Pain Treatment Evaluation in COVID-19 Patients with Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Multicriteria Decision-Making

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a worldwide pandemic since March 2020. Although most patients complain of moderate or severe pain, these symptoms are generally underestimated and appropriate treatment is not applied. This study aims to guide physicians in selecting and ranking various alternatives for the treatment of pain in COVID-19 patients. However, the choice of treatment for pain requires the consideration of many different conflicting criteria. Therefore, we have studied this problem as a multicriteria decision-making problem. Throughout the solution procedure, first, the criteria and subcriteria affecting the preferences are defined. Then, weight values are determined with respect to these criteria, as they have different degrees of importance for the problem. At this stage, hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs) are used, and thus, experts can convey their ideas more accurately. In this first phase of the study, an HFLTS integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is utilized. Subsequently, possible treatment alternatives are evaluated by using the Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method. According to the results obtained by considering expert evaluations, the most preferred treatment is the administration of paracetamol, followed by interventional treatments, opioids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), respectively. With this study, it is ensured that a more accurate method is followed by eliminating possible mistakes due to the subjective evaluations of experts in the process of determining pain treatment. This method can also be used in different patient and disease groups.

Analysis of miRNA Associated with Coronary Artery Calcification

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“…On a global scale, cardiovascular diseases seriously endanger human physical and mental health and life safety [ 1 ]. According to China Cardiovascular Disease Report 2015, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in China, accounting for 44.60% in rural areas and 42.51% in urban areas.…”

Performance of Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Emergency System in COVID-19 Pandemic. An Extensive Narrative Review

“…In this line, the work of Batur Sir and Sir (2021) [ 35 ] was based on using a multi-criteria decision-making methodology, aiming to guide physicians in the selection and classification of various alternatives for the treatment of pain in patients with COVID-19. First, the criteria and sub-criteria that affect clinical treatment preferences were defined.…”

A hybrid approach based on ELECTRE III‐genetic algorithm and TOPSIS method for selection of optimal COVID‐19 vaccines

“…So far, we have displayed studies—primarily qualitative research—examining the demand, availability, and efficacy of COVID‐19 vaccines. Previous authors also used the MCDM approach, which involves multiple attributes when dealing with COVID‐19 pandemic and vaccination decisions (Batur Sir, 2021 ; Clemente‐Suárez et al, 2021 ; Ni et al, 2021 ). Mohammed et al ( 2020 ) used a decision matrix (DM) that embedded a mix of 10 evaluation criteria and 12 diagnostic models for COVID‐19.…”