ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine the objective role of antiviral drugs such as arbidol, lopinavir/ritonavir, and others in improving clinical symptoms, decreasing duration of hospitalization, and decreasing duration of viral shedding in patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 infection. A systematic literature search was carried out on Google Scholar and PubMed databases, using the keywords "COVID-19”, "Antiviral”, "Treatment”, and "Symptomatic” in various combinations. Observational studies, cohort and case control studies, and clinical trials published in English with full-text available were included in the study. Data extraction was carried out from selected studies, and all statistical analysis for the study was carried out using Microsoft Excel. The key outcomes studied were time to negative PCR, duration of clinical stay, time to clinical improvement, and occurrence of adverse events. Seven studies were selected for final review after rigorous selection process. Data of total 4734 participants was analyzed, the majority of which were females (n=2810, 59.3%). The majority of participants had mild disease (n=4197, 88.65%). Average time for negative RT-PCR in the included treatment groups was 13.5 days, whereas the average duration of hospitalization was 14.9 days for the treatment groups. Adverse reactions such as ECG changes, gastrointestinal symptoms, secondary bacterial infections, and hepatic and renal dysfunction were scarcely reported in the included studies. There is no clear benefit in terms of duration of hospitalization and time to negative PCR with the use of various antiviral regimens in mild disease;however, these drugs did play a role in limiting disease progression in the participant population. Pending further evidence, the use of these drugs for the management of COVID-19 is not recommend in patients with mild disease. © 2022, The Running Line. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background: Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic had a major impact on the general wellbeing of people. Hypertension patients are more liable to psychological stress. This study aims to assess the prevalence of psychological stress in hypertensive patients affected by Covid-19 in Madinah. Methods: Hypertension patients in Al Madinah were invited to participate in an online questionnaire in the period from December 2020 to May 2021. It included the personal data, questions assessing hypertension and psychological health status using the General Health Questionnaire. Results: Total number of participants in our study was 588. 30.8% of participants were mildly distressed and 6.8% were severely distressed. Females are being more at risk of severe distress. Regarding taking prescribed medications there was a significant relationship between groups. Conclusion: The prevalence was found to be 0.376. Hypertensive patients in Al Madinah are at more risk of psychological stress especially females, students, unemployed, and those who are not adherent to their medications. More psychological care should be provided to them in pandemics. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of psychological stress after Covid-19 in hypertensive patients in Madinah.
ABSTRACT
Celiac disease is an autoimmune enteropathy disease caused by an immune reaction to gliadin which is a component of gluten that affects the intestinal lamina and leads to its atrophy, which occurs when a celiac patient consumes gluten products. The symptoms are different from diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain after eating gluten, however, most of them are asymptomatic. Due to the low frequency of studies regarding celiac disease among youngsters in Saudi Arabia, thegoal of this study was to screen anti-gliadin IgA among students at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 182 healthy participants from students at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University from March 3, 2022, to March 26, 2022. Some participants have confirmed to have food allergy or an immune disorder such as nut allergy, systemic lupus erythema, and wheat sensitivity. The anti-gliadin IgA test was performed by ELISA to assess anti-gliadin IgA titer on the serum of the students. 9 out of 182 were anti-gliadin IgA positive test. Most of the positive participants were females, and one was male, and all were healthy and confirmed to be undiagnosed previously with celiac disease neither their relatives. Moreover, they are not shown symptoms that are associated with their gluten intake. We found an association with many parameters of AGA positivity of the participants such as gender, BMI or COVID-19 infection and vaccine. This study provides a screening analysis of anti-gliadin IgA among students at College of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University, and our results are similar to the prevalence of celiac disorder in Saudi Arabia. However, seropositivity for anti-gliadin IgA can be a marker for other enteropathies therefore other confirmatory tests should be performed.
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Self-medication is defined as using drugs without doctor prescription, whether it is modern or traditional treatment through different sources that allowed them to take these medications individually. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers self-medication as a serious problem. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and the association of self-medication among the population in Medina. The study also aimed to know the resources, reasons, knowledge, and other aspects of self-medication. Methods: This is a community-based cross-sectional study has been conducted in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The duration of study was one year. The sample includes 281 participants. An online questionnaire has been designed to reach the research goals. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.0 has been used to analyze the collected data. The research used texts, tables, and graphs to present the statistical data. Results: The study showed that (58%) of the participants practiced self-medication. The most common reasons for using self-medications are having an old recipe (33.1%), or to save time (33.1%). The most common symptom for using self-medication is headache (70.6%). The most used medicine in self-medication is analgesics (42.9%). Most of the participants received information about the medicines from the drug leaflet (45.4%). Conclusion: Self-medication is a serious problem. The prevalence of self-medication is less in this study comparing to other studies around the world. More attention and protocols may help to reduce the prevalence.
ABSTRACT
Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by an RNA virus named SARS CoV2. The increased risk of infection by this virus among dental students necessitates updated knowledge and highlights their important role in preventing and controlling its transmission. Objective: This study aims to assess knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes regarding COVID-19 and infection control measures among dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students in different Saudi universities using an online self-administered questionnaire. It gathered data on students' demographic information, knowledge of COVID-19 and infection control measures, risk perception and attitudes toward the disease, and their preparedness for treating infected patients. Results: A total of 327 dental students responded to the questionnaire. Of these students, 92.4% had received training in infection control in dental practice, but only 24.2% had attended training regarding COVID-19. The majority of students had adequate knowledge regarding the modes of transmission and the common symptoms of COVID-19, with statistically significant total mean knowledge scores among students in different academic years (p<0.05). A large percentage of the students (92.7%) agreed that the use of rubber dams or high-volume saliva ejectors could reduce the possibility of transmitting infection. However, 58.4% of the students disagreed that intraoral dental radiographs should be avoided to reduce the possibility of transmitting infection. Conclusion: Although knowledge of and risk perception concerning COVID-19 among students is good, additional training sessions integrating recent international guidelines for infection control are required to update their knowledge and achieve safe dental practice.
ABSTRACT
Background: The global pandemic of coronavirus has resulted in it causing several respiratory diseases. The mild common cold like illness is one of the major symptoms that represents the clinical presentation of the respiratory infection. Some patients can be asymptomatic while some might have characteristic symptoms in the form of coughs, dyspnoea, and fever. Mostly it affects people aged between 30 to 79 years. Major risk factors are people residing or travelling in the areas where risk of transmission is quite high, old age, and presence of comorbidities. The origin of the virus was linked to the Southern China's Huanan wet market in Huanan. The pathophysiology has not yet been understood properly but the exudative diffuse alveolar is considered as the major reason behind the deaths due to respiratory failure. In order to control the spread there are four different ways currently: quarantine the contact for at least 14 days, screening of travellers, drive-through screening centres, and temperature screening. Isolation, infection management, and symptom management can be the most useful therapeutic approaches. Methodology: During this research, the systematic review has been done by referring to several studies that showed the data related to the diagnostic and therapeutic approach against Covid-19. During the research it has been-ensured that only the data from thighly qualified authors was used to determine the effective diagnostic and therapeutic options of Covid-19. The inclusion criteria were articles available in English language, the most recent and highly rated studies, and articles having statistics. The exclusion criteria were data which is available without clear statistics, articles other than those in the English language, data of high risk and low quality, and the data not able to provide the basic diagnostic and therapeutic options of Covid-19. It has been ensured that the quality of data should be maintained in order to establish quality research. Discussion: Covid-19 diagnostic options are oral and nasal PCR, rapid diagnostic test, serologic test, plain X-rays, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT scanning, ultrasonography, and nuclear scanning. The therapeutic options are pharmacological drugs (like chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, corticosteroids, sirolimus, tocilizumab), airway assistance ventilation, and vaccination. Conclusion: Covid-19 is on the verge of constant increase and is impacting many people around the globe. Currently, there is no proper treatment for covid-19 as a result of which everyday preventive actions and vaccination are the best things that an individual can do in order to prevent the spread of covid-19.