Awareness of Urgent Care Services Among Primary Healthcare Center Patients in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.

Background Urgent care clinics (UCCs) provide services for patients without the need to book an appointment in advance to treat acute diseases and injuries that do not need ED service and provide care for chronic conditions. This study aimed to assess the patients's level of awareness regarding UCCs in the Al-Ahsa region and provide information contributing to decision-makers' support about the urgent care services and their patterns of use within primary healthcare. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Al-Ahsa region from August 2023 to December 2023. A validated questionnaire was used. Cluster sampling was used to select three primary healthcare centers from four health sectors (southern cluster, middle cluster, northern cluster, and eastern cluster), and then simple random sampling was used to select participants. sample size calculated by Cochran's sample size formula, which estimated 377 participants. However, to accommodate a non-response rate of 10.0% and stronger statistical power and effect size, the final sample size was 469 participants. Data were analyzed by SPSS Statistics version 28 (IBM Corp. Released 2021. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 28.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. A p-value ≤0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results Of the 469 participants in the study, more than half (54.8%) were aged between 18 and 38 years old, and more than half (54.8%) were male. More than half (67.4%) reported having no chronic diseases, whereas the most common chronic diseases reported were diabetes mellitus (11.9%) and hypertension (14.3%). Most of the participants (84.9%) weren't aware of UCCs. Among the participants who were aware of UCCs (n=71), 53.5% of them had visited a UCC in the last three months. The most common reasons for their visits were the common cold (40.8%), headaches (5.6%), and abdominal pain (5.6%). More than one-third of participants (38.6%) believed that UCCs provide services like those of the emergency center. According to patients' sex, there was a significant (0.031) difference in the awareness level; the highest was among females at 20.1% vs. 12.6%. Conclusion The study revealed that the majority of the participants were unaware of UCCs. Increasing patients' awareness of UCCs is necessary through different media to improve access to healthcare services and reduce overcrowding in the ED that is caused by non-urgent problems.

Prevalence of Delayed Eruption of Permanent Upper Central Incisors at a Tertiary Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tooth eruption is defined as the axial movement of the tooth from its site of development in the alveolar bone to its functional position in the oral cavity. A delay in eruption can directly affect the accurate diagnosis, overall treatment planning, and timing of treatment. Thus, Delayed Tooth Eruption can have a significant impact on a patient's proper health care. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of delayed eruptions of permanent upper central incisors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A retrospective study assessed panoramic radiographs of children between the ages of 6-10 years old who attended the Dental University Hospital clinics at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2014 and 2020. The radiographs were collected and examined to detect any delayed eruption of the permanent upper central incisors. Panoramic radiographs with delayed erupted permanent upper central incisors were identified by tooth developmental stages and eruption sequence. Of the 745 radiographs, 23 (3.09%) presented at least one delayed erupted permanent upper central incisor of which boys and girls comprised 16 (69.5%) and 7 (30.4%), respectively. Retained primary teeth was the most causative factor of delayed eruption (43.4%), followed by the early loss of primary teeth (21.7%) and insufficient arch space. The present study is the first to assess the prevalence of delayed eruption of the permanent upper central incisors on a Saudi population. Boys were found to have more prevalence of delayed eruption of the permanent upper central incisors compared to girls. Clinicians should be aware of such a condition as early diagnosis of delayed eruption is essential for providing optimal dental care.

Nonsyndromic Generalized Radiculomegaly of Permanent Dentition: A Rare Case Report.

Introduction: Radiculomegaly (marked elongation of dental roots) is a distinct dental abnormality with a major clinical significance that is closely related to oculofaciocardiodental syndrome (OFCD). Since OFCD syndrome was first identified in 1996, only a few cases of nonsyndromic/nonfamilial radiculomegaly have been reported. We report a new nonsyndromic/nonfamilial radiculomegaly case and the association of OFCD syndrome with the dental challenges. Case Presentation. 18-year-old medically free male presented to the screening dental clinics complaining of teeth malposition. Panoramic radiograph incidentally revealed extremely long and wide roots of almost all dentition. Apical radiographs and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) were taken to confirm this anomaly and to rule out any artifact. The images confirmed the excessive length of the roots. A cephalometric X-ray was performed on the patient to rule out any dentofacial deformity. History and physical examinations were negative for ocular or cardiac anomalies. Due to lack of evidence of physical signs and symptoms consistent with OFCD syndrome, genetic testing was not performed. Conclusion: Dentists need to be informed of the clinical and radiographic features of different dental anomalies, especially radiculomegaly, as it is considered one of the significant features of OFCD syndrome. Challenges related to radiculomegaly face dentists while the current literature has not yet provided a solid baseline for managing such patients. The challenges include repairing the root canals, extracting and/or moving the teeth orthodontically. Early diagnosis of the syndrome is crucial to prevent dental challenges and provide the best dental care services.

Safety and Readmission in Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery in a Tertiary Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the safety and outcome of pediatric ambulatory surgery by measuring the rate of complications and readmission and identifying common risk factors for complications and readmission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital (KASCH), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using the BESTCare 2.0 Health Information System (SKHIC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). All cases admitted under the pediatric ambulatory surgery unit from June 2015 to May 2018 were included. We reviewed 462 medical charts and recorded the variables of age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, complications, and readmission within one month of the surgery. SPSS (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for data analysis. Associations between exposure variables (e.g., age, duration of surgery) and the outcome variables (e.g., rate of readmission and complications) were measured using the Chi-square test for categorical variables, the T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for numerical and categorical variables, and logistic regression for multiple variables to control confounding variables. RESULTS: Approximately, 3.5% of the pediatric ambulatory surgery cases required readmission, and 10.6% of the patients had complications with zero mortality. All the variables had no significant association either with the readmission or complications (p > 0.05), except for the duration of surgery in minutes which was associated with complications (OR 1.006, 95% CI, 1.000-1.012, P = 0.035). CONCLUSION:  Among pediatric ambulatory surgery cases, the mortality rate is 0%, with low complications and readmission rates. Also, the longer the surgery, the higher the risk of complications.

Comparison of Fracture Resistance of Primary Incisors Restored with Different Intracanal-Reinforcement Materials.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of placing short posts made of different restorative materials on the fracture resistance of root canals in primary incisors of primary teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The root canals of 40 extracted primary incisors were prepared and filled with Vitapex and randomly divided into five groups of 8 each. In Groups 1-4, a post space was created and filled with different restorative materials (Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill, AeliteFlo, Filtek Z250 XT, and GC Fuji II LC® capsule), while Group 5 was kept filled with Vitapex as a control. Fracture resistance was measured using a universal testing machine at a 0.5-mm/min crosshead speed. The results were statistically analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The highest fracture resistance was recorded for GC Fuji II LC capsules [439.82 N] and control [423.37 N], while the lowest fracture resistance was recorded for Tetric® N Ceram Bulk Fill (239.91 N). A multiple comparison test showed that the Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill had a significantly lower average value than AeliteFlo (P = 0.030), as well as a significantly lower average value than GC Fuji II LC® capsule (P = 0.001), and a significantly lower average value than the control group (P = 0.002). Multiple comparison tests showed no significant difference between Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill and Filtek Z250 XT (P = 0.39). CONCLUSION: The fracture resistance of primary incisor root canals differs according to the material used for the intracanal posts. Three-millimeter intracanal posts in the primary incisors showed the highest fracture resistance for the teeth restored with GC Fuji II LC capsules and the control.