Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, immune-mediated skin disease affecting 1-3% of the adult population. It mainly involves the skin, nails, and joints. However, psoriasis can be associated with several comorbidities, including ocular complications. The most frequently reported pathologies are dry eyes syndrome, blepharitis, and uveitis. Being a systemic inflammatory disease, psoriasis also has the potential to directly affect the retina. It has been reported that ocular manifestations tend to appear much later than skin and joint involvement. Eye complications begin insidiously, and progress asymptomatically. This can lead to a decrease in the quality of life and even permanently compromised visual function if not treated properly. Thus, the present review aimed to present current pathological explanations between psoriasis and ocular manifestation, and to evaluate the prevalence of ocular changes in patients with psoriasis, in order to be diagnosed and managed appropriately.
Ultrasonography (US) is one of the most widely utilized imaging methods in contemporary medical practice. Unlike other imaging techniques primarily within the radiology domain, ultrasonography has been adopted by various medical and surgical specialties and tailored to the specific needs of each. This adaptability has contributed to ultrasonography's rapid diversification and remarkable evolution over recent decades. Ultrasonography was first employed in dermatology in 1979 when Alexander et al. used it to measure skin thickness. However, due to the limitations of conventional ultrasound devices at the time, which had resolutions and frequencies below 15 MHz, detailed elements of the skin could not be analyzed, tempering enthusiasm for the technique [2]. Modern dermatologic ultrasonography began with the development of fixed-frequency devices operating above 20 MHz, enabling detailed visualization of skin structures. Numerous studies on skin physiology and pathophysiology were conducted using this approach. Modern ultrasonography enables us to visualize skin structures, at times surpassing the detail provided by traditional anatomical dissections in educational settings. Given that patient safety and quality medical care remain fundamental priorities, ultrasonography, with its safety profile and versatility, represents the next step in modern dermatology. Ultrasonography represents a rapidly evolving diagnostic tool that holds the promise of significantly improving diagnostic accuracy and the quality of medical dermatology practice.
Background: Automated data processing is creating and implementing technology that automatically processes data. This computer tool is recommended for doctors because it supports their everyday work, assists in medical diagnosis, and enhances patient care. The aim of this paper is to propose an informatic tool that can extract the values of some parameters of interest from blood test sheets in order to get medical alerts and to monitor the chronic disease. Methods: An application, written in Python, was developed Results: The computer tool extracted automatically the values of glucose, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol from medical sheets (text-based file or graphic file, respectively), and saved them in a database, accessed and represented in a graphic form the most recent values of these parameters; alerts according to metabolic syndrome criteria and Framingham risk score were generated. Conclusions: This tool contributes to the management of the medical process, saving precious time and helping the doctor in detecting current or future health problems.
With the increase of the medium lifespan in developing countries, skin aging rise attention more and more. In 2007, Kaya and Saurat rebranded the extreme expression of skin fragility under the name of ‘‘dermatoporosis’’ or chronic cutaneous insufficiency/fragility syndrome. Dermatoporosis is still underused in medical literature and nurses and wound specialists know also about this condition, but they call it “skin tears”. There is obvious confusion cause the nursing literature talks about skin tears while dermatologists write about dermatoporosis. Clinical aspects comprise atrophy, purpura, and pseudo-stellate scars. Firstly, the British dermatologist Thomas Bateman described senile purpura in 1818 as purpuric patches arising in elderly people after minimal trauma, especially on the dorsum of the hands. Furthermore, between 1970 and the full documentation of Kaya and Saurat in 2007, we found medical papers about senile purpura, pseudoscars, skin tears, and so on. Starting from this historical data, they bring valuable information according to clinical aspects, histopathology, ultrasonographic aspects, pathophysiology, and therapeutics. This paper aims to analyze published data for improving the diagnosis and management of dermatoporosis.
Ethnomedicine and ethnobotany have been at the forefront of current scientific focus. The focus of this review is Piper nigrum, for which there exists a wide host of traditional ethnomedical and ethnobotanical applications, recorded mostly from India and the surrounding regions where black pepper is native. These applications cover a wide range of pathologies, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, gynaecological, endocrine, integumentary and neurological, and viral diseases and colds. While some of these applications are confirmed by modern research, the majority have not been tested using modern scientific methods, and perhaps many more applications remain to be documented. Finally, it must be noted that some interesting non- medical applications comprise the application of black pepper, as an insecticide/larvicide, are worth further consideration, especially given the newer policies at a European and international level.
Effective communication is essential in healthcare, prompting the inclusion of communication courses in medical education. However, the effectiveness of such courses for Romanian medical students has not been evaluated. This pilot study investigates the impact of an ethical communication course on Romanian medical students' communication self-efficacy, communication skills, and the perceived importance of communication. Students attended a 3-month course on ethical communication, covering active listening, assertive communication, conflict management, non-verbal communication, patient- centered care, and ethical considerations in various medical fields. The course was developed based on the European Psychiatric Association guide regarding ethical aspects of communication with patients and their families. The data were analyzed on a sample of 24 students who completed the questionnaires at pretest and posttest. Students reported higher levels of medical communication self-efficacy and perceived importance of medical communication after the course. However, no statistically significant differences were found in health professionals’ communication skills. Future courses should include more patient interactions and varied teaching methods. Further research with larger samples and control groups is needed.
Background: The deficit of medical staff in various health care systems points out the need for a more detailed strategic management toward sustainability in human resources. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships linking self-esteem, self-efficacy, general attitudes, and career preferences among medical students, aiming to provide insights that could support sustainable career development. Methods: We performed a monocentric observational study that included 157 students. The participants completed four standardized questionnaires evaluating the self-efficacy, the self-esteem, the general attitudes and beliefs, and the perception of medical career specialty. We assessed the relationships between the psychological variables and career preferences. Results: Significant correlations emerged between the students' year of study and the need for achievement, the importance of mentorship, and career decision-making. Clinical students, in particular, placed greater emphasis on gaining practical experience in their chosen field. Conclusions: Our results reaffirm the impact of occupational psychology in the health care system, providing more sustainability in career decisions. Further research involving larger and more diverse samples is recommended to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the study of various psychological factors could impact human resources management in the field.
The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our lives can no longer be neglected, and thus, understanding this phenomenon and how humans interact with it is becoming more important than ever. The study emphasizes one of the psychological characteristics that helps us in accepting AI and using it to its fullest, namely the psychological resilience that each of us, and in particular emergency service workers, possesses in different proportions. The analysis of the relationship between the two dimensions (psychological resilience and AI) highlights, among other things, the importance of how organizations can use this interaction to achieve a framework for developing the psychological resources of their employees so that they are increasingly receptive to the use of AI in their work, pursuing the benefits it brings. The study is conducted on 89 emergency service workers and focuses on the positive and highly statistically significant relationship between psychological resilience and attitudes towards AI. The study also particularly emphasizes the relationship between tenacity and self-efficacy, self-confidence, ability to learn from life experiences, rapid recovery from negative events, social and family resources as dimensions of psychological resilience in relation to attitude towards IA of emergency workers.
