The high prevalence of HCC in our HCV patients (22%) was mainly associated with decompensated cirrhosis. A national surveillance program for the detection of HCC in cirrhotic HCV Egyptian patients by combining ultrasound examination and AFP is highly recommended.

Background: Internet addiction and problematic internet use (PIU) constitutes a problem among university students worldwide. Little is known about the adverse effects and unhealthy behaviors among medical students using internet and facebook. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence, associated factors and effects of Internet and Facebook addiction on medical students of Tanta faculty of medicine. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted in Tanta faculty of medicine, Tanta University, Egypt on 861 Egyptian and Malaysian students at 4 th and 5 th medical year from March to May, 2015 in the academic year 2014-2015. A self-administered questionnaire was used. It included questions on socio-demographic and academic data, patterns of internet use, patterns facebook use, and young internet addiction test (YIAT). Results: The majority of the students of both Egyptian and Malaysian students reported that they have home internet access (85.8% and 89.2%) mostly via mobile phones (92.4%). Facebook the most frequently used social media by Egyptian students (93%), while other social media such as twitter, whatsapp, skype were more frequently used by Malaysian ones (96.4%). Habitual use of facebook late night was reported by 26.9% of Egyptian students compared to only 15.5% of Malaysian ones with statistically significant difference. The most commonly reported adverse effects were: eye irritation, followed by headache, then back pain. Only minor percentage of the students (2.7%) had significant problems in life due to internet use, while the largest percent of them (64.1%) were average internet users. Significantly higher percent of Egyptian students had (PIU) than Malaysian ones (3.8%, 0.9% respectively). Significant negative correlation was found between IAT scores and academic grades of the students. Conclusions: Facebook and internet use affects the social life of medical students. Excessive facebook and internet use is associated with adverse health effects and unhealthy behaviours. Medical students are at increased risk for problematic internet use, and to a lesser extent internet addiction which negatively affects their academic grades.

The prevalence of sexual harassment among nurses at the workplace was high with relation to certain occupational factors, and it led to marked psychological effects on the victims. Hence, protective legislations and measures should be taken by the hospital management for prevention of this problem in the future.

Background: Egypt lies among the world's highest prevalence rates of HCV and intermediate levels of HBV infection. The objectives of the study were detection of the knowledge, attitude and practice of Medical Students of Tanta University towards hepatitis B and C. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in The Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt; from 15th October 2013 to 15th of January 2014. Results: The study included 185 Students; their ages ranged between 17 to 28 years with a mean 20±1.731years. Sixty percent of students were males and 65% were urban residents. 50.8% of the participants were in the basic level of the academic study. More than half (57.85%) of the participants had sufficient knowledge, 77.3% of them had a positive attitude towards hepatitis C and B and more than two-thirds (68.1%) showed good practice. A significant association occurred between a positive attitude and good practice. Sufficient knowledge was significantly recorded among older students, females, urban residents and the clinical stage students. The most frequent sources of student information were family or friends, internet followed by TV or radio, healthcare workers, and newspapers. Conclusions: The students had reasonable knowledge, positive attitude and good practices towards B and C viral hepatitis. Areas of insufficient knowledge needed to be reinforced included some modes of transmission, complications, and treatment for B and C viral hepatitis.

Background &Aims: With the introduction of sofosbuvir based regimens, there have been achieved high cure rates and decreased duration. Several studies showed variances in SVR rates between different genotypes, with lower rates of SVR among cirrhotic patients . The aim of our study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of sofosbuvir-based antiviral regimens for the treatment of HCV-infected Egyptian cirrhotic patients. Methods: This was a retrospective observational comparative study. Nine hundred forty six cirrhotic patients with chronic HCV genotype 4 infection who were eligible for direct acting drugs (DAAs) therapy were enrolled. The primary outcome measures were the number of patients with successful eradication of the virus evidenced by SVR at 12 Weeks After discontinuation of therapy (SVR12) and the secondary outcome measures were the incidence of adverse effects associated with the tested HCV therapy. Results: Among the 946 patients enrolled in the study; 527 patients (55.7%) were males and 419 patients (44.3 %) were females with mean age 54.00±8.88 years. 20.2 % were diabetics and 19.1% were hypertensive. Patients were classified according to Child -Pugh classifications; 818 patients (86.46%) were Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis, 28 patients (13.53 %) were Child-Pugh class B cirrhosis. SVR12 rate was 96.93% (917 /946). Treatment response in the Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis was 794 (97%) after 12 weeks while treatment response in the Child-Pugh class B cirrhosis was 123 (96%). Mild side effects were observed in 76 patients. Conclusions: Sofosbuvir based regimens were effective and safe in the treatment of cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4.

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Hesitancy about receiving vaccines has been deemed a global danger to public health by WHO. The sociocultural backgrounds of the people have an impact on vaccine acceptance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sociodemographic factors on COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy as well as to identify the factors that contributed to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the primary variables causing COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among residents of Pune. The general population was sampled through simple random sampling. The minimum sample size was determined to be 1246. The questionnaire inquired about the individuals’ sociodemographic information, vaccination status, and reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Results: In total, there were 5381 subjects, 1669 of whom were unvaccinated and 3712 of whom were partially vaccinated. Fear of adverse effects (51.71%), fear of losing a few days of work (43.02%), and inability to secure a vaccine slot online (33.01%) were the most frequently cited reasons. An older population (>60 years, p = 0.004), males (p = 0.032), those who were literate (p = 0.011), those of lower middle socioeconomic status (p = 0.001), and smokers were significantly associated with fear and mistrust of the COVID-19 vaccine, while mistrust of the vaccine was greatest among individuals from the upper and lower middle classes (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy due to concerns about the side effects and long-term complications was prevalent among the elderly, males, those from the lower middle class, and smokers. This study emphasizes the importance of communicating effectively about the vaccine’s efficacy, its distribution, and vaccination sites.

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