Case Report
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Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by persisting measles virus (MeV) in the central nervous tissue of the patients. About one in ten thousand children who contract the infection in early childhood develop SSPE. Fulminant SSPE is a rare disease with fatal consequences. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help in making a diagnosis, but all the possible changes encompassing all stages and their correlation with severity are yet to be described. We report a case of fulminant SSPE with unusual findings on MRI, which led to great difficulty and delay in making the correct diagnosis.
Review Article
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Chronic diseases, such as childhood diabetes mellitus (DM), are a challenge for sick children and their families. Paediatric DM is characterized by a complex therapeutic management treatment, which has a physical and psychological effect on the whole family and entails multiple losses for the parents. Investigators point out that parents of children with DS react to the diagnosis with anger, denial, frustration, and depression and that mothers differ in their reactions from fathers. The teenager goes through a very intense period of his life, full of emotional tensions and outbursts, anger, sorrow, fear, and shame for his desires, thoughts, and himself. Thus, a disease in the period of adolescence is very likely to harm the adolescent's self-image and negatively affect body image and perception of strength and ability. For this reason, the investigations carried out in the context of this field are necessary to focus not only on the needs of the children but also on those of their parents, as this is how it can be achieved better control. Despite all the difficulties in the management of the chronic disease of their child, it seems that the families of diabetic children adequately respond to the demands of intensive care and probably manage satisfactorily the psychological, social, and physical levels of their child's chronic illness.
Research Article
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Background: Over the last few years, the use of potassium bromate in bread has been the subject of many scientific arguments in Libya. The Food and Drug Control Center in Libya banned the use of potassium bromate in bread on account of its deleterious effect and carcinogenicity in humans. However, the current research presents conflicting results on its use in bread.
Aim: This study aimed to examine the knowledge and increase awareness among the population about the use of this substance in bread. In addition, it looked at some aspects of bread making in bakeries.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the general population during the period from Feb 2021 to May 2021. An electronic questionnaire was designed using Google Forms and distributed through social media.
Results: A total of 500 participants responded to the electronic survey and were included in this study. 79% females and 21% males with an age range from 20–30 years. The majority of participants were from Benghazi (92%) and Libyan nationality (97%). 76% did not have any health problems, whereas 24% had some diseases. 50% of them consumed bread twice a day. Only 12% of participants had awareness about the Libyan standard for bread making, while half of them (51%) did have any knowledge, and about 38% of them did not know any information about these standards. Most of the participants (71%) did have any information about potassium bromate as a food additive. Only 31% of participants reported that potassium bromate is a banned substance, whereas around half of them (52%) did not know that. Most of the participants (65%) did not know the effects of potassium bromate on their health. The majority of them suggested that the health inspection office, municipal guard, and the Ministry of Economy have the responsibility of monitoring the use of food additives in the bakery.
Conclusion: This study highlights the low level of knowledge of respondents regarding food additives, especially potassium bromate. Education programs to increase awareness among people are highly recommended. Further scientific investigations are needed.
Research Article
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Recently, there is a huge interest in the use of the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS) to evaluate perceived medication adherence across cultures. The aim of the present study was the translation as well as the cultural adaptation of the Greek version of the SEAMS. In this study, 10 patients diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) undergoing hemodialysis participated. The whole process included the steps of translation - back translation and semantic evaluation. The scale indicated very satisfactory acceptance of the translated version of the instrument, which participants considered easy to understand. After completing the process of the translation as well as the cultural adaptation in Greece, the SEAMS will be available to Greek researchers in order to measure self-efficacy for appropriate medication use as well as to compare results from Greece to those coming from other cultures, where the tool has already been validated.
Short Communication
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Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential tool for medical assistance in all scenarios and specialties. In this paper, the main uses of POCUS in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery are described.
