ABSTRACT
Objective: This study was designed to measure the outcome of the continuous professional development [CPD] course [Family Medicine Essentials] conducted and organised by the Ministry of Health [MOH] on the knowledge, skills, and attitude of primary healthcare [PHC] physicians in patient care
Materials and Methods: This study was based on pre- and post-implementation of training evaluation, which included the seven CPD modules in family medicine customised for non-certified family physicians working at MOH and PHCs in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from March 2009 to 2010 and it included 259 family physicians working in PHCs and MOH. The pre- and post-test scores for mean knowledge, skills and attitude were compared using paired t-test. P < 0.05 was considered significant
Results: The results showed that the percentage of male participants [80.3%] was higher than females [19.7%]. The mean age of the participants was 39.6 +/- 8.0 years. A significant difference was found in pre- and post-test scores of PHC physicians' attitude, knowledge and skills. Attitude increased from 77.5 +/- 6.1 to 83.0 +/- 7.8 [P < 0.0001], knowledge increased from 51.3 +/- 14.8 to 66.7 +/- 14.3 [P < 0.0001] while skills increased from 41.2 +/- 20.1 to 66.9 +/- 19.1 [P < 0.0001]
Conclusion: Participants in the CPD course showed significant improvement in their level of knowledge, clinical skills and attitude in patient care. However, further case-control studies and practice evaluations are required to obtain more in-depth information on the impact of this course on PHC physicians
ABSTRACT
The histopathological diagnosis of Mycosis Fungoides [MF] is challenging in its early stages and can easily be confused with inflammatory dermatoses. This study aims to; [i] assess the frequency and significance of different histopathological parameters in early MF, seen in Saudi patients, and [ii] to study the utility of these parameters in differentiating between early MF and inflammatory dermatoses. This is a five years study of 66 skin biopsies generated from 58 patients with clinically suspicious MF lesions or early patch stage MF. These cases were retrieved from the archives of the Department of Pathology, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh from the year 2002 to 2006. Histological criteria were assessed and graded semi-quantitatively on a four-point scale by a dermatopathologist and two pathologists independently. The histological parameters suggesting the diagnosis in early stages MF include epidermotropism, dermal fibrosis, Pautrier's micro abscesses, Basal alignment of neoplastic lymphocytes, hyperconvoluted dermal and epidermal lymphocytes and grandiosity sign [size of lymphocytes becoming larger as they migrate towards granular layer of epidermis]. These parameters on univariate analysis achieved statistical significance [p<0.05] in differentiating MF from non-MF cases. In addition, hyperconvoluted dermal and epidermal lymphocytes proved to be highly reliable with high specificity and sensitivity. The histopathological diagnosis of early MF lesions and their discrimination from inflammatory simulators can be achieved by carefully observing the hyperconvoluted dermal and epidermal lymphocytes along with the constellation of the other parameters