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Introduction: Although a long time past since COVID-19 was broken out, it is hard to determine which pharmacological combination regimen is more efficacious. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) plus interferon (IFN) beta-1a regimen compared to the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) regimen in moderately ill patients with COVID-19. Methods: A multiple-centre retrospective observational case-controlled study was performed between March and September 2020, including adults with confirmed COVID-19. The patients were categorised into age- and sex-matched two groups; LPV/r plus IFN beta-1a (n = 102) and HCQ (n = 298) regimens. Clinical outcomes and mortality rates were compared between the groups. Results: LPV/r plus interferon (INF) beta-1a regimen had improved none of the clinical outcomes and mortality rate compared to the HCQ regimen. The length of stay (LOS) in the hospital and the need for oxygen therapy were slightly worse in the LPV/r plus INF beta-1a regimen (4.73 ± 2.93 days, 63%) than in the HCQ group (3.74 ± 3.30 days, 48.3%). No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in care of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, LOS in ICU, the need for non-invasive ventilation and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation as well as in-hospital mortality rate. Conclusions: LPV/r plus IFN beta-1a regimen did not show any meaningful improvement in clinical outcomes or mortality compared to the HCQ regimen. Larger randomised controlled trials are needed to assess the efficacy of this combination further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Myocardial infarction without obstructive coronary artery disease (MINOCA) accounts for 5-15% of acute myocardial infarction (MI) cases. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and family history of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their association with gender in patients with MINOCA. Patients and Methods: Around 1772 patients entered this cross-sectional study. Prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia was significantly higher in women compared to men (P<0.001). Smoking was more common in men than women (P<0.001). Results: Women with MINOCA are more likely to have hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes than men with MINOCA, whereas men are more likely to be smokers. Conclusion: Effective blood pressure control, correction of lipid profile and proper glycemic control can prevent MINOCA and its associated morbidities and mortality, especially in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To better manage the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to carefully study information about patients with COVID-19. Objective: To report clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients in southern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted based on data extracted from the COVID-19 registry of Hormozgan. Data from patients with confirmed COVID-19 based on CT-scan results or real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results until September 25, 2020, were analyzed for this study (2351 inpatients). We reported demographics, signs and symptoms on admission, comorbidities, and treatments, as well as clinical outcomes, hospital stay, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Results: Most of patients were men (1235/2351; 52.5%) and the most common signs and symptoms included cough (1343/2351; 57.1%), shortness of breath (1224/2351; 52.1%) and fever. The most common comorbidities included hypertension (410/2351 (17.4%), diabetes (343/2351; 14.6%) and chronic cardiac disease (282/2351; 12%). Also, 228 patients (9.7%) were hospitalized in the ICU. The mortality rate was 12.5% (295/2351) among all patients and 64.5% (147/228) in ICU wards, respectively. The number of cases with comorbidities including hypertension, chronic cardiac disease, diabetes, chronic neurological disorders, chronic kidney disease, chronic hematologic disease, malignant neoplasm, moderate or severe liver disease, dementia and fauvism in the ICU was significantly higher than the general wards. Conclusion: Most characteristics of our patients were similar to those reported in other studies; however, our patients were younger and suffered from a less severe disease. The mortality rate in the ICU was higher than other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the most important features studied for adoption of terminologies is content coverage. The content coverage of SNOMED CT as a large scale terminology system has been evaluated in different domains by various methods. Objectives: This study provided an overview of studies evaluating SNOMED CT content coverage. Methods: This systematic literature review covered Scopus, Embase, PubMed and Web of Science. It included studies in English language with accessible full-text from the beginning of 2002 to November 2017. Results: Reviewing 62 studies revealed that 76 percent of studies were carried out in the US and other countries started to study in this regard from 2007. Most of the studies focused on the comparison of SNOMED CT with disease classifications in the domain of "diagnosis and problem list". Conclusion: Studying the trend of studies in different countries shows that SNOMED CT content coverage is not limited to the early stages of SNOMED CT adoption. However, evaluation methods are likely different due to the stage of SNOMED CT implementation. Therefore, it is recommended to identify and compare evaluation methods of SNOMED CT content coverage in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The challenges of using health information systems in developing countries are different from developed countries for various reasons such as infrastructure and data culture of organizations. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess managers' access to key performance indicators (KPI) via Hospital Information System (HIS) in teaching hospitals of Iran. Methods: All managers (Census method) of the four teaching hospitals affiliated to Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) were included in this study. KPIs which are linked to the strategic objectives of organizations were adopted from the strategic plan of HUMS. The questionnaire used in this study included three categories: Financial, Human Resources and clinical. One-sample t-test was used and the significant difference score was calculated for the acceptable level. Results: We found that HIS cannot facilitate access to KPIs for managers in the main categories, but it was effective in two subcategories of income (p=0.314) and salary (P=0.289)). Conclusion: A study of barriers to the use of managers of HIS in hospitals is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: Conflict of Interests The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.