ABSTRACT
Background: while there has been a recent resurgence in faith-based healing across the world, there is limited data from the Muslim societies. In addition, the impact of the religious inclination of treating physicians on patient's perception of their treatment is not known. We sought to study this aspect of faith-based healing
Methods: this survey was carried out in Jan 2007 at two leading high volume public hospitals in Islamabad. A formatted 12 questions form was filled for each patient. For each question, there were three answer choices yes, no or don't know." The patients were admitted in the inpatient departments, including those in the intensive care unit if they were physically and mentally capable of answering the questions
Results: a total of 604 patients completed the survey. 91.2% were male and 8.8% were female. 8.9% were < 20 years of age, 56.5% were between 21- 40 and 34.6% were > 40 years of age. 99.7% believed that leading an Islamic way of life [abstaining from forbidden things e.g. fornication, alcohol, cigarettes, illicit drugs etc.] leads to a healthier life. 95% of the patients believed that praying five daily prayers [salat] will keep them healthy. 98% believed that listening to the holy Qur'an would help in their healing. 98.8% believed in the intercessory role of prayers by others. 82% believed that giving charity [sadaqa] assists in healing. The most important findings were that 93% wanted to see their physicians pray for their health out-loud in front of them and 88% believed that having a physician, who is also a God-fearing person, will have a positive impact on their health. In view of the current social/cultural practices, 76% believed that wearing emulates [religious inscriptions] also helps in healing
Conclusions: this survey clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of patients still equated an "Islamic way of life" with good health. The most important finding documented for the first time, in this survey, was that patients wanted their physicians to pay due reverence to prayer [Dua]. Similarly for most patients, religious inclination of the physician was perceived as an essential factor in the overall effectiveness of treatment
ABSTRACT
We conducted this study to assess knowledge of breast cancer and sources of information about breast cancer among women in Riyadh. We also analyzed whether associations existed between demographic variables, knowledge of breast cancer, and the practice of breast self-examination and use of mammography screening. Women interested in participating in this community-based descriptive study provided data by completing a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Of 864 participating women, 84% were Saudi, 45% were married and 67.8% had a university level education. Eighty percent were between the ages of 20 to 50 years. Knowledge of breast self examination [BSE] was high; 82% [95% confidence intervals [CI], 79.2%-84.4%] knew about BSE, while 61% [95% CI: 57.9%-64.5%] knew about mammography, but only 41.2% [95% CI, 37.9%-44.5%] had performed BSE and 18.2% [95%CI, 15.5%-20.8%] had had mammography screening. Knowledge of breast cancer, risk factors and protective factors for breast cancer was moderate. There was a statistically significant association between the demographic characteristics [marital status, educational status and family history of breast cancer] and knowledge and practice of BSE and mammography. Though it has limitations, this study revealed an imbalance between the knowledge and practice of BSE among women. It also showed that there is only moderate knowledge of risk and protective factors for breast cancer and that knowledge and practice of BSE and mammograms vary according to marital and educational status. Hence, frequent community-based awareness programs are needed so that all women can know and practice BSE, which in turn helps to prevent breast cancer
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Breast Self-Examination , Mammography , Mass Screening , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: atrial fibrillation [AF] is the most common arrhythmia occurring post cardiac surgery and is associated with significant morbidity, increased overall hospital stay and cost. Anecdotal observations suggest very low incidence in Pakistani patients undergoing cardiac surgery particularly coronary artery bypass graft surgery [CABG]. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence, morbidity and mortality of post cardiac surgery AF
Methods: a prospective study of 201 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery at a tertiary care center. Clinical characteristics and perioperative data was collected and analyzed. Patients were followed for presence or absence of atrial fibrillation till hospital discharge
Results: the overall incidence of AF post cardiac surgery was 6.9%. AF occurred in 9 of 187 patients undergoing CABG alone, 3 of 12 patients undergoing valve replacement and 2 of 2 undergoing combined procedures. Increased left atrial [LA] size had significant association with post cardiac surgery AF [p = 0.01] as did the use of dopamine and epinephrine post operatively [p = 0.03 and 0.002 respectively]. In addition, significant association was also noted for valvular surgery [p = <0.001]. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that increased LA size [odds ratio 0.08, 95% CI 0.008-0.99, p = 0.04] was the only independent predictor of post cardiac surgery AF with borderline significance for concomitant valvular surgery [odds ratio 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-0.99, p = 0.05]. Mean hospital stay was significantly longer and overall cost was significantly higher in patients who developed AF [p = <0.001] in addition to higher overall mortality [p =0.025]
Conclusions: the incidence of AF post cardiac surgery was quite low in this study cohort. The occurrence of atrial fibrillation, albeit for short duration, was associated with higher all-cause mortality, significantly longer hospital stay and higher overall cost