Eight-year epidemiological study for drug poisoning in Qassim, Saudi Arabia, 2008-2015.

Literature reported drug poisoning as a major cause for visiting emergency departments, with various rates of occurrences across countries, regions, socioeconomic status, and cultures. Therefore, this study was conducted in Qassim to describe the sociodemographic patterns of acute drug poisoning as well as the most common drugs involved. A retrospective method of data collection was used employing medical record review for drug poisoning cases that occurred in the Qassim region during the 8 years from January 2008 to December 2015. Data was collected using a standardized, validated data collection sheet. The study failed to reveal any pattern (either decreasing or increasing) in the number of poisoning cases over time. Most cases (56.2%) of drug poisoning were accidental, caused by analgesics (35%), affected children younger than 5 years of age (41.4%), and occurred via ingestion (99.2%). It can be concluded that as most poisoning cases affected children, this highlights the importance of increasing awareness and educating families about the safe handling and storage of drugs out of reach of children.

Gender Differences in Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices toward COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic, Saudi Arabia took preventative and precautionary measures to avoid its spread and to safeguard its citizens. In this study, we investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of both men and women toward COVID-19 as well as associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online, self-report questionnaire distributed via Google Forms. The overall percentage of correct answers for the knowledge statements was 80.2%, with a higher rate among the female respondents (82.4% vs. 78.5%, p = 0.005). Slightly more than half (i.e., 165: 51.6%) of the participants showed that they did not go to crowded places during the pandemic; however, more female respondents recorded that they avoided crowded places than male respondents (57.7% vs. 46.2%, p = 0.04). Most participants (i.e., 272: 85.0%) reported that they had worn a mask in recent days, and more than two-thirds (84.4%) said that they still follow the strategies recommended by government authorities to prevent the spread of the virus. Again, more female respondents reported this than males (89.9% vs. 79.5%; p = 0.01). Significant correlations (p < 001) were noted between knowledge and practices (r = 0.31), knowledge and attitudes (r = 0.37), and attitudes and practices (r = 0.29). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, occupation and education were independently associated with knowledge among both the male and female respondents (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-7.2; aOR: 5.9; 95% CI: 2.2-15.9). Residence was independently associated with attitudes, but only among the male respondents (aOR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.9), and COVID-19 was independently associated with practices among both the male and female respondents (aOR: 4.5; 95% CI: 1.4-14.2; aOR: 9.8; 95% CI: 1.2-81.2). There were significant gender differences in both knowledge and practices toward COVID-19, with the female respondents achieving better scores than the male respondents. Thus, we recommend that health education campaigns are tailored to specifically target males.

Evaluation of patients' knowledge about their medications: A cross-sectional study in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.

Background: To authors' knowledge, in Saudi Arabia, information regarding patients' knowledge about their medications is lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to fill this literature gap by assessing patients' knowledge and perceptions about their medications. Design: To achieve the objective of the study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted outside community pharmacies in Qassim region through an exit interview with patients after getting their prescriptions filled or refilled. Methods: A convenient sample of patients was chosen based on acceptance to participate. A form was prepared based on the core and complementary medicines use indicators for evaluation of medicines use in healthcare settings developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Results: Four hundred forty-three forms were completed. A total of 70% of the indicators of patients' knowledge about their medications were found to be satisfactory, and a total of 89% of the patients were found to have positive perceptions about safety and effectiveness of their medications. Conclusion: Overall, patients' knowledge about their medications was found to be reasonable with exception of the area "information about precautions and possible side effects" which had shown poor patients' knowledge.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the General Population in Yemen Regarding COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Following the World Health Organization declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, Yemen has taken preventive and precautionary measures against COVID-19 to control its spread. This study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the Yemeni public regarding COVID-19. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted during the period from September 2021 to October 2021. RESULTS: The mean total knowledge score was 9.50 ± 2.12. The majority of the participants (93.4%) were aware that to prevent infection by the COVID-19 virus, going to crowded places and gatherings should be avoided. Approximately two thirds of the participants (69.4%) believed COVID-19 is a health threat to their community. However, in terms of actual behavior, only 23.1% of the participants reported that they did not go to any crowded places during the pandemic, and only 23.8% had worn a mask in recent days. Moreover, only about half (49.9%) reported that they were following the strategies recommended by the authorities to prevent the spread of the virus. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the general public has good knowledge and positive attitudes regarding COVID-19, but that their practices are poor.

Recurrence Rate of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Patients Treated with the Standard 6-Month Regimen: Findings and Implications from a Prospective Observational Multicenter Study.

Tuberculosis (TB) recurrence following successful treatment is a significant challenge in TB control programs. However, the rate of TB recurrence varies among studies. It depends on several factors, including the country/region where the investigation occurs, the study design, sample characteristics, and the anti-TB regimen used. In Yemen, a few previous studies examined the rate of TB recurrence and reported high recurrence rates, with a 5-year recurrence rate of approximately 9.5%. However, they were conducted before 2010 using the previous anti-TB regimen which was phased out and replaced with the World Health Organization's (WHO) standard 6-month TB regimen. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the rate of TB recurrence after the implementation of the WHO standard 6-month regimen in Yemen. A prospective observational study was conducted with patients diagnosed with drug-susceptible pulmonary TB. The patients were recruited from five health centers with TB units in five governorates from January to December 2011. All the patients were followed up for five years after treatment completion. A total of 439 patients who completed the anti-TB regimen met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. During the 5-year follow-up period, 8 patients (1.8%) died, and 13 patients (2.96%) were lost to follow-up, resulting in a final cohort of 418 patients. Of the cohort, 50.5% (n = 211) were male, while 49.5% (n = 207) were female patients. Of the patients, 129 patients (30.9%) were illiterate, 56 (13.4%) had cavitary pulmonary disease, and 6.2% (n = 26) had diabetes. The overall 5-year rate of TB recurrence in this study for the patients receiving the standard 6-month regimen was 2.9% (12/418). Moreover, almost half of the recurrent cases (41.7%; n = 5) were seen during the first year of the follow-up period. Some patient groups with risk factors recorded a higher recurrence rate, including patients with diabetes (15.4%), non-compliant patients (14.3%), pre-treatment lung cavitation patients (8.9%), illiterate patients (7.8%), and underweight patients (5.1%). In conclusion, the overall TB recurrence rate with the standard 6-month regimen was lower than that with the previous TB regimens. However, more efforts are needed to decrease TB recurrence rates further and achieve a durable cure for TB. In addition, healthcare professionals and TB control programs should consider potential risk factors of recurrence and address them to provide optimal care.

Saudi pharmacy students' perceived knowledge and attitude on their role in public health services.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the preparedness of pharmacy students to actively participate in public health services by examining their attitude towards and knowledge about the national public health programmes (NPHPs). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire survey of the students in Unaizah College of Pharmacy (UCP) and College of Pharmacy Main Campus (CPMC), Qassim University, between October 2019 and February 2020. KEY FINDINGS: A total of 100 out of 125 students responded to the questionnaire at a response rate of 80%. While the majority (77%) of the participants agreed on the necessity for pharmacists to know about the NPHPs, 71% reported they did not learn about National Health Policy in their pharmacy curriculum. Also, a small number of pharmacy students, at 16%, believed that their current knowledge about the NPHPs was sufficient or very sufficient. Lastly, 81% of the participants felt that they had an important or very important role to play in the NPHPs. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the participants expressed interest in more education on public health during their pharmacy education. Their interest supports the advancement of public health education to facilitate greater involvement of pharmacists in public health services.

Rate and risk factors of recurrent tuberculosis in Yemen: a 5-year prospective study.

Background: Tuberculosis is a major public health concern in Yemen. Recurrence of tuberculosis complicates the situation further, and has severe negative economic and health consequences. This study estimated the tuberculosis recurrence rate during a 5-year follow-up period, and identified risk factors associated with recurrence.Methods: This was a prospective study with a 5-year follow-up period conducted at health centres with tuberculosis units in ten governorates. Participants were prospectively enrolled in the study from July 2007 to June 2008, with the last patient completing treatment on March 15, 2009.Results: A cohort of 814 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis completed treatment and was followed-up for five years. During the follow-up, 3.4% (n = 28) died and 4.3% (n = 35) were lost to the study, giving a final cohort of 751 patients. The mean age ± standard deviation was 32 ± 13 years. Males represented 57.6% of the subjects. The overall recurrence rate of tuberculosis was 9.5% (71/751), with significant variation between subgroups of patients (range = 7-25.8%). The highest recurrence rates were found in patients with diabetes (25.8%, p < .001), non-adherent patients (22%, p < .001), smokers (16.1%, p = .010), patients with cavitary lung disease (14.4%, p = .004), patients with weight gain ≤5% during the intensive phase (13.3%, p < .001) and unemployed patients (11.9%, p = .017). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, these risk factors were independently associated with recurrent tuberculosis: diabetes (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 3.78, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.84-7.80), non-adherence (aOR 3.22, 95% CI 1.76-5.87), weight gain ≤5% (aOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.39-4.55), smoking (aOR 2.18, 95% CI 1.07-4.47), presence of lung cavitation (aOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.16-3.46), and unemployment (aOR 2.15, 95% CI 1.16-4.01).Conclusion: The recurrence rate of tuberculosis in Yemen was high. The presence of risk factors in newly diagnosed patients should alert healthcare professionals. As most of risk factors were modifiable, the World Health Organisation model of patient-centered care in tuberculosis treatment should be promoted in all tuberculosis centres in the country.