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Background The Internet is a source of many information about users who are unaware of the extent to which their privacy and anonymity are abolished. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of patient-targeted Google and to know about selected factors influencing such searches among nurses and midwives, as well as nursing and midwifery students. Methods The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey method and the research tool was an author’s survey questionnaire that included a sociodemographic section, questions on patient-targeted Google, and a description of three cases written for the study representing the behavior of members of the therapeutic team in specific situations related to the provision of health services asking respondents to evaluate the actions taken. Results The majority of respondents (59.82%) looked for information about patients on the Internet. The main (79.34%) reason for starting the search was curiosity and the desire to understand the patient's behavior (50.18%). According to 54.06%, obtaining information about patients without informing them is unethical and may violate the principle of informed consent (56.07%) and privacy (55.19%). Conclusions The phenomenon of searching for private information about patients on the Internet is present among polish nurses and midwives as well as students of nursing and midwifery. Due to the potential benefits and risks associated with conducting patient targeted googling there is a need for education about patient-targeted Google in the scope of basic education of students, but also postgraduate education of nurses and midwives.

The diverse list of tasks and needs related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may lead to different professional experiences in nurses working with patients infected with and not infected with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the study was to measure the professional challenges of nurses working during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Poland. The study was conducted in 2021 in a group of 151 nurses. The following scales were used: the (PSS-10), the (GSES), the (IES-R), the (MSQ-SF), the (AWS) and the (MBIHSS). Nurses working with patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed a positive correlation between workload and emotional exhaustion (ρ = 0.26, p = 0.02), as well as positive correlations among control, community and depersonalization (ρ = 0.25, p = 0.02; ρ = 0.23, p = 0.04). Among nurses working with uninfected patients, positive correlations were found among control, community, fairness and emotional exhaustion (ρ = 0.40, p = 0.000; ρ = 0.41, p = 0.000; ρ = 0.25, p = 0.03), as well as correlations between control and depersonalization (ρ = 0.33, p = 0.01), and among control, community and personal accomplishment (ρ = 0.23, p = 0.05; ρ = 0.27, p = 0.02). Nurses working during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with infected and uninfected patients both experienced a variety of psychosocial challenges in coping with the demands of their work, social relationships and personal life. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(1):112-24.

Objectives: The diverse list of tasks and needs related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may lead to different professional experiences in nurses working with patients infected with and not infected with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the study was to measure the professional challenges of nurses working during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Poland. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in 2021 in a group of 151 nurses. The following scales were used: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ-SF), the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBIHSS). Results: Nurses working with patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed a positive correlation between workload and emotional exhaustion (p = 0.26, p = 0.02), as well as positive correlations among control, community and depersonalization (p = 0.25, p = 0.02; p = 0.23, p = 0.04). Among nurses working with uninfected patients, positive correlations were found among control, community, fairness and emotional exhaustion (p = 0.40, p = 0.000; p = 0.41, p = 0.000; p = 0.25, p = 0.03), as well as correlations between control and depersonalization (p = 0.33, p = 0.01), and among control, community and personal accomplishment (p = 0.23, p = 0.05; p = 0.27, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Nurses working during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with infected and uninfected patients both experienced a variety of psychosocial challenges in coping with the demands of their work, social relationships and personal life. Key words: nurses, work, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, psychosocial challenges, professional challenges

Introduction. Access to Internet resources has resulted in changes in the perception of principles related to interpersonal communication, privacy and sharing of personal information. Medical personnel may use data obtained from the Internet to supplement information gathered during the patient interview or to reveal a different picture of the patient’s health status. In PTG, it is crucial to assess the motivation for such an action, respect the patient’s rights and obtain his consent, comply with the rules of medical ethics, as well as assess the usefulness of such an action for the therapeutic process. There are questions as to whether the information provided is true, and to what extent it is altered by cognitive or mood disorders.Aim. The aim is to present selected issues related to the search for information about patients on the Internet by the therapeutic team.Method. Analysis of research and scientific studies in the Medline and PubMed databases.Summary. Scientific studies confirming the occurrence of PTG phenomenon, refer to the issue of ethical principles, obtaining patient’s consent, reliability of recorded data and true identity of patients, inclusion of obtained information in their medical records and its importance in shaping the relationship between the patient and the therapeutic team.

Medical sciences in their classic approach focus on objectively measured dimensions of human functioning and its disorders. Therefore, they are often far removed from the unique identity, experiences and needs of older people. The solution to this type of focusing on the biological, psychological or social dimension of the life of older people may be the inclusion of the narrative in the daily practice of medical care. Narrative medicine supports the development of a holistic approach to care that allows older people to present their own life story, which helps to recognize their uniqueness and to show a genuine interest in the narrative. Attention is increasingly drawn to the fact that the narrative of older people should be recognized and taken into account when planning and providing care in institutions, including long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Despite the fact that LTCFs are often attended by people with multiple diseases and with cognitive impairment, the recognition, respect and maintenance of personal identity should constitute the foundation of caring activities. The basic premise of narration is the recognition that the development of identity does not stop at any age but continues throughout life, and that narrative is an important form of self-expression. The aim of this paper is to present selected issues related to the practice of narrative medicine in caring for older people.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PSA) infections are associated with a high recurrence rate and high mortality in immuno-compromised patients. There are limited studies regarding pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients. Aim: The nationwide multicenter study was conducted to analyze the epidemiology of PSA infections in children treated with chemotherapy (PHO, pediatric hematology and oncology) or undergoing hematopoietic allogeneic or autologous cell transplantation (HCT) in the period 2014–2023. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and microbiological data of children who underwent anticancer therapy or hematopoietic cell transplantation in 17 Polish PHO centers and six pediatric HCT centers. The data were collected in two-year intervals. Results: During the 10-year study period, a total of 1629 HCTs (both autologous and allogeneic) and 9614 children newly diagnosed with neoplasms were analyzed. The cumulative incidence of PSA infection was similar in both groups (6.71% in PHO vs. 6.32% in HCT, p = 0.624). The total number of PSA bloodstream infections was comparable in the PHO and HCT groups (31.9% vs. 26.2%; p = 0.223). In both analyzed groups, the antipseudomonal drugs of choice were as follows: meropenem, ceftazidime, and tazobactam/piperaciline in combination with other antibiotics. In the HCT group, high rates of meropenem (20.4%) and tazobactam/piperaciline (18.4%) non-susceptibility were observed. This led to colistin therapy in 5.3% of patients. There was no difference in the median antibiotic therapy time in both groups; however, the survival rates from PSA infection were significantly lower in the HCT group (89.3% vs. 96.0%, p = 0.004). Conclusions: Although the risk of infection and the occurrence of resistant bacterial strains in HCT patients were comparable with those in PHO patients, the outcome of PSA infections was better in the PHO setting.

Despite knowledge of classical coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease remain high. Therefore, new factors that may affect the development of CAD, such as the gut microbiome, are extensively investigated. This study aimed to evaluate gut microbiome composition in CAD patients in relation to the control group. We examined 169 CAD patients and 166 people in the control group, without CAD, matched in terms of age and sex to the study group. Both populations underwent a detailed health assessment. The microbiome analysis was based on the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene (NGS method). Among 4074 identified taxonomic units in the whole population, 1070 differed between study groups. The most common bacterial types were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Furthermore, a higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in the CAD group compared with the control was demonstrated. Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, independent of age, sex, CAD status, LDL cholesterol concentration, and statins treatment, was related to altered phosphatidylcholine concentrations obtained in targeted metabolomics. Altered alpha-biodiversity (Kruskal–Wallis test, p = 0.001) and beta-biodiversity (Bray–Curtis metric, p < 0.001) in the CAD group were observed. Moreover, a predicted functional analysis revealed some taxonomic units, metabolic pathways, and proteins that might be characteristic of the CAD patients’ microbiome, such as increased expressions of 6-phospho-β-glucosidase and protein-N(pi)-phosphohistidine-sugar phosphotransferase and decreased expressions of DNA topoisomerase, oxaloacetate decarboxylase, and 6-beta-glucosidase. In summary, CAD is associated with altered gut microbiome composition and function.

The analysis of epidemiology, risk factors and outcome of infections in children with malignant bone tumors (MBT) undergoing chemotherapy. In this retrospective nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study, a total number of 126 children with MBT including 70 with Ewing sarcoma (ES) and 56 with osteosarcoma (OSA) were screened for infections over a period of 72 consecutive months. The risk of infection was 7.15-fold higher in patients with ES as compared to the OSA group, especially concerning bacterial infections (4.1-fold increase risk). Bacterial infections occurred in 74.3% patients with ES and in 41.1% with OSA. The median time from diagnosis to first infection was 4.9 months. 33.0% of bacterial episodes were diagnosed as bloodstream (BSI), 31.1% as gastrointestinal tract, 30.1% as urinary tract infection. Infection-related mortality (IRM) from bacterial infection was 6% and 15% in ES and OSA patients, respectively. Cumulative incidence was 7.1% for invasive fungal disease and 6.3% for viral infections. The only significant risk factor for IRM was time to infection ≥5 months since the beginning of chemotherapy. All patients who have died from infection had BSI and were in neutropenia. Infections in the children with MBT in our study occurred with high frequency, especially in patients with ES. The most frequent were bacterial infections, while fungal and viral infections were episodic. Among the bacterial infections, bloodstream, urinary tract and gastrointestinal tract infections occurred with similar frequency. All deceased patients died due to BSI. Bacterial infection occurring ≥5 months since the beginning of chemotherapy was a risk factor for death.

Thermosensitive injectable hydrogels based on chitosan neutralized with sodium beta-glycerophosphate (Na-β-GP) have been studied as biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue regeneration. Magnesium (Mg) has been reported to stimulate adhesion and proliferation of bone forming cells. With the aim of improving the suitability of the aforementioned chitosan hydrogels as materials for bone regeneration, Mg was incorporated by partial substitution of Na-β-GP with magnesium glycerophosphate (Mg-GP). Chitosan/Na-β-GP and chitosan/Na-β-GP/Mg-GP hydrogels were also loaded with the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) which induces hydrogel mineralization. Hydrogels were characterized physicochemically with respect to mineralizability and gelation kinetics, and biologically with respect to cytocompatibility and cell adhesion. Substitution of Na-β-GP with Mg-GP did not negatively influence mineralizability. Cell biological testing showed that both chitosan/Na-β-GP and chitosan/Na-β-GP/Mg-GP hydrogels were cytocompatible towards MG63 osteoblast-like cells. Hence, chitosan/Na-β-GP/Mg-GP hydrogels can be used as an alternative to chitosan/Na-β-GP hydrogels for bone regeneration applications. However the incorporation of Mg in the hydrogels during hydrogel formation did not bring any appreciable physicochemical or biological benefit.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of several bone diseases characterized by an imbalance between bone resorption and formation. The aim of the study was to estimate serum markers of bone turnover: osteoclast-derived tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase form 5a (TRACP 5b) and osteocalcin in IL-6-deficient mice to assess the role of IL-6 in bone metabolism in hypothyroidism in mice. C57BL/6J (wild-type; WT) and C57BL/6J(IL6-/-Kopf) (IL-6 knock-out; IL6KO) mice randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 in each one: 1/ WT mice in hypothyroidism (WT-ht), 2/ WT controls, 3/ IL6KO mice with hypothyroidism (IL6KO-ht) and 4/ IL6KO controls. Experimental model of hypothyroidism was induced by intraperitoneal injection of propylthiouracyl. The serum levels of TRACP 5b and osteocalcin were determined by ELISA. Serum concentrations of TRACP 5b (median and interquartile ranges) were significantly decreased in both groups of mice with hypothyroidism: WT (3.2 (2.5-4.7) U/l) and IL6KO (2.6 (1.8-3.5) U/l) as compared to the respective controls. Similarly, serum osteocalcin levels were significantly reduced in both groups of mice in experimental hypothyroidism: WT (25.8 (23.0-28.2) ng/ml) and IL6KO (21.5(19.0-24.6) ng/ml) in comparison to the respective controls. There were no significant differences in bone turnover markers between IL6KO and WT mice both in hypothyroid and control animals. The results of the present study suggest that IL-6 does not play an important role in bone turnover in both euthyroid and hypothyroid mice.