Public Use of Complementary Medicine for Children in Saudi Arabia: A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing among adults and children. Extensive data is available regarding the pattern and frequency of CAM used in adults in Saudi Arabia, but limited data is available for children. This study aims to examine the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice about the use of CAM in the pediatric population in Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study on the use of CAM in children was carried out in the general population of Saudi Arabia. Data was collected by non-probability consecutive sampling technique through an online-based questionnaire from 132 participants. In addition, data analysis was done using IBM's Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data collected consisted of socio-demographic details, knowledge, attitude, and practice of CAM in children. RESULTS: CAM was reported in all 132 participants (100%), with 45% (N=59) using it without informing their physicians. The mean age of the children was 17 months old, 55.3% (N=73) children were males, and 44.7% (N=59) were females. The most common form of CAM used was herbal medicine, 91% (N=120), while alternative medicine was used in 16.7% (N=12) of the children. Honey was the most used herb (68.2%, N=90), followed by anise (65.2%, N=86), Zamzam water (holy water) (59.1%, N=78), and olive oil (56.8%, N=75). CONCLUSIONS: The use of CAM is very common for children in the general population of Saudi Arabia, with herbal medication being the most common. This constitutes a dire need to regulate this field and provide enough information for the public and health care practitioners to provide the best health care. In addition, future awareness campaigns are needed to bridge the communication gap between parents and physicians and provide better information about the benefits and safety of CAM use.

Common Resistance Patterns in the Burn Unit of a Tertiary Care Center: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background Nosocomial bacterial infections have been one of the major concerns in the healthcare system. Burn patients, specifically severe cases, are at a high risk of developing bacterial infections compared to others. The most frequent cultures among burn patients are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and Acinetobacter baumannii. There is a scarcity of local data showing the most common infections in burn patients. This research aimed to determine the most common organisms that cause infections in burn unit patients and the antibiotic sensitivity and resistance patterns in King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Jeddah. Methodology In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from patients' files into a data collection sheet. All patients in the burn unit with a positive culture were included in the study using a convenient sampling technique from Best-Care, KAMC electronic medical records. Burn patients with negative culture results and patients who were admitted to the plastic surgery ward for reasons other than burns were excluded. For sample size calculation, convenience sampling of 109 patient medical charts, over the study period from June 2016 to November 2021, was selected for data extraction, analysis, and reporting. Results Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the leading cause of infection in burn patients comprising 33.9% of the cases. Enterobacter cloacae was the second most frequent cause of infection among burn patients (27.5%). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the third most frequent cause of infection (26.6%) while Acinetobacter baumannii was the fourth most frequent cause of infection in burn patients (22.9%). Conclusions Understanding the local epidemiology of bacterial infections will be crucial for the development of treatment guidelines designed to standardize initial antibiotic use, reduce hospital-acquired infections, and reduce drug resistance. More attention should be paid to gram-negative bacteria, specifically Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter Cloacae.

Risk Factors for Recurrence of Peptic Ulcer Disease: A Retrospective Study in Tertiary Care Referral Center.

Backgrounds Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a common gastrointestinal tract disease characterized by mucosal damage secondary to pepsin and gastric acid secretion. This study evaluated the five-year recurrence rate for patients with PUD and risk factors contributing to PUD relapses. Methods From 2016 through 2021, all patients with endoscopy-proved PUD were identified by reviewing medical records (Best-Care system). Possible risk factors including smoking, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin, alcohol, caffeine, and steroids were analyzed by multivariate analysis. Treatment outcomes, 5-year recurrence rate, and mortality rate were assessed. Results Among 223 patients, there were 187 (83.8%) diagnosed with endoscopy-proved PUD and 36 (16.2%) diagnosed with clinical PUD. Among them, 126 (56.5%) patients were males, and the mean age was 62±2 years. The five years recurrence rate of PUD was 30.9%. There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate between the duodenal ulcer (33.3%) and the gastric ulcer (28.8%). By univariate analysis, the use of steroids and NSAID and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection were potential risk factors for PUD (P < 0.005). The common complication of PUD was gastrointestinal bleeding (34.1%). Patients who had a complicated PUD were associated with a higher rate of recurrence (45.9%) compared to the uncomplicated PUD (19.2%) (P > 0.05). Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that the five years recurrence rate of PUD was 30.9%. The use of steroids and NSAID and H. pylori infection were risk factors for recurrence of PUD. PUD places a significant burden on health care systems. Therefore, a multicenter prospective study is needed for effective management to prevent recurrence and complications of PUD.

The Incidence and Risk Factors of Cisplatin and Carboplatin Ototoxicity in Pediatric Oncology Patients at Tertiary Oncology Center.

Pediatric cancers are relatively rare diseases when considering all types of cancer. Platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents are potent agents against a variety of pediatric malignancies. An important adverse effect of platinum-based agents is the occurrence of hearing loss. This hearing loss can pose a challenge to detect especially if the child is in his early of life. It will also significantly affect the child development of social, pedagogical, and personal dimensions. It is integral to identify incidence of platinum-based ototoxicity and risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing hearing loss in cancer children. We performed a retrospective chart review of 123 pediatric patients who had completed cisplatin and carboplatin therapy for a variety of malignancies. Patients were diagnosed at Princess Nourah Oncology Centre between January 2011 and December 2016, were less than 14 years old at diagnosis. Audiograms were scored using the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) Boston Scale (0-4), a validated grading system for cisplatin-related hearing loss. Ototoxicity was reported in 16 patients out of 123 with a rate of 13%. The incidence of ototoxicity was highest in CNS tumors such as medulloblastoma (37.5%) and optic glioma (25%). Males were at greater risk for developing hearing loss than females. Cumulative cisplatin dose and addition radiation therapy were also identified as risk factors for development of ototoxicity (P = 0.008). Nature and location of cancer, gender, cumulative dose, and addition of radiation therapy are important clinical biomarkers of cisplatin ototoxicity.

Common Types of Falls in the Elderly Population, Their Associated Risk Factors and Prevention in a Tertiary Care Center.

Introduction Falls in elderlies are one of the leading causes of emergency visits worldwide. It is also a major cause of morbidity and mortality and imposes a significant burden on health care costs. This study investigates risk factors in elderlies aged 65 and above that contribute to falls. Methodology This study is a cross-sectional study using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The records of 300 clinical data of elderly who underwent falls were collected from all confirmed cases of falls from January 2015 to January 2020, at National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Results Patients included in this study were ranged in age from 65 to 85 years with a mean age of 77.6 years (SD = 8.1 years). Among our population, 149 (53.4%) were males, and 130 (46.6%) were females. Some comorbidities were associated with our population such as diabetes mellitus (69.2%, n = 193), hypertension (75.3%, n = 210), smoking (6.1%, n = 6.1), and polypharmacy (18.3%, n = 51). Conclusion Understanding and evaluating risk factors can help to decrease or even prevent falls. Smoking and dementia are strongly related to increased mortality rate. Some outcomes of falls such as head injuries and ICU admission had a strong association to increased mortality. Physical therapy or occupational therapy found to be a strong factor to decrease fall recurrence.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer: Prevalence, Outcome, and Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life at Princess Norah Oncology Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Head and neck malignancies are considered among the most common cancers that arise from different anatomical sites in the region. The number of new cases diagnosed worldwide each year is estimated to be more than 550,000 resulting in about 380,000 deaths. One of these head and neck cancers that may affect patient quality of life is the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purpose of our study is to assess the outcome, and the quality of life of these patients. Our study reviews NPC patients treated at Princess Norah Oncology Center, Jeddah, retrospectively over the past 15 years to provide additional information on this disease in Saudi Arabia. Methods We included all histologically confirmed cases of NPC seen at National Guard Hospital in Jeddah between 2002 and 2017. The data was collected retrospectively from the BestCare system, hospital information system, and the medical records. The created table included demographics, comorbidities, and first symptoms. The research table also contained stage at presentation and treatment modalities. Moreover, 25 patients were asked to complete the Arabic versions of European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Module (EORTC HN-35) module questionnaire to assess the quality of life. All results were computed using IBM SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY), which was provided by College of Medicine at KSAU. Results A total of 107 patients with adequate documentation were identified. There were 72.9% males and 27.1% females; 81.3% of patients were alive and in remission and 18.7% were dead. Neck mass was the most common clinical manifestation present in 84.1% of patients. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy were the most used modality by 96.3%. The five-year survival rate year was 81.3%. Moreover, the H&N-35 questionnaire showed that the NPC survivors suffered mostly poor social contact. Conclusion A large proportion of the identified patients were in remission. Quality of life assessment shows that the main impact of the disease and treatment was on social contact.