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Background: Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a complex seronegative inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis, characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of PsA in arthritic patients along with associated demographic and clinical characteristics in a tertiary care setting in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Rheumatology Clinic of Dhaka Medical College Hospital over a period of 6 months from March 2018 to August 2018. A total of 600 arthritis patients underwent screening for PsA, with subsequent evaluations of confirmed cases based on the CASPAR criteria. Demographic and clinical characteristics were documented through face-to-face interviews and physical examination. For data collection, a pre-structured questionnaire was used. Disease activity was assessed using the DAPSA score. The study was conducted according to the 'Declaration of Helsinki'. The statistical analysis was done with SPSS v-21. Results: The prevalence of PsA in arthritis patients was 5%. Age distribution of PsA showed a majority in between 30-39 years age group with a mean of 36.33±11.86 (SD). Slight female predominance was reported with a percentage of 53.3%.Almost three-fourths of study patients presented with a current diagnosis of psoriasis while the rest had a personal history or family history. A higher incidence (67.7%) of plaque psoriasis was observed followed by sebopsoriasis (20%) and for the rest of the patients, the type of psoriasis was unknown. The disease mostly involved multiple joints (90%), with ankle and metacarpal joints being the most commonly affected at 43.3% and 33.3%, respectively. Disease activity was high in the majority of the patients according to the DAPSA score, representing 53.34% of the patients, with the remainder exhibiting moderate to low disease activity. Conclusion: The study revealed a significant incidence of PsA among the arthritic population which indicates a pressing need for further extensive research on PsA across diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: COVID-19 has caused severe disruption to clinical services in Bangladesh but the extent of this, and the impact on healthcare professionals is unclear. We aimed to assess the perceived levels of anxiety, depression and burnout among doctors and nurses during COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: We undertook an online survey using RedCap, directed at doctors and nurses across four institutions in Bangladesh (The Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute & Hospital (SRNGIH), Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Mugda Medical College Hospital (MMCH) and M Abdur Rahim Medical College (MARMC) Hospital). We collected information on demographics, awareness of well-being services, COVID-19-related workload, as well as anxiety, depression and burnout using two validated questionnaires: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)., Results: Of the 3000 participants approached, we received responses from 2705 (90.2%). There was a statistically significant difference in anxiety, depression and burnout scores across institutions (p<0.01). Anxiety, depression and burnout scores were statistically worse in COVID-19 active staff compared with those not working on COVID-19 activities (p<0.01 for HADS anxiety and depression and MBI emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA)). Over half of the participants exhibited some level of anxiety (SRNGIH: 52.2%; DMCH: 53.9%; MMCH: 61.3%; MARMC: 68%) with a high proportion experiencing depression (SRNGIH: 39.5%; DMCH: 38.7%; MMCH: 53.7%; MARMC: 41.1%). Although mean burnout scores were within the normal range for each institution, a high proportion of staff (almost 20% in some instances) were shown to be classified as experiencing burnout by their EE, DP and PA scores., Conclusion: We identified a high prevalence of perceived anxiety, depression and burnout among doctors and nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was worse in staff engaged in COVID-19-related activities. These findings could help healthcare organisations to plan for future similar events., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)