Citations

Purpose and methods: We surveyed a large sample of health-related sciences undergraduate students at the Medical University of Gdańsk (MUG), Poland in a pilot study to assess self-reported somatic/mental health-related issues, measure the level of burnout using Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the presence of depressive symptoms with Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) and assess the problematic alcohol intake (CAGE questionnaire). Additionally, stress coping mechanisms were investigated. Results: A total of 864 students participated in the survey. The mean total OLBI and PHQ-9 scores equalled 43.3 ± 2.7 and 11.3±5.8 points, respectively. The CAGE questionnaire was positive in 21.6% of students. Three most prevalent stress coping mechanisms included TV binge-watching, binge-eating and cigarette chain smoking (51.0%, 45.0% and 28.0% respectively). Conclusions: Future studies are required to confirm the obtained results, assess, and monitor trends and set-up interventions to improve the welfare of health-related science MUG students.

OBJECTIVE A review article assessing all the risk factors reported in the literature for postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome (pCMS) among children remains absent. The authors sought to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate this issue. METHODS PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were queried to systematically extract potential references. The articles relating to pCMS were required to be written in the English language, involve pediatric patients (≤ 18 years of age), and provide extractable data, which included a comparison group of patients who did not develop pCMS. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were pooled using RevMan 5.4, and publication bias was assessed by visual inspection for funnel plot asymmetry. The study protocol was registered through PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021256177). RESULTS Overall, 28 studies involving 2276 patients were included. Statistically significant risk factors identified from univariate analysis were brainstem invasion (OR 4.28, 95% CI 2.23–8.23; p < 0.0001), fourth ventricle invasion (OR 12.84, 95% CI 4.29–38.44; p < 0.00001), superior cerebellar peduncle invasion (OR 6.77, 95% CI 2.35–19.48; p = 0.0004), diagnosis of medulloblastoma (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.93–5.52; p < 0.0001), medulloblastoma > 50 mm (OR 8.85, 95% CI 1.30–60.16; p = 0.03), left-handedness (OR 6.57, 95% CI 1.25–34.44; p = 0.03), and a vermis incision (OR 5.44, 95% CI 2.09–14.16; p = 0.0005). On the other hand, a tumor located in the cerebellar hemisphere (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.06–0.92; p = 0.04), cerebellar hemisphere compression (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.11–0.45; p < 0.0001), and intraoperative imaging (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.18–0.72; p = 0.004) reduced the risk of pCMS. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the largest and most reliable review of risk factors associated with pCMS. Although some risk factors may be dependent on one another, the data may be used by surgeons to better identify patients at risk for pCMS and for intervention planning.