Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in a Saudi Population-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has affected all regions and countries with varying impacts based on infection rates and the associated fatalities. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward the COVID-19 pandemic among Saudi Arabians. METHODS: The study utilized a cross-sectional research design. Web-based questionnaires' link was sent via emails and social media and sample was 5483 respondents. Purposive sampling ensured only those participants that met the inclusion criteria. Validity and reliability were checked. RESULTS: Most respondents, 67.9%, were aged between 18 and 35 years and highest level of education university. The findings based on the study objectives indicated a high level of knowledge about COVID-19, which indicated early detection can improve treatment by 4701 (85.7%), the disease can be treated at home 84.6%, the disease can be prevented and avoided when precautions are taken 96.8%. Moreover, 37.2% of the respondents still used herbal products to prevent and treat the disease, and 72.1% indicating immediate visit the physician when there are symptoms. CONCLUSION: Promoting public knowledge about COVID-19 by the Ministry of Health is paramount in defeating this disease. Providing more education and awareness for public to comply with WHO's recommendation is recommended.

STEMI and COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact on health care worldwide which has led to a reduction in all elective admissions and management of patients through virtual care. The purpose of this study is to assess changes in STEMI volumes, door to reperfusion, and the time from the onset of symptoms until reperfusion therapy, and in-hospital events between the pre-COVID-19 (PC) and after COVID-19 (AC) period. All acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cases were retrospectively identified from 16 centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 period from January 01 to April 30, 2020. These cases were compared to a pre-COVID period from January 01 to April 30, 2018 and 2019. One thousand seven hundred and eighty-five patients with a mean age 56.3 (SD ± 12.4) years, 88.3% were male. During COVID-19 Pandemic the total STEMI volumes was reduced (28%, n = 500), STEMI volumes for those treated with reperfusion therapy was reduced too (27.6%, n= 450). Door to balloon time < 90 minutes was achieved in (73.1%, no = 307) during 2020. Timing from the onset of symptoms to the balloon of more than 12 hours was higher during 2020 comparing to pre-COVID 19 years (17.2% vs <3%, respectively). There were no differences between the AC and PC period with respect to in-hospital events and the length of hospital stay. There was a reduction in the STEMI volumes during 2020. Our data reflected the standard of care for STEMI patients continued during the COVID-19 pandemic while demonstrating patients delayed presenting to the hospital.

Inter-ethnic marriages and severity of coronary artery disease: A multicenter study of Arabian Gulf States.

AIM: To assess the association of inter-ethnic vs intra-ethnic marriage with severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in men undergoing angiography. METHODS: We conducted a prospective multicenter, multi-ethnic, cross sectional observational study at five hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in which we used logistic regression analysis with and without adjustment for baseline differences. RESULTS: Data were collected for 1068 enrolled patients undergoing coronary angiography for clinical indications during the period of April 1st, 2013 to March 30th, 2014. Ethnicities of spouses were available only for male patients. Of those enrolled, 687 were married men and constituted the cohort for the present analysis. Intra-ethnic marriages were reported in 70% and inter-ethnic marriages in 30%. After adjusting for baseline differences, inter-ethnic marriage was associated with lower odds of having significant CAD [adjusted odds ratio 0.52 (95%CI: 0.33, 0.81)] or multi-vessel disease (MVD) [adjusted odds ratio 0.57 (95%CI: 0.37, 0.86)]. The adjusted association with left main disease showed a similar trend, but was not statistically significant [adjusted odds ratio 0.74 (95%CI: 0.41, 1.32)]. The association between inter-ethnic marriage and the presence of significant CAD and MVD was not modified by number of concurrent wives (P interaction > 0.05 for both). CONCLUSION: Among married men undergoing coronary angiography, inter-ethnic, as compared to intra-ethnic, marriage is associated with lower odds of significant CAD and MVD.

Dual energy CT in gout: a prospective validation study.

OBJECTIVE: The authors prospectively determined: (1) the specificity and sensitivity of dual energy CT (DECT) for gout; and (2) the interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility for DECT urate volume measurements. METHODS: Forty crystal-proven gout patients (17 tophaceous) and 40 controls with other arthritic conditions prospectively underwent DECT scans of all peripheral joints using a gout protocol that color-codes the composition of tissues. A blinded radiologist identified urate deposition to calculate specificity and sensitivity of DECT for gout. Inter-rater volumetric reproducibility was determined by two independent radiologists on 40 index tophi from the 17 tophaceous gout patients using automated software. RESULTS: The mean age of the 40 gout patients was 62 years, the mean gout duration was 13 years and 87% had a history of urate-lowering therapy (ULT). The specificity and sensitivity of DECT for gout were 0.93 (95% CI, 0.80 to 0.98) and 0.78 (0.62 to 0.89), respectively. When the authors excluded three gout cases with unreadable or incomplete scans, the sensitivity was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.94). The urate volumes of 40 index tophi ranged from 0.06 cm(3) to 18.74 cm(3) with a mean of 2.45 cm(3). Interobserver and intraobserver intraclass correlation coefficients for DECT volume measurements were 1.00 (95% CI, 1.00 to 1.00) and 1.00 (95% CI, 1.00 to 1.00) with corresponding bias estimates (SD) of 0.01 (0.00) cm(3) and 0.01 (0.03) cm(3). CONCLUSIONS: These prospective data indicate high reproducibility of DECT urate volume measures. The specificity was high, but sensitivity was more moderate, potentially due to frequent ULT use in our patients.