Journal/Magazine Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/13
This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item Suicide among psychiatrists: From healers to seekers of mental health care(Elsevier, 2024) Shoib, S.; Saeed, F.; Ahmed, S.; Park, C.; Roza, T.H.; Nazari, S.K.; Armiya'u, A.Y.; Berardis, D.; Mahesar, R.A.; Chandradasa, M.Addressing suicide and mental health issues among psychiatrists, particularly during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic is important. several factors contribute to this risk, such as long duty hours, burnout, emotional exhaustion, exposure to secondary trauma, and the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers. This paper emphasizes the urgent need for interventions at individual and organizational levels to address burnout and mental health issues among psychiatrists. Supporting the mental resilience of mental health professionals will improve the mental health of the community.Item Inhaled beclomethasone in the treatment of early COVID-19: a phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial(The College, 2023) Mettananda, C,; Peiris, C.; Abeyrathna, D.; Gunasekera, A.; Egodage, T.; Danthanarayana, C.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Ranasinha, C.No abstract availableItem Approach to study the efficacy and safety of new complementary and alternative medicine formulations: Lesson during COVID-19 from Sri Lanka(Wolters Kluwer - Medknow, 2023) Pilapitiya, S.; Jayasinghe, S.; Silva, A.; Wickremasinghe, R.; Paranagama, P.; de Silva, J.; Lekamwasam, S.; Kularatne, S.A.M.; Wanigasuriya, K.; Kaluthota, S.; Sumathipala, S.; Rathnnasooriya, C.; Siribaddana, S.COVID-19 affected Sri Lanka from early 2020, a time of considerable ignorance accompanied by wide media coverage of a devastating epidemic in Italy and Europe. Many were attracted to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or traditional medicine (TM) in this desperate situation. Several preparations were claimed to be effective against COVID-19 globally. Dammika Bandara Syrup© was one such preparation promoted for preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. It was based on bees' honey, pericarp and mace of Myristica fragrans (nutmeg), the seed of Foeniculum vulgare and fresh rhizome of Zingiber officinale, all believed to have anti-viral properties. Following an unpublished clinical study claiming efficacy, Dammika Bandara Syrup© gained wide media publicity and political patronage. The producer claimed of Goddess Kali revealing the formula added an anthropological, cultural, and religious complexity to the issue. The demand for the product increased rapidly as a debate raged both in public and in the parliament on utilizing such products in combating COVID-19. The Department of Ayurveda, which is statutorily responsible for regulating CAM/TM had to respond to the situation. The legislation to regulate such indigenous medicinal products was weak, and the crisis deepened as thousands converged to the production facility, defying mobility restrictions introduced to control COVID-19. This led to the Ministry of Health requesting academics to form a team and conduct a clinical trial to prove its efficacy. This paper outlines the process and issues faced during the regulatory approval for the trial in a polarized political environment. Some health professionals accused the researchers of bowing to political pressure and questioned the scientific justification for the trial. However, the team considered this as an opportunity to streamline a path for research into CAM/TM therapies in situations such as COVID-19. Several processes were identified and addressed, such as the provisional registration of CAM preparations, assessing the potential efficacy of a CAM product, confirmation of authenticity and safety, standardization and supervision of production respecting cultural identities, obtaining approval for human use, choice of comparators, and ethical issues. We believe the study has helped set standards and a benchmark for CAM and TM research in Sri Lanka.Item Survey on the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on the Sri Lankan mental healthcare system and the needs of frontline healthcare workers in the post-covid era(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2023) Wijesinghe, C.; Chandradasa, M.; Ranwella, P.; Samaranayake, A.; Wickrama, P.; Gamage, N.; Siriwardane, G.; Goonathilake, N.; Perera, S.; Dahanayake, D.; Mendis, J.; Kapila, R.INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic severely strained the health care in Sri Lanka. The subsequent economic crisis compounded this issue. Priority was given to treating those afflicted with COVID-19 and preventing its spread, and healthcare staff faced immense difficulties dealing with the situation. The psychosocial impact of COVID on health care staff has not been properly assessed or addressed. OBJECTIVES: A study was conducted to identify the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 among four different categories of health care workers, and perform a needs assessment among these groups. METHODS: A convenient sample of frontline health workers, mental health teams, 1926 mental health helpline workers and 1990 Suwa Sariya emergency ambulance service staff were assessed via a self-administered questionnaire for mental health impact, work capacities and needs. RESULTS: Among frontline workers (n=188), 42.5% experienced anxiety symptoms, 12.8% depressive symptoms and 4.1% suicidal thoughts. Most (58.9%) lacked a psychological support system at the workplace. Only 20% have accessed specific programs or services at their workplace to obtain support for mental health issues, and all have benefitted from them. All categories of health workers lacked training and resources. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that a significant amount of health care workers undergo psychological problems in the course of their work especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis reveals that Sri Lanka lacks structured psychological support systems for health workers and needs more resources and training. Psychological support for health workers through strengthening resources and training should be prioritised when planning service development.Item The alarming development of online gambling in Iranian women during the COVID-19 pandemic(Routledge, 2023) Saeed, F.; Chandradasa, M.; Tajik Esmaeeli, S.; Shoib, S.No abstract availableItem The use of personal protective equipment in endoscopy: what should the endoscopist wear during a pandemic?(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Jayasena, H.; Abeynayake, D.; Niriella, M.; de Silva, H.J.; de Silva, A.Endoscopists are at high risk of exposure and nosocomial transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 virus) when performing endoscopic procedures due to the highly aerosol generating nature of these procedures. At present, there is still no consensus among endoscopists with regards to the type of protective equipment to be worn by healthcare workers, when performing endoscopy during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This review encompasses a summary of currently published guidelines related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when performing endoscopic procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. With increasing calls to rationalize the use of PPE due to shortages in global supply chains, the review offers a concise summary on the most appropriate and adequate use of PPE when performing endoscopy during the pandemic. It is expected that these adaptations in the use of PPE during the pandemic will help to improve standards of care and safety of healthcare workers.Item Natural products: A rich source of antiviral drug lead candidates for the management of COVID-19(Bentham Science Publishers, 2021) Wijayasinghe, Y.S.; Bhansali, P.; Viola, R.E.; Kamal, M.A.; Poddar, N.K.ABSTRACT: Today, the world is suffering from the pandemic of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pandemic is the third fatal coronavirus outbreak that has already occurred in the 21st century. Even six months after its emergence, hundreds of thousands of people are still being infected with SARS-CoV-2, and thousands of lives are lost every day across the world. No effective therapy has been approved to date for the prevention or treatment of this disease, suggesting the need to broaden the scope in the search for effective treatments. Throughout history, folk medicine has been successfully used to treat various ailments in humans and Traditional Chinese Medicine has been instrumental in the containment of a number of viral diseases. Owing to their high chemical diversity and safety profiles, natural products offer great promises as potentially effective antiviral drugs. In recent years, a large number of anti-coronaviral phytochemicals with different mechanisms of action have been identified. Among them, tetra-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, caffeic acid, and saikosaponin B2 block viral entry. A number of flavonoids inhibit viral proteases. Silvestrol inhibits protein synthesis. Myricetin and scutellarein inhibit viral replication. Emodin, luteolin, and quercetin demonstrate anti-coronaviral activity by inhibiting multiple processes in the virus life cycle. In this review, we critically evaluate the findings of the natural product-based anti-coronaviral research that has been published during last two decades, and attempt to provide a comprehensive description about their utility as potential broad-spectrum anti-coronaviral drugs, examining leads that may guide/facilitate anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug development studies. KEYWORDS: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Natural products; Phytochemicals; SARS-CoV-2; Traditional Medicine.Item Clinical research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Gastroenterology researchers' perspective(BMJ Publishing Group, 2020) Niriella, M.A.; de Silva, A.P.; de Silva, H.A.; de Silva, H.J.No Abstract availableItem Telepsychiatry' in the time of COVID-19: Overcoming the challenges(Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2020) Perera, S.R.; Gambheera, H.; Williams, S.ABSTRACT: Telepsychiatry, the application of telemedicine in the field of psychiatry is defined as the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide or support clinical psychiatric care at a distance. COVID 19 and its implications related to physical distancing for patients and service providers has made tele-psychiatry and e-consultations an attractive option. Psychiatry, more than any other field in medicine stands to benefit through tele-psychiatry as a physical examination may not be always necessary to arrive at a diagnosis. Some have gone on to suggest that tele psychiatry is likely to replace in person psychiatric assessments pertaining to certain clinical situations. The article reviews the existing evidence for tele-psychiatry and addresses the challenges and pitfalls in the South Asian context. © 2020 Indian Journal of Psychiatry Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow.Item Masks in COVID-19: let's unmask the evidence(Taylor & Francis, 2021) de Silva, A.P.; Niriella, M.A.; de Silva, H.J.INTRODUCTION: One of the main issues in the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been the lack of uniformity of recommendations for the usage of face masks. AREAS COVERED : While Asian countries started using masks early during the epidemic, most Western countries were slow to do so. To avoid such situations, clear guidelines, need to be established, not only regarding the use of masks but also the type of mask to suit different situations. In this article, we will examine the types of masks and review the recommendations for their use based on the available evidence for each type of mask. EXPERT OPINION: We explore future needs in research-related mask use in COVID-19 pandemic, improvements to be made in mask design, adopting guidelines for the use of masks and the psycho-social aspects of widespread and prolonged mask use. Keywords: COVID-19; masks; pandemic; prevention; respiratory protection; spread.