MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) from a period of 15 months. A total of 133 T1DM patients who fulfilled our study's criteria were subjected to otoscopy examination, tuning fork test and free field voice test. The mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) was used to assess the severity of tinnitus. We were careful to categorize the perceived duration of tinnitus.
RESULTS: The prevalence of tinnitus among T1DM patients was 24.1% (32/133 patients). Out of 32 patients, approximately 78.1% (25 patients) had a compensated level of tinnitus distress and the remaining 21.9% (7/32) had moderate tinnitus. The duration of tinnitus ranged from 2 seconds to 2 minutes, whıch was ringing and intermittent in nature. The HbA1c and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) were higher in tinnitus compared to the non-tinnitus group. There was no significant correlation between the severity of tinnitus and HbA1c level or eGFR.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study concluded that tinnitus amongst T1DM patients was likely to be non-pathological in view of its short duration with minimal to no distress to the sufferers. An elevated HbA1c may increase the risk of developıng tinnitus.
OBJECTIVE: To identify and evaluate the pattern and associated factors to COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and practice among individuals with comorbidities.
METHODOLOGY: The systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines. Relevant studies assessing the KAP of comorbid patients were retrieved by carefully searching the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies was used to determine the quality of the included studies and the risk of biases.
RESULTS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The pooled sample size of the included studies was 9,104. Different comorbidities reported in the studies include hypertension, diabetes, psychological disorders, and cancer. Pooled analysis showed that 65% of patients showed good knowledge, 57% of patients showed a positive attitude and 51% of patients followed good practices to manage the COVID-19 in presence of their comorbid condition. Significant factors impacting knowledge, attitude and practice in COVID-19 comorbid patients were ethnicity OR 1.78 [95% CI 1.35-2.32]; educational status 3.2 [2.79-3.58]; urban residence 2.43 [1.65-3.02]; employment Status 1.67[1.34-2.12]; financial Status 4.02[3.66-4.38]; occupation 3.65[3.31-4.25]; information Source 2.64[2.19-3.26]; comorbidity 3.28[2.78-3.61]; and duration of chronic illness 1.59[1.31-2.04].
CONCLUSION: Comorbid COVID-19 patients showed good knowledge, positive attitude and good practice towards the management of the disease.