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Background: Candida auris (C. auris) is an emerging fungus pathogen associated with nosocomial infections that is seen as a serious global health issue. Aim: To describe the epidemiology and features of hospital-acquired Candida auris outbreaks in the Ministry of Health hospitals (MOH). Methods: A three-year (2020–2022) retrospective analysis of Candida auris outbreaks in the Saudi MOH hospitals. A total of 45 hospitals were involved, with 511 cases of Candida auris. The data collected from the General Directorate of Infection Prevention and Control (GDIPC) platform comprises all patients' data for C. auris instances, whether infected or colonized. Results: Out of the 511 Candida auris recruited cases, 291 (56.9%) were infected, whereas 220 (43.1%) were colonized. 32.9% of cases were above the age of 65, and 68.9% were male. The majority of cases were admitted in the ICU unit (95.5%). Approximately 18.8% of cases were diabetes, and 18.5% were hypertensive. Central lines were discovered in 37.7% of the cases. Approximately 85.9% of cases had Foley catheters, 68.5% were on ventilators, and 53.8% had a tracheostomy. The crude mortality rate was particularly high (41.5%) among the study cases. It was non-significantly higher among infected individuals (44.7%) than colonized patients (37.3%) at (p value = 0.093). The prevalence of hypertension (p = 0.001), DM (p = 0.003), and peripheral line insertion (p = 0.004) was significantly higher among colonized patients. While the presence of COVID-19 (p = 0.001), and central line insertion (p = 0.001) was significantly higher among infected patients. Conclusion: C. auris is a new pathogen that causes hospital outbreaks. Strict adherence to infection prevention and control criteria established by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and GDPIC has significantly contained and reduced the spread of these outbreaks. One-month retrospective surveillance before diagnosing the index case and a prospective surveillance strategy for at least three months is highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the chemical composition and biological activities of Artemisia absinthium L. essential oil, focusing on its antioxidant and enzyme inhibition (α-amylase and urease) properties. Additionally, in vitro pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations were conducted through in silico molecular docking and BOILED-Egg models to assess its therapeutic potential and its potency in treating oxidative-stress-related diseases. Methods: The essential oil was isolated by the hydrodistillation (HD) of fresh plant material, and volatiles released from dried plant material were sampled via headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), followed by a phytochemical profiling analysis through the GC-MS tool. Antioxidant capacity was assessed using DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and nitric oxide scavenging assays, while enzyme inhibition activities were tested against α-amylase and urease. Molecular docking and BOILED-Egg models were used to evaluate compound interactions with NADPH oxidase and predict pharmacokinetic behavior, respectively. Results: HS-SPME and HD yielded 46 and 25 compounds, respectively, primarily terpenoids represented by camphor (26.4%) and cis-davanone (18.0%) in HS-SPME, while in the HD essential oil, cis-davanone (60.2%) and chamazulene (10.8%) were most prevalent. The antioxidant assays showed a strong activity, with a total antioxidant capacity of 821.8 mg ascorbic acid Eq/gm. The essential oil inhibited urease by 86.7% and α-amylase by 81.8%. Molecular docking showed strong binding affinities with NADPH oxidase, supporting the antioxidant results. Conclusions:A. absinthium EO demonstrated potent antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities, suggesting its therapeutic potential for treating enzyme-related disorders like diabetes mellitus and its possible use as a cure for many oxidative-stress-related diseases, thus validating the folkloric use of this plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]