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Background: Saudi Board of Emergency Medicine (SBEM) graduates are involved in a 1-month rotation in emergency medical services (EMSs) and disaster medicine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate change in knowledge and attitude of EM residents after the introduction of the EMS and disaster medicine rotation. Materials and Methods: The study included 32 3rd-year SBEM residents. A pretest/posttest design and a five-point Likert scale were used. The data included a response to a questionnaire developed by EMS and disaster experts. The questionnaire was distributed on the 1st day of the rotation and 45 days after. Satisfaction questionnaires were distributed after the rotation. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20. Results: Twenty-five residents responded to the satisfaction survey (75%). The overall satisfaction with the course modules was high; the course content showed the highest level of satisfaction (96%), and the lowest satisfaction was for the air ambulance ride outs (56%). The results of the pre-/post-test questionnaire showed an increase of 18.5% in the residents mean score (P < 0.001). In the open-ended section, the residents requested that the schedule is distributed before the course start date, to have more field and hands-on experience, and to present actual disaster incidents as discussion cases. The residents were impressed with the organization and diversity of the lectures, and to a lesser extent for the ambulance ride outs and the mass casualty incident drill l. Seventy-one percent indicated that they would recommend this course to other residents. Conclusion/Recommendation: This study showed that a structured course in EMS and disaster medicine had improved knowledge and had an overall high level of satisfaction among the residents of the SBEM. Although overall satisfaction and improvement in knowledge were significant, there are many areas in need of better organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Burn injuries are a significant global health burden, with critically ill patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The present study aimed to investigate burn characteristics, management strategies, and mortality trends of burn patients admitted to the ICU at a tertiary care center. Methods: A six-year retrospective analysis was conducted on patients admitted to the burn ICU between 2016 and 2021. Data on demographics, burn characteristics, management, and mortality were collected from medical records. Descriptive statistics and survival analysis were employed to analyze trends over the six-year period. Results: A total of 312 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 38.0 ± 15.2 years. Flame burn was observed in 57.7% of the patients and 16% had scald burns. The average total body surface area (TBSA) was 27% ± 25%. The majority of admitted patients had at least one operative intervention (79%). The type of burn (p < 0.001), having a third-degree burn (p < 0.001), having one or more comorbid conditions (p = 0.03), TBSA (p < 0.001), and inhalation injury (p = 0.015) were found to be significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion: The overall mortality rate was 9.9%. Most of the admitted cases were for flame burns followed by scald burns. The majority of admitted patients had at least one operative intervention. TBSA, inhalation injury, type of burn, having a third-degree burn, and having one or more comorbid conditions were found to be significantly associated with mortality. Level of Evidence: Level III, Therapeutic; Risk/Prognostic; Diagnostic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BMI is a feasible and recommended measure for overweight and obesity screening in children and adolescents. The study aimed to determine how often physicians correctly identified obesity/ overweight status in children and adolescents by using BMI percentile charts. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study reviewed the paper medical records of children and adolescents (6–14 years) who visited family medicine and pediatric outpatient clinics (Jan-June 2012) in a medical city in Riyadh. Investigators calculated BMI percentiles (using height, weight, age and gender data retrieved from the records) in order to identify patient weight status. Physician documentation of obesity/overweight diagnoses in patient problem lists were cross checked against their BMI percentile to assess the accuracy of physicians’ identification of weight status. The recommended management plan for identified patients was also recorded. Results: A total of 481 charts were reviewed, 213 (44%) children were seen by family medicine physicians and 268 (56%) by pediatricians. The sample was equally distributed by gender. Height was undocumented for 13% (71) of visiting patients. Eighteen percent of patients (86) were classified as overweight (35)/obese (51) according to age and sex adjusted BMI percentile. Physicians’ correctly identified and documented weight status in 20% of overweight/obese patients: 17 out of 86 subjects. Weight status identification was higher among pediatricians—25% as compared to family medicine physicians—10% [p = 0.08]. Dietary referral was the most common management plan for the identified children. Physicians were more likely to identify obese children {≥95th} compared to overweight {≥85th - 95th} children. Subjects whose BMI for age classified them into the highest BMI percentile category {≥95th} were more likely to be correctly identified (29%) compared to those classified within {≥85th - 95th} category—6% [p = 0.007]. Conclusion: Physician identification of obesity/ overweight status for children and adolescents was low, irrespective of their specialty, and despite the condition being prevalent in the sample. Future research that concentrates on interventions that may improve documentation of obesity/overweight diagnoses and parameters needed for BMI indices would be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research in academia suggests that types of school may have an impact on learning styles. The study is aimed to examine the learning styles of students from medical institutions using different types of curriculum. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the three largest public-sector medical colleges using conventional, hybrid, and a problem-based learning-based curriculum in Saudi Arabia. By using convenient sampling, we collected 316 responses. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data and index of learning style instrument. The categorical data were presented as percentages and descriptive data were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Value of P < 0.05 level was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 316 participants, the male-to-female ratio was 1:1. Gender was associated with a significant difference in the visual/verbal dimension (P = 0.034). Irrespective of college, most of the participants are primarily balanced in active/reflective (67.2%), visual (51.1%), and sequential (68.8%) with slight shift toward sensing (47.6%). Significant differences between colleges were found in sensing/intuitive (P = 0.005) and sequential/global (P = 0.012) dimensions. There was no significant association between academic years with learning styles in the three medical colleges from public sector universities. Conclusion: Irrespective of college, most of the participants’ preferred style was visual illustrations supported by hands-on teaching in a stepwise process. Although, medical students in different universities possessed different learning styles. It has also been shown that students in a single university tend to develop the same learning styles as they advance through the years. The collaboration between institutions using different types of the curriculum may increase the quality of education by developing effective teaching and learning methods that correspond with the learning styles of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Medical education in Saudi medical colleges is delivered to students through a completely English language curriculum, whereas the practice that students face in the hospital is generally conducted in Arabic language settings. We suggest that the linguistic gap between the adopted medical curriculum and actual practice could influence students’ confidence and level of difficulty in history taking in Arabic. The study aimed to identify the effects of learning history taking in the English language on applying it in the medical student’s native language. Methods: This cross‑sectional design study was held in the College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU‑HS). The targeted sample size was 377 medical students from the fourth to the sixth year, and stratified random sampling was used. The questionnaire used was self‑developed, validated, and pilot tested in other medical colleges. The questionnaire asked about students’ confidence, the difficulty of Arabic history taking, and suggested strategies to improve the current curriculum. Results: The response rate was 290 participants (76.9%), males were 205 (71%), and 136 (47%) were in the fourth year. Agreement on feeling confident while taking history taking in Arabic was 98 (33.8%), 102 (35.2%) were neutral, and 90 (31%) disagreed. Moreover, 138 (47.6%) of students preferred training for Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Arabic more than English, 86 (29.7%) were neutral, while 66 (22.8%) disagreed. The mean level of difficulty was 2.1 ± 0.7 (range 1‑ 5). Additionally, 198 (68%) of students suggested adding short Arabic history courses. Conclusion: Students considered history taking in Arabic as easy, even though they were not completely confident. Further efforts are needed to uplift students’ of confidence to optimal levels. Advances in Knowledge: Communication is the cornerstone of medical education as well as clinical practice. The study explores the impact of instruction language on the physician‑patient communication dynamic, providing better infrastructure for evidence‑based educational practice. Application to Patient Care: This study gives insight into the students’ level of preparation to practice in their local community and language. Furthermore, the study addresses strategies to enhance students communication skills and alleviate linguistic barriers in the physician‑patient encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep disturbances are commonly reported by patients with asthma. However, the prevalence of sleep disturbance and its association with the level of asthma control is unknown. The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbance among Saudi adult asthmatic patients attending pulmonary clinics at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC). The study also aimed to compare sleep quality between controlled and uncontrolled asthma patients. The study was carried out in the outpatient pulmonary clinics at KAMC and utilized a cross-sectional survey. The survey included five different questionnaires: asthma control test and questionnaires related to the quality of sleep (Pittsburgh sleep quality index [PSQI], Epworth sleepiness scale [ESS], Berlin questionnaire [a measure of obstructive sleep apnea risk], and insomnia severity index [ISI]). Among the 200 asthma patients, 66% suffered from poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5), 43% were at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, 25% had excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS > 10), and 46.5% had significant clinical insomnia (ISI ≥ 10). Poor sleep quality was less common in patients with well-controlled asthma (37%) compared to those with partially controlled asthma (78%) and uncontrolled asthma (82%) (p < 0.001). Poor sleep quality was common among patients with asthma, particularly those with suboptimal levels of asthma control. Further studies are needed to better understand the interaction between these two conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cherry angiomas (CAs) are very common asymptomatic vascular skin lesions. There are only a few studies on CAs in the literature and those assessing risk factors of CAs are scarce. The aim of our study was to determine risk factors for the development of CAs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case–control study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients underwent a full-body examination for CAs. Demographics and other data including medical history and medications were extracted from electronic medical records. RESULTS: A total of three hundred patients were enrolled: one hundred cases with at least five CAs and two hundred controls without CAs. Bivariate analysis identified benign prostatic hyperplasia (odds ratio [OR]: = 2.591), malignancy (OR = 2.567), tamsulosin (OR = 3.171), and clopidogrel (OR = 0.321) as statistically significant associations. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, only tamsulosin (OR = 3.475, P = 0.009) and clopidogrel (OR = 0.281, P = 0.028) were found to be independent risk factors for CAs. Malignancies tended to be more associated with CAs, but this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07). CONCLUSION: Tamsulosin is a possible risk factor for the development of CAs. Clopidogrel seems to have a protective role preventing the development of CAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), to identify the risk factors that predispose to ROP, and to assess the outcome of these infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study on premature infants with a birth weight (BW) of <1501 g or gestational age (GA) of <32 weeks. These infants were admitted to the NICU at a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2010 to December 2014. RESULTS: Five hundred and ninety-three infants were included; data were available for 581 infants. Of them, 224 infants (38.6%) had ROP. Of these, 22 infants (10.4%) had stage 3 ROP. The mean BW of infants with ROP was 938.4 ± 257.9 g, and the mean GA at birth was 27 ± 2.4 weeks. A significant relationship with a P <0.05 was found between the occurrence of ROP and small GA at birth, low BW, low APGAR score at 1 min, and long duration of receiving oxygen (O2) therapy. Based on charts review, none of the infants had blindness. CONCLUSION: The incidence of ROP in our study falls in the range of incidence in developing countries. The low BW and small GA were the most significant risk factors. Furthermore, it is also recommended to control the amount and duration of O2therapy to as little as needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of topical olive oil (OO) for skin health is common among Saudis and worldwide. Therefore, this cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing the use of topical OO for skin health among Saudis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was administered to Saudis at four different malls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 401 participants were enrolled in the study. The results showed that the average knowledge score of the participants was 3.4±0.3 (out of 5) and 87% had fair knowledge. The top source of knowledge among the participants was friends/relatives. In the attitude section, the average score was 4.1±0.5 (out of 5). Females had a higher attitude score 4.2±0.5 as compared to males 4±0.5 (P=0.03). The most common reason for using topical OO among the participants was skin moisturizing (73%). Female gender was the only significant factor associated with the use of topical OO (P<0.001). The use of topical OO for skin health is highly prevalent in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Therefore, more awareness of the benefits and adverse effects of topical OO use is required especially from health educational organizations. The preliminary results of this study suggest further research with a larger sample in an academic setting across the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]