ABSTRACT
Objectives: Frequent attenders [FAs] in general practice receive significant attention in primary care research due to the financial costs associated with the higher utilization of health care services. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of FAs in Oman by studying the overall rates of adult patient visits to primary health care centers [PHCs] and identify the characteristics of this group of patients
Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study including all adults aged 18 years and above who visited general practitioner clinics at four selected PHCs in the A'Dakhiliyah governorate of Oman. Sociodemographic data and number of visits were extracted from the electronic medical records system
Results: A total number of 12 902 adult patients contributed to 42 425 patient visits, with the number of visits made by individual patients ranging from 1 to 62. FAs constituted 2.4% [n = 313] of the total subjects and made 5449 [12.8%] visits. The mean rate of visits per patient per year was 3.2, while the median was two visits. The overall rate of visits per day was more than two-times higher in females [79.6 per day] compared to males [36.6 per day] and was about five-times higher in female FA [12.3 vs. 2.6]
Conclusions: FAs represent a small proportion of patients attending PHCs in Oman. The proportion of females was higher among FAs and they also contributed to a higher number of visits to PHCs
ABSTRACT
Marfan syndrome is a heritable disorder of the connective tissue that affects many systems of the body. However, the most serious complication in patients with Marfan syndrome is progressive enlargement of the aortic root, which may lead to aortic dissection, rupture, or aortic regurgitation. Prevention of these life threatening complications is very important in the management of this condition. A 39-year-old Omani man presented with progressive shortness of breath and eventually underwent major but successful cardiac surgery. It is very important to recognise Marfan syndrome early as preventive actions are possible if the condition is diagnosed before complications occur