Quality of life before and after cosmetic procedures on the face: A cross-sectional study in a public service

Quality of life in patients treated for COVID-19-associated mucormycosis at a tertiary care hospital

OBJECTIVES

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated mucormycosis (CAM) has emerged as a formidable infection in patients with COVID-19. The aggressive management of CAM affects quality of life (QOL); thus, this study was designed to assess the QOL in patients with CAM at a tertiary healthcare institution.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study of 57 patients with CAM was conducted over 6 months using a semi-structured standard questionnaire (the abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire [WHO-BREF]) and a self-rated improvement (SRI) scale ranging from 0 to 9. Cut-off values of ≤52 and <7 were considered to indicate poor QOL and poor improvement, respectively. The correlations of QOL and SRI scores were evaluated using Spearman rho values.

RESULTS

In total, 27 patients (47.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 34.9%-60.1%) and 26 patients (45.6%; 95% CI, 33.4%-58.4%) had poor QOL and poor SRI scores, respectively. The overall median (interquartile range) QOL score was 52 (41-63). Headache (adjusted B, -12.3), localized facial puffiness (adjusted B , -16.4), facial discoloration (adjusted B, -23.4), loosening of teeth (adjusted B, -18.7), and facial palsy (adjusted B, -38.5) wer e significantly associated with the QOL score in patients with CAM.

CONCLUSION

Approximately 1 in 2 patients with CAM had poor QOL and poor improvement. Various CAM symptoms were associated with QOL in these patients. Early recognition is the key to optimal treatment, improved outcomes, and improved QOL in patients with CAM.

Study protocol for the use of photobiomodulation with red or infrared LED on waist circumference reduction: a randomised, double-blind clinical trial

INTRODUCTION

The search for non-invasive procedures to reduce localised adiposity in aesthetics clinics has recently been increasing. In this context, procedures, such as cryolipolysis, ultracavitation, photobiomodulation (PBM) and other techniques have been proposed. Some studies have shown that PBM can be used in body contouring. However, there is no standardisation of the protocol. More than that, as in other techniques for reducing adipose tissue, the availability of triacylglycerol may affect the lipid profile in the blood, bringing consequences to the general health of an individual. This work will aim to compare the light wavelengths when using PBM as a technique for reducing the abdominal waist circumference, while also evaluating the efficacy of the method. Changes in the lipid profile in the blood, with a long-term follow-up, will also be appraised.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This will be a controlled, randomised, double-blind, single-centred clinical trial. 174 patients will be recruited at the Nove de Julho University, Brazil, and then divided into three groups: Group A-RED PBM; Group B-INFRARED PBM; Group C-PLACEBO (Sham) treatment. The treatments will consist of eight sessions, two times a week, for 4 weeks. At each session, the participants will receive 30 minutes PBM (using a radiant exposure of 127 J/cm²), with an abdominal strap containing 4 LED clusters, with 72 devices each, following the indication of randomisation. All of the groups will receive 30 min of Aussie Current, at 4 kHz, modulated at 10 Hz, 40-60 mA. The main outcome of this study will be waist circumference reduction. The secondary variables will be anthropometric data, lipid profile, liver function and adipose tissue thickness, changes in the local microcirculation, and the quality of life and self-esteem. The analyses will be performed at four stages of the research, D0, end of the eighth session (D30), 15 days after the last session (FU15), 90 days after the last session (FU90) and 180 days after the last session (FU180).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The Ethics Committee of the Nove de Julho University, Brazil, approved the modified version of this project under No. 3414146 on 26 June 2019. This study is not yet recruiting. The results obtained will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the related field.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials-ReBec (RBR-9bwxcx).