Assessment of the Desire and Readiness of Taif Residents for Heart Donation After Death.

Background/aim Heart transplantation is often the only preferable treatment for end-stage heart failure (HF); however, there are insufficient organ donors in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we aimed to understand the desire and readiness of Taif populations for heart donation after death. Methods We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study among Taif residents in November 2022. A questionnaire designed from a previous survey was distributed among the participants. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data and questions assessing their desire for heart donation. Results The study included 405 subjects who have accepted to participate in the study. About half of the participants were aged 18 to 32 years (43.5%), most were females, were non-employed, and had a university degree. Of them, 86.2% accepted the concept of organ transplantation, 81% accepted the concept of heart transplantation, and one-third of the participants desired to donate their hearts. The participants with a university degree reported significantly less acceptance of the concept of heart transplantation (p-value=0.026), and those employed showed a significantly stronger desire for organ donation to a relative after death (p-value=0.049). In addition, younger participants showed a significantly higher willingness for organ donation to a relative or non-relative after death (p-value=0.017 and 0.009, respectively). Employed participants were significantly more willing to undergo heart transplantation surgery if needed (p-value=0.044). Conclusion Awareness campaigns could be established in the community and popularized during contact with the health system to build trust in the organ donation system, stress the importance of heart donation in saving the lives of more patients, and reduce the shortage of organ transplantation.

Prevalence of Fibromyalgia Syndrome in Taif City, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a non-inflammatory, chronic disseminated musculoskeletal pain with unknown etiology. FMS patients suffer from generalized pain that markedly decreases their quality of life and productivity. Objective To investigate the prevalence of FMS and the correlation between people with positive screening criteria for FMS and their socio-demographic characteristics in Taif city. Methodology A cross-sectional study was performed in Taif city, Saudi Arabia, from June 2021 to August 2021. A structured self-estimated electronic questionnaire developed by Google Forms. The questionnaire depended on the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS, version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Result Out of 1015 participants, 77 participants (7.6%) were revealed to have FMS. The prevalence of FMS among females (9.3%) was significantly higher (p<0.001) than that among males (3.1%). In addition, participants aged 40 years old or more showed a significantly higher prevalence of FMS (p=0.003) compared to those aged less than 40 years old (11.7% versus 6.0%, respectively). In addition, occupational status was found to significantly affect FMS prevalence (p=0.040) as the highest prevalence was reported among employees (10.8%) and housewives (9.4%) compared to the unemployed (8.8%), students (5.0%), and retired participants (4.0%). On the other hand, participants' nationality was shown to have no significant effect on fibromyalgia prevalence (p=0.396). Conclusion Results show a slightly high prevalence rate of FMS in Saudi Arabia. Prevalence was seen greater in women, old age, and employed individuals. Poor knowledge of FMS was seen among the general Saudi population. Educational programs are needed to increase awareness of the disease.

Frequent clinical and radiological manifestations of the Novel SARS-CoV-2: A review article.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the novel "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2" (SARS-CoV-2) and is rapidly spreading worldwide. This review is designed to highlight the most common clinical features and computed tomography (CT) signs of patients with COVID-19 and to elaborate the most significant signs indicative of COVID-19 diagnosis. This review involved five original articles with both clinical and radiological features of COVID-19 published during Jan and Mar 2020. In this review, the most frequent symptoms of COVID-19 were fever and cough. Myalgia, fatigue, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, and dyspnea were less common manifestations. Nausea and vomiting were rare. Ground-glass opacity (GGO) was the most common radiological finding on CT, and mixed GGO with consolidation was reported in some cases. In addition, elevated C-reactive protein and lymphopenia are the pertinent laboratory findings of COVID-19. CT is an effective and important imaging tool for both diagnosis and follow-up COVID-19 patients with varied features, duration, and course of the disease. Bilateral GGOs, especially in the periphery of the lungs with or without consolidation, are the hallmark of COVID-19.

The gap between ultrasonography and computed tomography in measuring the size of urinary calculi.

OBJECTIVE: Due to a lack of studies regarding the need for computed tomography (CT) in measuring the size of each urinary calculus before surgery, this study was conducted to elucidate the difference between ultrasonography (US) and CT in measuring the size of urinary stones. METHODS: A retrospective review of 100 stones from 83 patients. Each urinary stone was measured using both US and CT; both measurements were then compared. RESULTS: Of 83 patients, the mean age was 39.29 ± 23.76 years; 47 (56.62%) were male and 36 (43.37%) were female. Most of the urinary stones were <10 mm (50.0%) followed by 11-20 mm (42.0%), (P < 0.001). A cross-tabulation test revealed strong compatibility between US and CT in measuring the size of urinary stones (73.7% in stones <10 mm, 66.7% in stones 11-20 mm and 50% in stones >21 mm), (P < 0.001). Spearman's rho correlation test revealed strong compatibility between stone diameters measured by US and CT (r = 0.755), (P = 0 < 0.001). T-test for equality of means revealed no significant difference in the measured size using US and CT (mean = 11.80 ± 5.83 vs. 11.65 ± 6.59, respectively), mean difference = 0.15, and P = 0.865, 95% confidence interval: -1.584-1.884. CONCLUSION: No significant difference in measuring the size of urinary stones using US and CT. However, US may slightly overestimate small stones in some cases.