Background: Indonesia implemented a large-scale social restriction policy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and alternative health care facilities are places with a high risk of COVID-19 transmission. The general public is suggested to limit visits to health facilities unless it is an emergency. Supported this, we hypothesize that people prefer to self-medicate to take care of relatively mild health complaints at home. This study aims to analyze the pattern of self-medication within the community in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 110 residents of South Surabaya with a structured questionnaire during the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2021, to observe patterns and factors that influence people's decisions to take self-medication before and during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Results: As several as 40% of respondents had self-medication before the COVID-19 pandemic, while the prevalence of self-medication within the thick of the COVID-19 outbreak was 57.3%. The most reasons for self-medication are the concern of reaching the hospital will be being exposed to COVID-19 (67.3%), the sickness is not severe enough, compatible with the previous medication, and more efficient. The community's advantages of self-medication are that it is faster to treat (41%) and cheaper (21.8%). Conclusions: The study revealed that there was an increase in the number of respondents who did self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic with the main reason being fear of going to the public health center or hospital.
Background Hearing loss can have a major impact on children’s language development, academic success and hearing comprehension. The aim of the present study was to determinate risk factors for severe and profound hearing loss in child candidates for cochlear implantation in southeast of Iran during 2014–2020. Materials and methods This case-control study consisted of 400 children referring to a cochlear implant center (in southeastern Iran) from Bandar Abbas, Zahedan and Kerman during the years 2014–2020 as cases. The subjects were selected using the random sampling method; 200 children hospitalized in Shafa and Afzalipour hospitals were selected as controls. Results Based on the results of the multivariate logistic regression, weight less than 1500 g (OR = 4.40: p < 0.05), hospitalization in NICU (OR = 7.21: p < 0.05), family history of hearing loss (OR = 11.47: p < 0.05), Gestational age over 35 (OR = 9.63: p < 0.05), intracranial hemorrhage (OR = 5.18: p < 0.05), consanguineous marriage (OR = 12.48: p < 0.05) and high fever and seizures (OR = 3.02: p < 0.05) were recognized as risk factors for sensorineural deafness in children. Conclusion Most of the risk factors for deafness are preventable, and hereditary factors play an important role in congenital deafness in children. Therefore, genetic counseling before consanguineous marriage, early diagnosis, timely intervention can prevent many cases of hearing loss in children.
Background The dentition of modern humans has evolved from their hominid ancestors to their current form. Factors regarding the changes of lifestyle such as dietary habits and usage of tools have affected the evolution of human dentition. This article aimed to discuss the effect of dietary changes on the evolution of human teeth. An online literature search in the PubMed database was conducted according to the inclusion criteria of this study. Main body The culture transition from a hunter-gatherer society to agriculture is followed by dietary changes, which result in a decrease of tooth wear due to more refined food sources in agricultural intensification. By analyzing the microwear pattern such as shear, striation, and pattern of the buccal teeth, the dietary hypothesis based on the occlusal tooth microwear analysis could be examined. Conclusion The dietary hypothesis based on the occlusal tooth microwear study could be tested by analyzing the microwear pattern (shear, striation, pattern) of the buccal teeth. Posterior teeth are more closely related to diet, while anterior teeth are related to non-dietary tooth-use behaviors, or using the teeth as a tool or third hand which causes more limited striations at the labial surface.