Investigating households' out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures based on number of chronic conditions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study using quantile regression approach.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the level and associated factors, focusing on the number of individuals with chronic conditions, of out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures (OOPHE). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to June 2021. SETTING: Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1176 households that used any healthcare services at least once in the past 3 months. OUTCOME MEASURES: The OOPHE incurred in the previous 3-month period when a household member is receiving health services. The effects of predisposing, enabling and need factors on the level of OOPHE. The association between the number of individuals with chronic conditions in a household and OOPHE along with the OOPHE distribution. RESULTS: The average household OOPHE among all the surveyed households (n=1176) was SAR1775.30. For households affected by one chronic condition, OOPHE was SAR1806, and for households affected by more than one chronic condition, OOPHE was SAR2704. If the head of the household was older, better educated and employed, they were more vulnerable to a higher OOPHE (p<0.0001). At the household level, the increased number of family members with chronic conditions, the presence of a member less than 14 years old, higher socioeconomic status, coverage from health insurance plans, residence in an urban area and the presence of a member with a disability in the household were correlated with a considerably greater level of OOPHE (p<0.0001). The result of quantile regression analysis indicates that an increase in the number of members with chronic conditions in a household was significantly associated with greater overall OOPHE at higher health expenditure quantiles. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of OOPHE on households with chronic conditions remains heavy, and some disparities still exist. The number of individuals with chronic conditions in a household plays a substantial and prominent role in increasing the risk of incurring OOPHE.

Severity of COVID-19 infection in ACEI/ARB users in specialty hospitals: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The uncertainty about COVID-19 outcomes in angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) users continues with contradictory findings. This study aimed to determine the effect of ACEI/ARB use in patients with severe COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was done in two Saudi public specialty hospitals designated as COVID-19 referral facilities. We included 354 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 between April and June 2020, of which 146 were ACEI/ARB users and 208 were non-ACEI/ARB users. Controlling for confounders, we conducted multivariate logistic regression and sensitivity analyses using propensity score matching (PSM) and Inverse propensity score weighting (IPSW) for high-risk patient subsets. RESULTS: Compared to non-ACEI/ARB users, ACEI/ARB users had an eight-fold higher risk of developing critical or severe COVID-19 (OR = 8.25, 95%CI = 3.32-20.53); a nearly 7-fold higher risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission (OR = 6.76, 95%CI = 2.88-15.89) and a nearly 5-fold higher risk of requiring noninvasive ventilation (OR = 4.77,95%CI = 2.15-10.55). Patients with diabetes, hypertension, and/or renal disease had a five-fold higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease (OR = 5.40,95%CI = 2.0-14.54]. These results were confirmed in the PSM and IPSW analyses. CONCLUSION: In general, but especially among patients with hypertension, diabetes, and/or renal disease, ACEI/ARB use is associated with a significantly higher risk of severe or critical COVID-19 disease, and ICU care.

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.