Platelet transfusion practices among neonatologists in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide cross-sectional survey.

The etiologies of thrombocytopenia are highly diverse; however, early neonatal thrombocytopenia might be more common among extremely low-weight neonates. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to examine the current neonatal platelet (PLT) transfusion practices in Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional online survey study that was conducted between October and December 2022. Convenience sampling was used to recruit the participants. In this study, we developed a questionnaire based on an extensive literature review to examine current neonatal PLT transfusion practices. A total of 81 neonatologists participated. The vast majority of them (85.2%) were practicing in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit, with 60.0% of them reporting that they transfuse PLTs over 1 hour. Around 53% reported that they typically order 10 mL/kg per PLT transfusion. Up to 34.6% of the study participants reported that they use pooled whole-blood-derived PLT products in their practicing unit. Almost half (48.0%) of the study participants reported that they have written guidelines for PLT transfusion in their practicing unit, with 81.1% reporting that the PLT transfusion threshold was stated in the guidelines. Neonatal thrombocytopenia is typically treated with PLT transfusions. PLT transfusion criteria should be lowered in light of recent evidence suggesting that doing so may be counterproductive. However, there is some disagreement about whether a PLT count constitutes a medical emergency requiring a transfusion for a newborn baby. Furthermore, there is a great deal of variation in the administration of PLT infusions in Saudi Arabia because of the absence of clear protocols. Strict neonatal PLT transfusion standards and carefully planned clinical research are needed to address the risks and/or benefits of these diverse methods.

Knowledge on added sugar content in food labels among adult out-patient clinic visitors at a tertiary care teaching hospital, Riyadh, KSA.

Consumption of added sugars is reported as an etiological factor for high prevalence of diet-related diseases. Food labels of food products indicate the presence of added sugars. Knowing the different terms used to describe added sugars helps people to avoid food products rich in added sugars. Therefore, it is of interest to assess consumer knowledge about the added sugar terms on food labels. A study was conducted among 215 visitors of a tertiary care hospital outpatient clinic during July-September 2020. The data for this prospective cross-sectional study was collected by using online Google form. Adult visitors of both genders were selected using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. Demography and knowledge of the added sugars were collected. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. Mean (± SD), median, and Inter quartile Range (IQR), and Pearson Chi-square test were used. A "p" value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The majority (96.7%) of the study participants was Saudi nationals with a median (IQR) age of 28 (23, 38). Most (68.37%) of the respondents were undergraduates. Physical inactivity (37.21%) and incidence of obesity (25.58%), and lifestyle diseases (15.40%) were reported. The chi-square test indicated a significant relationship between gender and knowledge of added sugars (χ2 = 69.85; p<0.05). Females (69.41%) have more knowledge about added sugars than males. These findings support the notion that there is a lack of knowledge about added sugar terms on the nutrition labels, which might contribute to the prevalence of obesity and other non-communicable chronic illnesses.