Students' perception of the educational environment at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for health sciences using DREEM tool.

BACKGROUND: Students' learning results are influenced by the educational environment. The best learning environment is created when students are involved in the evaluation process of their education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' perceptions of their learning environment at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Riyadh using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using the Arabic version of the DREEM tool. Students from six colleges at KSAU-HS Riyadh campus were asked to complete the questionnaire through emails. The study was carried out between November 2021 and April 2022. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were performed for DREEM as both a continuous (two-way ANOVA test) and categorical variable (Chi-squared and Monte-Carlo test). RESULTS: A total of 370 students completed the questionnaire. The overall DREEM score for the study was 125.88/200, with a standard deviation of 58.79. SSP items received the highest scores, while SAP items earned the lowest scores. The college and the academic level showed statistically significant differences in the DREEM overall score and the five subscales, whereas gender showed no significant difference. The college of pharmacy scored the highest total DREEM score (140.35 ± 27.75), and scored higher among the five subscales than both colleges of dentistry (114.13 ± 29.74) and medicine (113.87 ± 33.03). Students in their third year had the greatest overall DREEM score (132.23 ± 29.76), and scored higher in SPL, SPA and SSP compared to students in their sixth year, in which the total DREEM score was (111.65 ± 27.58). CONCLUSIONS: Students of KSAU-HS generally perceived the educational environment as having more positive than negative. The educational level and college differed significantly in the overall DREEM score and the five subscales. Junior students had better perception of the educational environment and they differed significantly in the SPL and SPA subscales. The faculty of pharmacy had higher scores in the overall DREEM and the five subsequent scales than colleges of dentistry and medicine. Further research is needed in order to optimize the educational environment by investigating different solutions.

Common medical ethics dilemmas: Few reflections from a Saudi perspective.

Medical ethics plays a crucial role in physicians' daily practice, as it reflects on themselves, their institution, and, most importantly, the outcome of the treatment they provide to their patients. Common medical ethics dilemmas faced in Saudi Arabia include: end-of-life care, patient rights, which comprise autonomy, informed consent, and confidentiality, reproductive ethics, and equity of resources. The identification of flaws within the healthcare system and the implementation of clear guidelines are important to overcome the risk of malpractice and flawed judgment, and ensure the delivery of the best possible care to patients.

The Impact of Diabetes Distress on the Glycemic Control Among Adolescents and Youth With Type 1 Diabetes in Two Tertiary Centers, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) experience multiple symptoms of diabetes distress including fear of acute complications such as severe hypoglycemia which may lead to permanent brain damage or death. They also experience fear of acute hyperglycemia that can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis as well as chronic complication including diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy. No previous research was conducted in Saudi Arabia to assess diabetes distress among adolescents and youth with T1D. This study aimed to assess diabetes distress in adolescents and youth with T1D and its relation to clinical characteristics, glycemic control and diabetes co-morbidities. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted on 158 patients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital and Dr. Erfan and Bagedo General Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data about participants' characters, episodes of DKA, last HbA1c level, diabetes co-morbidities were collected. Diabetes distress (DD) was assessed by the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) and Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) scores. Results The prevalence of diabetes distress among our population of adolescents with T1D was 24.1%. The mean scores of PAID and DDS were 43.56 ± 13.84 and 2.22 ± 1.05, respectively. Patients with suboptimal HbA1c had significantly higher mean PAID and DDS scores. There is also a significant positive correlation between HbA1c level and number of ketoacidosis episodes. A highly significant positive correlation was found between PAID and DDS scores. Conclusion This study found that participants with uncontrolled HbA1c had significantly higher mean PAID and DDS scores with a significant positive correlation between the last HbA1c measured level and number of ketoacidosis attacks and PAID and DDS scores. Future studies on larger samples are needed to implement interventions to minimize the burden of diabetes distress among adolescents with T1D.

Unicentric Castleman's Disease with an Unusual Clinical Behavior.

Castleman's disease is a rare clinicopathological condition characterized by hyperplasia of lymph nodes. We report the case of a 12-year-old boy who presented with painful oral and genital ulcers, who was assumed to have Behçet's disease. However, the patient did not show any clinical improvement on colchicine and systemic corticosteroids. Later, the patient developed severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Abdominal CT revealed a mass lesion superior to the right kidney. After a thorough investigation, he was diagnosed with unicentric Castleman's disease. Despite the complete resection of the mass, the patient continued to have the symptoms of abdominal pain and orogenital ulcers. Immunomodulatory therapy resulted in remarkable clinical improvement. This case report demonstrates how unicentric Castleman's disease can share similar clinical behavior to the multicentric disease.