 95% CI, 0.100, 0.986). This implies that PDD is less likely to be associated with an injectable route and psychotic symptoms in contrast to PIDU. Pain, depression and sleep disorder were primary reasons for PDD. PDD was associated with the attitude that prescription drugs are safer than illicit drugs (OR = 4.057, 95%CI, 1.254-13.122) and PDD was associated with being on professional terms (i.e., having an established relationship) with pharmaceutical drugs retailers for acquisition of prescription drugs.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The study found benzodiazepine and opioid dependence in sub sample of addiction treatment seekers. The results have implications for drug policy and intervention strategies for preventing and treating drug use disorders.
METHODS: SRs of the efficacy of family-centered interventions on perinatal depression were systematically searched in nine databases. The retrieval period was from the inception of the database to December 31, 2022. In addition, two reviewers conducted an independent evaluation of the quality of reporting, bias risk, methodologies, and evidence using ROBIS (an instrument for evaluating the bias risk of SRs), Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), AMSTAR 2 (an assessment tool for SRs), and grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluations (GRADE).
RESULTS: A total of eight papers satisfied the inclusion criteria. In particular, AMSTAR 2 rated five SRs as extremely low quality and three SRs as low quality. ROBIS graded four out of eight SRs as "low risk." Regarding PRISMA, four of the eight SRs were rated over 50%. Based on the GRADE tool, two out of six SRs rated maternal depressive symptoms as "moderate;" one out of five SRs rated paternal depressive symptoms as "moderate;" one out of six SRs estimated family functioning as "moderate," and the other evidence was rated as "very low" or "low." Of the eight SRs, six (75%) reported that maternal depressive symptoms were significantly reduced, and two SRs (25%) were not reported.
CONCLUSION: Family-centered interventions may improve maternal depressive symptoms and family function, but not paternal depressive symptoms. However, the quality of methodologies, evidence, reporting, and bias of risk in the included SRs of family-centered interventions for perinatal depression was not satisfactory. The above-mentioned demerits may negatively affect SRs and then cause inconsistent outcomes. Therefore, SRs with a low risk of bias, high-quality evidence, standard reporting, and strict methodology are necessary to provide evidence of the efficacy of family-centered interventions for perinatal depression.
METHODS: Five hundred and twenty-five adults participated in the current study, and data were collected from January 2021 to March 2021 through the online survey of Malaysian respondents. The cross-sectional data was analyzed using the second-generation statistical method of partial least square structural equation modeling.
RESULTS: HCS is insignificantly associated with the intention to use WFDs. Perceived compatibility, perceived product value, perceived usefulness, and perceived technology accuracy significantly influence the intention to use WFDs. HMT significantly impacts the adoption of WFDs; however, the intention to use WFDs negatively but significantly influences the use of WFDs. Lastly, the association between the intention to use WFDs and the adoption of WFDs is significantly moderated by HMT.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study findings illuminate the significant impact of technology-level attributes of WFDs on the intention to use WFDs. However, an insignificant impact of HCS on the intention to use WFDs was reported. Our result confirms that HMT plays a significant role in the use of WFDs. Such as the moderating role of HMT is vital to transform the intention to use WFDs into the adoption of WFDs.
METHODS: Albino rats weighing 220-250 g were divided into five groups: control, SW stress, and SW treated with Oxitard at low, medium, and high doses of 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg/day, respectively. The rats were subjected to SW stress for 15 days and then assessed for body weight, reproductive organ weight, testosterone, antioxidant status, sperm function, and histological changes in the testes, seminal vesicles, and vas deferens.
RESULTS: The results showed that SW stress significantly reduced body weight, seminal vesicle weight, testosterone levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), sperm count, sperm motility, sperm viability, and significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The testes of the SW-stress group rats also showed a significant decrease in spermatogenesis and the number of seminiferous tubules containing sperm. In contrast, treatment with Oxitard, especially at the highest dose, demonstrated potent free radical scavenging activity, recovering antioxidant status, and sperm function.
CONCLUSION: SW stress led to decreased sperm function, antioxidant status, and increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) in male rats. Oxitard treatment, particularly in high doses, showed a potential role as a free radical scavenger in treating oxidative stress (OS)-associated male infertility. Further studies are needed to investigate the individual components of Oxitard and conduct clinical trials in human subjects.
METHOD: This systematic review was conducted according to the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook for Reviews of Interventions and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify eligible studies. The main outcome variable was the preoperative assessment of patterns of blood supply to the colon and the impact of these patterns on anastomosis leak. The quality of bias control in the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the included studies, no meta-analysis was conducted.
RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included. The study covered a period from 1978 to 2021. A significant degree of variation in the arterial and/or venous supply of the colon and rectum might influence anastomosis leak rates. Calcification in great blood vessels can be assessed with a preoperative computed tomography scan, which may predict anastomosis leak rates. This is supported by many experimental studies that showed increased rates of anastomosis leak after preoperative ischemia, but the extent of this impact is not well established.
CONCLUSION: Preoperative assessment of blood supply to the colon and rectum might help in planning the surgical intervention to reduce anastomosis leak rates. Calcium scoring of major arteries might predict anastomosis leak and thus play a crucial role in intraoperative decision-making.
METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review of articles published until May 2022 that reported HZ epidemiology, clinical management, and health economic data in six Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Literature searches were conducted in Medline, Scopus, Embase, and gray literature. Articles written in English or local languages were considered for inclusion.
RESULTS: In total, 72 publications were included in the study; 22 were case studies and over 60% originated in Singapore and Thailand. Only two studies (data from Thailand) reported incidence of HZ. The proportion of patients reported with HZ was 0.68-0.7% among dermatology clinics, 0.14% at one emergency department (5.3% of dermatology cases) in Singapore, and 3% of admissions at another hospital in Singapore. Pain was the most common symptom associated with HZ, reported in 74.21-100% of patients. HZ complications were reported in 10.2-21.2% of patients, and the proportions with postherpetic neuralgia and HZ ophthalmicus were 6.3-50% and 4.98-28.57%, respectively. Additionally, there is a lack of comprehensive, up-to-date HZ economic data, with only six studies identified for the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there are limited data reporting incidence and prevalence of HZ in Southeast Asia at a national level. High rates of complications, symptoms, and abundance of case reports suggest substantial healthcare resource utilization for patients with HZ and highlight the need for further research in Southeast Asia assessing the societal impact.