ABSTRACT
Background The impact of COVID-19 on children is a vital topic to cover since the quarantine lasted for months, and limited research explored this effect locally in Arab countries. We studied the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the psychosocial well-being of children aged 1-18 years who were living in Saudi Arabia during the time of the pandemic. Method A total of 387 participants' responses were collected using online questionnaires (valid and reliable) composed of three sections with open and close-ended questions by the child's legal guardians. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia and targeted children aged 1-18 years of both genders using a convenience sampling technique. One questionnaire assessed the child's behavior and sleep pattern, while the other evaluated child's activity and social skills. We analyzed the data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Half of the children were 1-6 years (196; 50.6%), and the caregivers of more than half (225; 58.2%) were mothers. Two-thirds (234; 60.5%) of the children were male. Apart from a poor appetite for food and eating (non-nutritional) junk food, which was not significant (p-value > 0.05), all other factors, behavior, sleep patterns, activity, and social skills, all other factors were significantly affected by COVID-19 (p<0.05). Conclusion This study found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on children's psychosocial well-being. It is recommended to implement actions that aim to enhance the ability of children to cope with challenges.
ABSTRACT
Background Hypoglycemia has a major impact on patient health and glycemic management during insulin therapy for both type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It is the rate-limiting complication in diabetes management that prevents stringent glucose control. Objectives To assess the knowledge and awareness about hypoglycemia as a complication of T2D in adults in Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a cross-sectional study done among type 2 diabetes patients in Al-Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from January to June 2022. A previously validated online questionnaire was disseminated through social media to gather information from respondents. Participants were chosen via a simple random sampling technique. Data analysis was completed using SPSS (version 23; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Overall, 213 respondents were included in our study. The majority of them were females (70.9%). The participants' average age was 35.9 + 13.0 years. Our results revealed that the average awareness score of the study population was found to be 3.6 ± 1.1 (by using the Clarke method) and 3.7 ± 2.1 (by using the Gold method). Moreover, we found that impaired awareness of hypoglycemia's prevalence by Clarke's questionnaire was 52.1% and 53.5% by using the Gold questionnaire. In addition, almost half of the respondents reported weakness as a symptom of hypoglycemia over the last six months and unconsciousness over the last 12 months. Hypertension was the most commonly reported chronic disease by our participants. Lastly, factors such as age, gender, educational level, geographic distribution, and history of chronic illness did not show any significant association with impaired awareness of the prevalence of hypoglycemia. Conclusion According to our research, we concluded that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the region of Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia, had insufficient knowledge about hypoglycemia as a complication of T2D. Moreover, the impaired awareness of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients was found to be high. Hence, there is a need for interventional programs to raise public awareness.
ABSTRACT
Colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis (CPC) is an advanced malignancy and is typically associated with a poor prognosis. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) following complete cytoreductive surgery (CRS) is a novel, advanced loco-regional treatment for colorectal cancer that is currently being used to treat peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). The present review aims to describe the evidence-based literature on the efficacy and safety of this treatment approach in patients with PC originating from colorectal cancer and to summarize its complications. All published literature regarding the efficacy of HIPEC for the treatment of CPC was reviewed; 16 studies were included in this paper. The overall survival rate for the HIPEC group ranged from 63% to 93%. The overall median survival for the HIPEC and non-HIPEC groups ranged from 13 to 60.1 months and 12.6 to 41.2 months, respectively. The overall median survival of patients in the HIPEC group was comparatively better than those in the non-HIPEC group. There was insufficient evidence to suggest whether this treatment regimen was associated with a high or low morbidity rate in comparison to other groups. However, the mortality rate associated with this treatment regimen was low. In conclusion, the present data provide insufficient evidence regarding the beneficial effects of using HIPEC following CRS treatment. Therefore, further studies are required to determine the benefits of HIPEC for CPC patients.
