RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The novel COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a significant burden on healthcare systems. Similarly, it has also affected the performance and well-being of the medical staff working during the pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic on medical training and psychological well-being of resident doctors practicing in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This is a quantitative cross-sectional study that included a survey distributed to resident physicians working in the western region in Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions on demographic data and factors influencing the academic training, attitude, and daily habits of the residents during the pandemic. Psychological impact was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Data analysis was executed using IBM SPSS version 26. RESULTS: A total of 121 residents responded to this survey. Of all respondents, 71.1% were junior residents, 66.9% had a medical specialty; and 33% were family medicine physicians, followed by 17% from general surgery. In regard to work amid the pandemic, 36.1% were in contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients, and 35.5% had to work overtime during the pandemic. There was a non-significant difference detected between the residents regarding the factors negatively affecting their psychological well-being. CONCLUSION: Residents working during the pandemic in the Western area of Saudi Arabia were significantly affected by the pandemic from both professional and psychological perspectives. Further research on how the pandemic is affecting physicians in other areas in Saudi Arabia is needed.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that results from complex interactions between multiple environmental and genetic influences. In recent years, studies have observed an increase in caesarean section rates, and have suggested a strong association with the rapid increase in the incidence of childhood asthma that cannot be explained by genetic factors alone. In this case-control study, we investigate the association between the developments of childhood asthma with the mode of delivery. We also explored the relationship between mode of delivery and control of asthma. METHODS: Two groups (509 pediatric patients in total) were assessed between January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018. Part of these patients, 257 (50.4%) were asthmatic children visiting specialised clinics, and 252 (49.6%) controlled cases selected from a primary health care clinic from the same institution (control group). RESULTS: The Chi-square test revealed a significant association between cesarean sections and bronchial asthma (OR, 1.483 [95% CI, 1.013-21.71]; P =0.042). However, the adjusted OR from our binary logistic regression model revealed this association to be insignificant (adjusted OR, 1.417 [95% CI, 0.885-2.269]; P =0.804). The value of the chi-square of the model shows that the overall model is statistically significant at 1%. The Nagelkerke R square indicates that 34.9% of the variation in having asthma is explained by the risk factors included in the model. CONCLUSION: We do not believe that the rise in cesarean sections explains the increase in childhood bronchial asthma - at least not in our population. We also found no association between the mode of delivery and asthma control. We encourage further research into this topic, namely to recruit a larger number of patients, and to adjust for the significant risk factors found in our study.
