ABSTRACT
Background: Bell's palsy is an idiopathic facial nerve dysfunction causing temporary paralysis of muscles of facial expression. This study aimed to determine the incidence rate, common risk factors, and preferred treatment by the Saudi patients with Bell's palsy. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Qurayyat region of Saudi Arabia. The retrospective medical records were searched from 2015-2020 of patients diagnosed with Bell's palsy at Qurayyat General Hospital and King Fahad hospital. A 28-item questionnaire was developed by a team of experts and pre-tested among patients with Bell's palsy before being sent to the eligible participants. The data were analyzed using summary statistics, Chi-square test, Fisher exact test and Likelihood ratio test. Results: We identified 279 cases of Bell's palsy from the medical records of the hospitals from the years 2015 to 2020, accounting for 46.5 cases per year and an incidence rate of 25.7 per 100,000 per year. Out of 279 patients with Bell's palsy, only 171 returned the questionnaire accounting for a response rate of 61.2%. Out of 171 patients with Bell's palsy, females (n = 147, 86.0%) accounted for the majority of cases. The most affected age group among participants with Bell's palsy was 21-30 years (n = 76, 44.4%). There were 153 (89.5%) cases who reported Bell's palsy for the first time. The majority of the participants experienced right-sided facial paralysis (n = 96, 56.1%). Likelihood ratio test revealed significant relationship between exposure to cold air and common cold with age groups (χ 2(6, N = 171) = 14.92, p = 0.021), χ 2(6, N = 171) = 16.35, pp = 0.012 respectively. The post hoc analyses revealed that participants in the age group of 20-31-years were mostly affected due to exposure to cold air and common cold than the other age groups. The main therapeutic approach preferred was physiotherapy (n = 149, 87.1%), followed by corticosteroids and antivirals medications (n = 61, 35.7%), acupressure (n = 35, 20.5%), traditional Saudi herb medicine (n = 32, 18.7%), cauterization by hot iron rod (n = 23, 13.5%), supplementary therapy (n = 2, 1.2%), facial cosmetic surgery (n = 1, 0.6%) and no treatment (n = 1, 0.6%). The most preferred combined therapy was physiotherapy (87.6%) with corticosteroid and antiviral drugs (35.9%), and acupressure (17.6%). Conclusion: The rate of Bell's palsy was approximately 25.7 per 100,000 per year in the Qurayyat region of Saudi Arabia. Exposure to cold air and common cold were the significant risk factors associated with Bell's palsy. Females were predominantly affected by Bell's palsy in the Qurayyat region of Saudi Arabia. Bell's palsy most commonly occurred in the age group 21-30 years. The most favored treatment was physiotherapy following Bell's palsy.
ABSTRACT
Our aim was to assess sleep quality in different subgroups of preclinical medical students, and then to identify specific lifestyle factors, academic and social factors as well as Corona virus related factors that were associated with poor sleeping quality and poor psychological health. Study participants were all medical students at King Saud University of Medical Sciences in the first and second years (648 students), and the study was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022. We administered the survey on paper as well as online. We used three types of questionnaires in this study. The first was a self-administered questionnaire, the second was a validated Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) for finding sleeping problems, and the third was a validated DASS 10 for determining Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. A total of 361 pre-clinical medical students consisted of 146 (40.4%) males and 215 (59.5%) females. The majority of the students, 246 (68.1%), were in their second year. Furthermore, in the current study, students who had poor academic performance (15.8%), satisfactory academic performance (21.3%), or good academic performance (30.7%) had significant sleeping problems found (χ2 = 19.4;p = 0.001), among them poor academic performance students 21.6%, satisfactory academic performance students (29.3%), and good academic performance students (29.3%) had moderate to severe levelled sleeping problems. Similarly, poor, satisfactory, and good academic performers experienced the highest levels of anxiety (poor = 21.5%;satisfactory = 22.1%;and good = 22.8%);stress (poor = 22.4%;satisfactory = 25.2%;and good = 22.4%);and depression (poor = 40.5%;satisfactory = 40.5%;and good = 11.9%). The majority of students (64.8%) reported that during the pandemic crisis their anxiety levels were high. Additionally, students reported significantly high sleeping issues (χ2 = 10.6;p = 0.001) and also serious psychological issues (Anxiety = 34.9 (0.000);Stress = 32.5 (0.000);and Depression = 5.42 (0.01)). There was a high prevalence of sleep issues, anxiety, stress, and depression among the pre-clinical medical students, with significantly higher sleeping disorders, anxiety, stress, and depression levels among those medical students who struggle with their academic performances, poor lifestyle factor, and poor Social and COVID management.