Search

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction level of parents from telemedicine use in the long-term follow-up of children operated for craniosynostosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A cross-sectional 9-question survey analysis using Qualtrics survey software. Setting: An institutional study carried out at a national, tertiary level academic center in the Slovak Republic. Patients: All patients operated for non-syndromic and syndromic craniosynostosis in our department, who participated in the virtual postoperative follow-up consultations from March 23, 2020, through July 2, 2021, were included in our series. They were enrolled 498 patients, with the parents of 256 children being responding to the survey. Interventions: The survey remained open until July 16, 2021, two weeks after the last virtual consultations. It was delivered to the parents by e-mail to generate closed 5-point Likert scale responses. Results: Overall, 72.3% of parents were satisfied with the telemedicine program, and 67.2% found it convenient. Collectively, 89.1% reported that the received instructions were helpful to them. However, only 18.7% of them answered that they would prefer telemedicine consultations in the future. Conclusion: The results of this study showed a high satisfaction from the parents during the virtual follow-up of children operated for craniosynostosis. However, despite their positive experience with telemedicine, the vast majority of parents stated that they would prefer in-person visits in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines such as BNT162b2 have recently been a target of anti-vaccination campaigns due to their novelty in the healthcare industry; nevertheless, these vaccines have exhibited excellent results in terms of efficacy and safety. As a consequence, they acquired the first approvals from drug regulators and were deployed at a large scale among priority groups, including healthcare workers. This phase IV study was designed as a nationwide cross-sectional survey to evaluate the post-vaccination side effects among healthcare workers in Slovakia. The study used a validated self-administered questionnaire that inquired about participants' demographic information, medical anamneses, COVID-19-related anamnesis, and local, systemic, oral, and skin-related side effects following receiving the BNT162b2 vaccine. A total of 522 participants were included in this study, of whom 77% were females, 55.7% were aged between 31 and 54 years, and 41.6% were from Banska Bystrica. Most of the participants (91.6%) reported at least one side effect. Injection site pain (85.2%) was the most common local side effect, while fatigue (54.2%), headache (34.3%), muscle pain (28.4%), and chills (26.4%) were the most common systemic side effects. The reported side effects were of a mild nature (99.6%) that did not require medical attention and a short duration, as most of them (90.4%) were resolved within three days. Females and young adults were more likely to report post-vaccination side effects; such a finding is also consistent with what was previously reported by other phase IV studies worldwide. The role of chronic illnesses and medical treatments in post-vaccination side effect incidence and intensity requires further robust investigation among large population groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]