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Objectives: While chemosensory dysfunctions, dysgeusia and anosmia/hyposmia, are recognized as distinctive symptoms of COVID‐19, their temporality of presentation and association with the patient age, gender, disease severity, and comorbidities has been sparsely studied. Hence, we evaluated the latter associations of chemosensory dysfunction, in hospitalized COVID‐19 patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Materials and Methods: Information on chemosensory dysfunction and history of chronic systemic comorbidities, if any, was obtained from 149 COVID‐19 patients in an infectious disease hospital in UAE, using their medical records, as well as from a face‐to‐face questionnaire survey. Additionally, a modified SNOT‐22 questionnaire that measures disease‐specific quality of life in patients with upper respiratory tract affections was also administered. Results: Chemosensory dysfunction was reported by 94.6% of the cohort, and anosmia with dysgeusia was significantly more in males than females with severe COVID‐19. Males with moderate COVID‐19 and systemic comorbidities were more likely to present with chemosensory dysfunction in comparison with females. SNOT‐22 questionnaire revealed that nasal blockage and runny nose were more prevalent in mild/moderate, than in the severe, state of COVID‐19. Conclusion: Our data confirm the commonality of chemosensory dysfunction during COVID‐19 progression, and the significantly more pronounced combined dysfunction in males with severe COVID‐19, and comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The indiscriminate prescription of antibiotics has led to the emergence of resistance microbes worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic prescribing practices amongst general dental practitioners and specialists in managing endodontic infections in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design: General dental practitioners and specialists in the UAE were invited to participate in an online questionnaire survey which included questions on socio-demographics, practitioner's antibiotic prescribing preferences for various pulpal and periapical diseases, and their choice, in terms of the type, dose and duration of the antibiotic. The link to the survey questionnaire was sent to 250 invited dentists. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and chi-square tests for independence and level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: A total of 174 respondents participated in the survey (response rate = 70%). The respondents who prescribed antibiotics at least once a month were 38.5% while 17.2% did so, more than three times a week; amoxicillin 500 mg was the antibiotic of choice for patients not allergic to penicillin (43.7%), and in cases of penicillin allergies, erythromycin 500 mg (21.3%). There was a significant difference in the antibiotic prescribing practices of GDPs compared to endodontists and other specialties especially in clinical cases such as acute apical abscesses with swelling and moderate to severe pre-operative symptoms and retreatment of endodontic cases (p<0.05). Approximately, three quarters of the respondents (78.7%) did not prescribe a loading dose when prescribing antibiotics. About 15% respondents prescribed antibiotics to their patients if they were not accessible to patients due to a holiday/weekend. Conclusions: In general, the antibiotic prescribing practices of UAE dentists are congruent with the international norms. However, there were occasions of inappropriate prescriptions such as in patients with irreversible pulpitis, necrotic pulps with no systemic involvement and/or with sinus tracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Endodontic microbiota appears to undergo evolutionary changes during disease progression from inflammation to necrosis and post-treatment. The aim of this study was to compare microbiome composition and diversity in primary and post-treatment endodontic infections from a cohort of patients from the UAE., Design: Intracanal samples were collected from primarily infected (n = 10) and post-treatment infected (n = 10) root canals of human teeth using sterile paper points. Bacterial DNA was amplified from seven hypervariable regions (V2-V4 and V6-V9) of the 16S rRNA gene, then sequenced using next-generation sequencing technology. The data was analyzed using appropriate bioinformatic tools., Results: Analyses of all the samples revealed eight major bacterial phyla, 112 genera and 260 species. Firmicutes was the most representative phylum in both groups and was significantly more abundant in the post-treatment (54.4%) than in primary (32.2%) infections (p>0.05). A total of 260 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified, of which 126 (48.5%) were shared between the groups, while 83 (31.9%) and 51 (19.6%) disparate species were isolated from primary and post-treatment infections, respectively. A significant difference in beta, but not alpha diversity was noted using several different indices (p< 0.05). Differential abundance analysis indicated that, Prevotella maculosa, Streptococcus constellatus, Novosphigobium sediminicola and Anaerococcus octavius were more abundant in primary infections while Enterrococcus faecalis, Bifidobacterium dentium, Olsenella profusa and Actinomyces dentalis were more abundant in post-treatment infections (p <0.05)., Conclusion: Significant differences in the microbiome composition and diversity in primary and post-treatment endodontic infections were noted in our UAE cohort. Such compositional differences of microbiota at various stages of infection could be due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors impacting the root canal ecosystem during disease progression, as well as during their therapeutic management. Identification of the key microbiota in primarily and secondarily infected root canals can guide in the management of these infections., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 B. Abraham et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)