Prevalence and Determinants of Symptomatic Dry Eye Disease Among Adult Urban Residents of High-Altitude Areas of Southwest Saudi Arabia - A Survey.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence and determinants of Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score based dry eye disease (DED) among the adult urban population of four cities located at high altitudes in Southwest Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was held in 2023. OSDI questionnaire was used to collect the responses of the adult participants. The score was further graded into none, mild, moderate, and severe DED to estimate age-sex-adjusted DED prevalence. The OSDI score was correlated to demographic (age group, gender, education, occupation, city) and risk factors like smoking and co-morbidities. Results: Of the 401 adults, 388 (response rate of 97.8%) participated. The age-sex-adjusted prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe DED was 21.7%, 13.1%, and 32%, respectively. The median ODSI score was 22.9 [Interquartile range (IQR) 10.4; 47.9)]. The score was significantly higher in females (Mann-Whitney U-test P = 0.038), residents of Taif city (KW P = 0.05), those with primary/middle school education (Kruskal-Wallis P = 0.004), comorbidities like hypertension, asthma (KW P < 0.001) and risk factors like past refractive surgeries, arthritis (KW P = 0.013). Education status (P <0.001) [B = -9.0 95%] and presence of comorbidity (P = 0.022), [B = -0.823] were significant predictors of DED. Conclusion: The prevalence of DED and severe grade was high. The level of education and presence of comorbidities significantly influenced DED in the adult urban Saudi population of cities at high altitudes.

Assessment of Emergency Department Satisfaction Level in Saudi Arabia General Hospital.

Background and objectives: An overcrowded emergency department (ED) cannot meet the patients' growing demand. This situation harms employees' performance and, alternatively, causes anxiety and dissatisfaction among patients since the quality of healthcare outcomes fall below their expectations. This study aimed at improving and validating a scale for assessing patient satisfaction in the ED. Methods: In this study, 134 participants from Wadi Al-Dawasir General Hospital were enrolled using a convenient sampling technique. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using 5-point Likert scales. Results: All tested hypotheses showed statistical significance (P < 0.05). Our results show that male employees were more satisfied compared with their female counterparts. Furthermore, Saudi employees were more satisfied with the health services than non-Saudi ones. Conclusion: The findings of this study brought to the fore that patients and their families were satisfied with the healthcare services and their quality. This means better service delivery played a crucial role in enhancing satisfaction levels. Nevertheless, this study also highlights that overcrowding is a significant problem for healthcare organizations. Wadi al-Dawasir General Hospital's ED should continually improve its quality to meet the growing needs of its clients.

Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticles Incorporated Acrylic Light Cure Resin Trays.

The conventional denture base resins had many drawbacks. Hence, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of incorporation of silver nanoparticles on mechanical properties of light-cured resin material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specimens of acrylic resin (control group) and acrylic resin reinforced with 2% silver nanoparticles (test group) were evaluated for mechanical properties such as impact strength, transverse strength, modulus of elasticity, and deflection. Unpaired t test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Mechanical properties of light cure reinforced with silver nanoparticles were significantly higher than conventional light-cured resin (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The incorporation of silver nanoparticles into light-cured resin increases the mechanical properties making it more stronger material.