Factors Associated with Length of Hospital Stay among COVID-19 Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study during the First Pandemic Wave.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected healthcare systems and tested their preparedness. To date, the length of hospital stay (LoHS) and its factors among COVID-19 patients has not been thoroughly studied. Moreover, it is essential to identify the features of these patients. Adult COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia with complete electronic medical records and who were hospitalised for >1 day between 1 May 2020 and 30 July 2020 at one of two hospitals were considered for this retrospective cohort study. Descriptive statistics and multivariate generalized linear models were performed using the data. Of the patients, 34% were ≥50 years old and 80.14% were female. More than 70% had mild-to-moderate symptoms; 45% had either diabetes or hypertension. The median LoHS was 7.00 days (IQR: 3-11). Patients who were females, had either critical or severe disease, were on mechanical ventilation, had diabetes, and administered ceftriaxone had significantly longer LoHS (p < 0.05). Patients administered zinc sulphate had significantly shorter LoHS (p = 0.0008). During the first pandemic wave, COVID-19 patients were hospitalised for 7 days. Healthcare professionals should pay more attention to women, patients with diabetes, and those with severe or critical symptoms. Unnecessary use of ceftriaxone should be minimised, and zinc sulphate can be administered.

Impact of COVID-19 on Public Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Participating in Clinical Trials in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the knowledge and attitudes of patients among the Saudi population toward participating in clinical trials. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional analysis using self-administered questionnaires for patients who attended the outpatient clinics at King Fahad Medical City and King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaires included general questions about sociodemographic information, patient knowledge about clinical trials, and patient attitudes toward clinical trial participation. We used descriptive analysis to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on patient knowledge and attitudes about clinical trials. RESULTS: From November 2019 to October 2020, 822 responses were collected from participants in two medical cities and included in the analysis. Most of the study participants (81%) were younger than age 42 years. Our findings showed no difference between participants who participated in clinical trials before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.129). CONCLUSION: The Saudi population knows about clinical trials, but they lack knowledge about the role of the ethics committee and about informed consent. Also, most of them do not have the experience of participating in a clinical trial. Still, they have moderately positive attitudes toward clinical trials.

Assessing the Severity of Illness in Patients With Coronavirus Disease in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia in various severity groups. Methods: Data for 485 patients were extracted from the medical records from the infectious disease center of Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Hospital in Riyadh. Patients' basic information, laboratory test results, signs and symptoms, medication prescribed, other comorbidities, and outcome data were collected and analyzed. Descriptive data were reported to examine the distribution of study variables between the severe and not severe groups. Results: Of 458 included patients, 411 (89.7%) were classified as not severe, 47 (10.3%) as severe. Most (59.1%) patients were aged between 20 and 39 years. Patients with severe conditions were non-Saudi, with a chronic condition history, and tended to have more chronic conditions compared with those without severe disease. Diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid disease were significantly higher in patients with severe disease. Death was reported in only 4.26% of severe patients. Only 16 (34.04%) patients remained in the hospital in the severe group. Conclusions: Severe cases were more likely to have more comorbidities, diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid disorders were most common compared with non-severe cases.

Comparing the impact of Hydroxychloroquine based regimens and standard treatment on COVID-19 patient outcomes: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological treatments including antivirals (Lopinavir/Ritonavir), Immuno-modulatory and anti-inflammatory drugs including, Tocilizumab and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been widely investigated as a treatment for COVID-19.Despite the ongoing controversies, HCQ was recommended for managing mild to moderate cases in Saudi Arabia . However, to our knowledge, no previous studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia to assess its effectiveness. METHODS: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study involving 161 patients with COVID-19 was conducted from March 1 to May 20, 2020. The study was conducted at Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Hospital (PMAH).The population included hospitalized adults (age ≥ 18 years) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Each eligible patient was followed from the time of admission until the time of discharge. Patients were classified into two groups according to treatment type: in the HCQ group, patients were treated with HCQ; in the SC group, patients were treated with other antiviral or antibacterial treatments according to Ministry of Health (MOH) protocols.The outcomes were hospitalization days, ICU admission, and the need for mechanical ventilation.We estimated the differences in hospital length of stay and time in the ICU between the HCQ group and the standard care (SC) group using a multivariate generalized linear regression. The differences in ICU admission and mechanical ventilation were compared via logistic regression. All models were adjusted for age and gender variables. RESULTS: A total of 161 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Approximately 59% (n = 95) received HCQ-based treatment, and 41% (n = 66) received SC. Length of hospital stay and time in ICU in for patients who received HCQ based treatment was shorter than those who received SC. Similarly, there was less need for ICU admission and mechanical ventilation among patients who received HCQ based treatment compared with SC, (8.6% vs. 10.7 and 3.1% vs. 9.1%). However, the regression analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of patient outcomes. CONCLUSION: HCQ had a modest effect on hospital length stay and days in ICU compared with SC. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution. Larger observational studies and RCTs that evaluate the efficacy of HCQ in COVID-19 patients in the Saudi population are urgently needed.