Burnout Among Saudi Radiographers.

Introduction: Burnout research is limited in Saudi Arabia, particularly among radiographers. Burnout among Saudi radiographers may have a negative impact on the services offered. Objective: This study aims to assess the burnout among radiographers in Medina hospitals. Materials and Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study included 104 radiographers from government and private Medina hospitals. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel, which consists of 22 questions, was used to measure the burnout level. The data were evaluated descriptively using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 25), and independent t-tests and analysis of variance were applied to assess group differences and linear regression analysis to evaluate associations between the burnout level and sociodemographic variables (ie sex, age, experience, and department). Results: The emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) scores were moderate, while the personal accomplishment (PA) score was high, with total scores of 23.53 (9.32), 7.29 (5.95), and 29.70 (1.35), respectively. The DP score was influenced by the participants' experience. Specifically, an experience of 1-5 years yielded a substantially higher burnout score than did an experience of >10 years (p>0.05). Conversely, sex, age, and department did not affect the DP score (p<0.05). Similarly, the EE and PA scores were not influenced by sex, age, experience, or department (p<0.05). Conclusion: Burnout is prevalent among radiographers in Medina hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The EE and DP scores are moderate, while the PA score is high, indicating a suitable work environment. Policymakers should take the required steps to identify the variables contributing to employee burnout and enhance the work environment.

Assessment of the Knowledge and Practice of Infection Control among Radiographers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

Effective control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) involves a collaborative effort among various healthcare stakeholders, including healthcare workers, patients, and professionals. Radiographers, as essential members of the healthcare team, play a crucial role in HAI prevention by diligently adhering to standard infection control precautions (SICP) and maintaining a high level of knowledge regarding infection control procedures. The study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of radiographers concerning infection control in radiology departments in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia in the period from February to May 2022, with data collected using an online survey in the form of a google forms questionnaire disseminated through social media as an electronic link and including the patient's demographic characteristic such as age, gender, education level, experience, and prior infection control training and multiple closed ended questions to assess knowledge of standard infection control precautions and the practice of infection control. Overall, 113 participants responded to the survey and entered their responses directly, and the data were analyzed using the SPSS (statistical package for social science). RESULTS: The study revealed that the mean score of knowledge and awareness of the practice of infection control among radiographers in Saudi Arabia was (63.0 and 61.9, respectively), which were considered moderate levels. Females were significantly more knowledgeable about infection control and more aware of the practice than males (p-values = 0.019). The participants who previously attended courses of infection control training had a significantly higher score with a mean rank of (60.9) than those who had not (43.4), (p-value = 0.013). The radiographers' level of experience, age, and academic qualification had no significant influence on overall knowledge and practice of infection control (p-values > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In Saudi Arabia, radiographers have a moderate level of knowledge and practice of infection control. There is a need for an ongoing training and education program for practicing radiographers to ensure they perform better in infection control measures.

Safety of Ultrasound Exposure: Awareness of Ultrasound Bioeffects among Saudi Sonographers.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound tends to produce biological effects on body tissues. Therefore, the application of ultrasound safety rules is needed in all ultrasound examinations to avoid bioeffects that may occur because of a high thermal index (TI) and mechanical index (MI). This study aimed to explore the Saudi sonographers' awareness of ultrasound safety and bioeffects. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, and the data was collected using an online survey google forms questionnaire disseminated through social media (Telegram, WhatsApp, and Twitter) as an electronic link. A total of 70 participants responded to the survey directly, and then, the data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science). RESULTS: Regarding the awareness of TI and MI, 64.3% of the participants were aware of TI and 65.7% of MI as safety ultrasound indices; moreover, 74.3% of the participants were aware of the ALARA principle "As Low as Reasonably Achievable." Participants' knowledge concerning more heat production in pulsed Doppler ultrasound modes was poor (31.5%). Most of the sonographers, i.e., 77.1% were aware of the relationship between the risk of activation and MI, and 58.6% of the participants were acquainted with the current FDA output limits. In comparison, 58.6% of the participants were aware of the bioeffects of ultrasound contrast agents. There was no significant correlation between the educational level and the degree of awareness of ultrasound bioeffects and safety (P-value> 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, it was found that sonographers were aware of the theoretical principles of ultrasound safety indices and the ALARA principle, although they had poor knowledge of ultrasound bioeffects in Doppler mode.

Awareness of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging Among Radiologists and Radiologic Technologists.

BACKGROUND: Current technological developments in medical imaging are primarily focused on increasing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into all medical imaging modalities. They are already considered capable of handling tasks such as image reconstruction, processing (denoising, segmentation), analysis, and predictive modeling. The purpose of this study is to assess the awareness (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) of radiologists and radiologic technologists regarding AI in medical imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, qualitative study focuses on radiologists and radiologic technologists in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen. A self-administered questionnaire based on published studies was used to collect primary data. Version 25.0 of IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used for the statistical analysis. The demographics were summarized as frequency and percentage. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVA tests were used to evaluate and compare the degree of AI awareness among the study groups. RESULTS: A total of 210 individuals completed the survey. According to demographic information, there were 134 (63.8%) radiologic technologists and 76 radiologists (36.2%). Of the participants, 131 (62%) were male, while 79 (37.6%) were female. A total of 130 (61.9%) of the targeted respondents had a positive attitude, 105 (50%) had appropriate practice, and 122 (58.1%) of them were informed (knowledgeable) about AI in medical imaging. There was a significant difference in knowledge awareness between radiologists and radiologic technologists (p-value: <0.05). Radiologists were more knowledgeable than radiologic technologists, and females were more knowledgeable than males (p-value: 0.049). For attitude awareness, there were no significant differences regarding specialization, gender, age, academic qualification, and experience (p-value > 0.05). Regarding practice awareness, it turned out that females are more knowledgeable than males (p-value: 0.007). Additionally, it was discovered that significant differences indicated that bachelor's degree holders have a higher level of practice awareness than diploma holders (p-value: <0.05). CONCLUSION: Significant differences between the respondent's knowledge awareness regarding specialization, gender, and experience are linked with relatively sufficient AI-basic knowledge and positive attitude awareness among radiologists and radiologic technologists. Only half of the study participants had appropriate practical awareness; therefore, additional training could enhance practical awareness.

Hydatid Disease: A Radiological Pictorial Review of a Great Neoplasms Mimicker.

Hydatid cyst is a common name for the larval stage of a tapeworm species of Echinococcus granulosus, which is transmitted from animals to humans via the fecal-oral route. Hydatid cysts predominantly affect the liver (75%), followed by the lung (15%), and they can affect many organs in the human body. Medical imaging modalities are the keystone for the diagnosis of hydatid cysts with high sensitivity and specificity. Ultrasound imaging with high resolution is the first choice for diagnosis, differential diagnosis, staging, establishing a role in interventional management, and follow-up, and it can differentiate Type I hydatid cysts from simple liver cysts. Unenhanced computed tomography (CT) is indicated where or when an ultrasound is unsatisfactory, such as with chest or brain hydatid cysts, when detecting calcification, and in obese patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is superior for demonstrating cyst wall defects, biliary communication, neural involvement, and differentiating hydatid cysts from simple cysts using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences. According to the phase of growth, hydatid cysts occur in different sizes and shapes, which may mimic benign or malignant neoplasms and may create diagnostic challenges in some cases. Hydatid cysts can mimic simple cysts, choledochal cysts, Caroli's disease, or mesenchymal hamartomas of the liver. They can mimic lung cystic lesions, mycetoma, blood clots, Rasmussen aneurysms, and even lung carcinomas. Differential diagnosis can be difficult for arachnoid cysts, porencephalic cysts, pyogenic abscesses, and even cystic tumors of the brain, and can create diagnostic dilemmas in the musculoskeletal system.

Morphometric Analysis of the Midline Mandibular Lingual Canal and Mandibular Lingual Foramina: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the midline mandibular lingual canals and foramina and their anatomic variations using CBCT scans. METHODS: This study used retrospective analysis. A total of 320 CBCT scans were used to evaluate the study parameters, which comprised the presence or absence of the mandibular lingual foramen (MLF)/mandibular lingual canal (MLC) and its category, the distance between the buccal cortex and the start of the MLC, the distance between the inferior border of the mandible and the superior border of the foramen at its lingual and buccal terminals. The length and diameter of each canal at its lingual and buccal terminals. RESULTS: MLC was found in all included CBCT scans. Out of 320 included CBCT scans, a single canal was represented by 30.9%, double canals (Supra with Infra -spinosum) configuration appeared in 54.7%, and triple canals (Supra-Inter-Infra) represented 14.7%. The supraspinosum canals averaged 5.81 ± 2.08 mm in length and 0.87 ± 0.30 mm in diameter at the lingual terminal. In terms of the number of canals, there was a significant difference between men and women (p ≤ 0.001), with 60% of the men in the sample having double canals and 43.1% of the women having single canals. Moreover, the male gender had a higher prevalence of triple canals (21.3% vs. 8.1%) than females. Males and females were distributed equally among the supraspinosum canals, with no statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.7). A considerable increase in the finding of interspinosum and infraspinosum canals was seen in the male sample (p ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: midline mandibular canals were found in all investigated CBCTs of the sample of both sexes; however, the anatomy and location of the MLF and canals varied significantly among the Saudi population.

Risks of khat chewing on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems: A narrative review.

Khat is an evergreen plant and its fresh green leaves and buds are chewed for several hours a day for its psychostimulant response. This study aimed to review the effects of khat chewing on the body. PubMed was searched for literature on the different aspects of khat chewing to summarize its effects on different body systems. The major effects of khat chewing are those on the cardiovascular system including increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and increased risk of myocardial infarction. It causes insomnia, stress, depression, hallucination, and increased risk of brain stroke. It causes dental caries, bad oral hygiene, periodontitis, increased oral mucosal ulcers, and increased gingival bleeding and recession. Khat chewing causes loss of appetite, gastritis, constipation, and hemorrhoids, and increased risk of hepatotoxicity and liver cirrhosis. Ultimately, it causes weak micturition, decreased sperm motility and count, and low birth-weight offspring in khat chewing mothers. The published articles about khat chewing in journals indexed in the PubMed was reviewed. Inclusion criteria involved each article available with English language and have a reported new effect of khat chewing.

The Diagnostic Deceiver: Radiological Pictorial Review of Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis; it is a public health problem worldwide and one of the leading causes of mortality. Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health challenges and disrupted the TB health services, especially in high-burden countries with ever-increasing prevalence. Extrapulmonary and even pulmonary TB are an important cause of nonspecific clinical and radiological manifestations and can masquerade as any benign or malignant medical case, thus causing disastrous conditions and diagnostic dilemmas. Clinical manifestations and routine laboratory tests have limitations in directing physicians to diagnose TB. Medical-imaging examinations play an essential role in detecting tissue abnormalities and early suspecting diagnosis of TB in different organs. Radiologists and physicians should be familiar with and aware of the radiological manifestations of TB to contribute to the early suspicion and diagnosis of TB. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the common radiologic patterns of pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB. This article will be beneficial for radiologists, medical students, chest physicians, and infectious-disease doctors who are interested in the diagnosis of TB.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Concerning COVID-19 Among Undergraduate Students of Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences at King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Surveyed Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has exerted great efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This research aims to scrutinize the outlook, awareness, and customs of Saudi undergraduate students regarding COVID-19. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study comprises 178 undergraduate students in the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. The data were collected from online Google form questionnaires. The differences were picked out of the questionnaires, and the mean scores of the differences were duly assessed. The variables associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were evaluated; moreover, a comparative study was conducted on these variables in different faculty departments. ANOVA, Student's t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis were used to assess the data on knowledge, attitude, and practice. RESULTS: Most of the undergraduate students were well acquainted with COVID-19. We obtained the mean knowledge score for COVID-19 to be 3.08 ± .82 (range: 1-5), indicating good knowledge. The attitude means the score was 3.02 ± .61 (range: 0-4), implying good positive attitudes. On assessing the mean score of practices, it was found 5 ± .47 (range: 0-7), pointing towards perfect practices. There were no significant differences between males and females regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Students of Applied Medical Sciences are knowledgeable about COVID-19. Health education programs should be focused on protection and safety from COVID-19 for Applied Medical Sciences students, especially Medical Rehabilitation Sciences and Radiology. Hand hygiene awareness programs must be conducted for undergraduate students. Infection control should be part of the undergraduate applied for medical sciences curriculum program.

Autoamputated pharyngeal hairy polyp presented with aero-digestive obstruction: A case report.

A pharyngeal hairy polyp (HP) is a rare benign mass that can be surgical detached with few complications. In this report, we describe a hairy polyp in a 7-day-old neonate presented with intermittent respiratory distress and feeding difficulties since birth. Neck computed tomography was performed, and demonstrated a well-defined pedunculated heterogeneous mass arising from the right lateral wall of the nasopharynx extending downward and nearly completely obstructing of the nasopharynx and oropharynx. The central part of the mass was found relatively dense surrounded by low attenuation fatty components with enhancement of the outer wall of the mass. The provisional diagnosis was pharyngeal HP. After autoamputation at the seventh day old, HP was analyzed via histopathology examination that showed a mixture of various ectodermal and mesodermal tissues including skin, cartilage, adipose and fibrous tissue. The patient fully recovered with no residual clinical features. We report this case to elucidate the possibility of this strange behavior of pharyngeal HP.

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.

A Case Report of a Tragic Story of Pott's paraplegia Cured after Four Years.

Pott's disease is a form of spondylodiscitis caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a serious form of spinal infections that can lead to terrible disabilities in case of undiagnosed and treated early. To document a case of Pott's paraplegia cured after four years. This report details the case of a patient with an undiagnosed case of spinal tuberculosis in a 55-year-old man who had complained of lower back pain and tenderness over the course of several months. The case progressed to the point that he had difficulty standing and numbness, then weakness, of the lower limbs. This patient was only treated with analgesics and antibiotics. Herbal remedies, massage and amulets also played a major role in his treatment. The patient remained bed-bound and paraplegic for four years, after which, he was referred for a thoracolumbar Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and was diagnosed with tuberculous spondylodiscitis. The patient underwent decompression surgery and started anti-tuberculous drugs. He regained his ability to walk. His lifestyle has improved and he has been living independently for eight years. In conclusion, diagnosis and correct treatment can result in a patient who was previously handicapped becoming independent once again. Medical imaging using MRI can play an essential role in the diagnosis of spinal lesions, including those present in cases of Pott's disease.

Diagnosis and risk stratification of coronary artery disease in Yemeni patients using treadmill test.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common medical problem that remains a great cause of morbidity and mortality. Based on clinical manifestation, CAD span from chronic stable angina to acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which encompasses (1) unstable angina (UA), (2) non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and (3) ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to describe the risk stratification and prognosis of CAD in Yemeni patients undergoing an exercise stress test. METHOD: A retrospective descriptive study involved the records of 302 patients who undergoing exercise stress testing by the Bruce protocol of Treadmill (TMT). RESULTS: Out of 302 patients, the mean age was 43.29 years, (range, 22-70 years), and 79.80% were males. The majority of patients (86.75%) were normal. Most of the affected patients (82.50%) were males. All of the affected peoples were more than 30 years old with predominance in more than 50 years old. Results showed that 45% of the positive (+ve) patients were in high-risk group, and 55% were in intermediate and low-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: CAD affects males more than females. It affects patients older than 30 years and predominates in elderly patients. Most of the affected patients were in the high, intermediate, and low-risk groups and rarely were in the very high-risk group.

Sonographic assessment of kidneys in patients with hypertension co-existed with diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is one of the major world health problems. Ultrasonography plays a useful role in the assessment of morphologicalchanges at the kidneys in hypertensive patients. AIM: To assess sonographic findings of the kidneys in hypertensive patients' co-morbidities with type 2 diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease (IDH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study involved 100 participants with primary hypertension selected by a method of simple convenient sampling. The patients were examined using ultrasonography to assess the sonographic findings of the kidneys. The renal length, corticomedullary differentiation (CMD), and renal artery diameters were assessed. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 23.0) was used in data analysis. RESULTS: The length of the right kidney was 8.9850 ± 1.01 cm and 9.48 ± 0.98 cm for the left kidney. Among the hypertensive patients, the incidence of hypertension was highest in housewives (27%) and students (23%) as compared with the other groups. The sonographic findings were 18% affected with simple renal cysts, 7% poor CMD, and the majority had normal kidneys. Significant correlation was found between age and sonographic findings of kidneys (r = 0.21, P value = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Simple renal cysts, poor CMD, and stenosis of renal arteries were most common sonographic findings in hypertension. Simple renal cystshad a significant association with hypertension.

Histopathological analysis of sinonasal lesions associated with chronic rhinosinusitis and comparison with computed tomography diagnoses.

BACKGROUND &OBJECTIVE: Chronic rhino sinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition of the paranasal sinuses and the nasal passage lasting more than three months either with or without sinonasal polyps. This study aimed to report the common sinonasal lesions associated with CRS according to the histopathology results, to compare between clinical and histopathological diagnoses, and to compare between radiological and histopathological diagnoses of the sinonasal lesions. METHODS: A retrospective study of the electronic records of 82 patients diagnosed with CRS with nasal polyps. All patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery and histopathological examination of surgical biopsies. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS program. Coparison between clinical and histopathological diagnoses was done. This study was conducted at Alsafwa Consultative Medical center (ACMC) in Almukalla city, Hadhramout province in Republic of Yemen. RESULTS: Out of 82 patients, the ages ranged from 4 to 90 years (mean: 34.48±17.74 years), and 54.88% were females. Inflammatory polyps were the most common lesion (31.4%), then allergic polyps (30.5%). Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was reported in 9.8% of the lesions and all were unilateral. The results revealed strong compatibility between clinical and histopathological diagnoses (p<0.001, kappa= 0.215), and significant compatibility between radiological and histopathology diagnoses (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: Inflammatory and allergic polyps are the most common benign bilateral lesions associated with chronic rhinosinusitis, which can be correctly diagnosed clinically in most cases. Unilateral nasal polyps have high rates of malignancies and should be check carefully by endoscopy and histopathology. Computed tomography has some pitfalls in diagnosing of fungal sinusitis.

The Readiness For Interprofessional Education (IPE) In The School Setting Among The Internship Students Of Applied Medical Sciences At Taibah University.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to assess the readiness of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in the school setting among the Internship Students of Applied Medical Sciences at Taibah University. METHODS: This study utilized a survey targeting internship students of Applied Medical Sciences; departments Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Clinical Nutrition, at Taibah University. We used a modified Readiness for Inter-professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) survey to collect the data of this study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. RESULTS: A 100 surveys distributed, 40 were returned. Most of the internship students (88.7%) agreed that IPE could make them more collaborated and can enhance teamwork skill to them. A total of 36.25% of the internship student agreed, and 50.01% disagree about the negative professional identity of the IPE. 86.66% of the internship student agreed, and 50.01% disagree about the positive professional identity of the IPE. They responded that sharing learning with other health care professionals will help them to communicate better with patients and other professionals and to improve practice. 65.84% of the internship student agreed, and 23.75% disagreed about the impact of IPE on their role and responsibility. The difference between the internship student at the end level of the internship and internship student at the beginning level of the internship, towards the positive thinking about other healthcare professionals was 0.015. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that there was a readiness of IPE in the school setting among the Internship Students Students of Applied Medical Sciences at Taibah University. The majority of the internship student agreed that IPE could make them more collaborated and can enhance teamwork skill to them. There was a significant difference between the internship student at the end level of the internship and internship student at the beginning level of the internship, towards the positive thinking about other healthcare professionals.