Diagnostic accuracy of different bronchoscopic specimens in sputum Xpert MBT/RIF- negative pulmonary TB patients.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) control remains a critical public health problem worldwide. Rapid diagnosis and proper treatment are beneficial for the effective control of tuberculosis transmission. Diagnostic challenges arise when a patient has a clinical and radiological suspicion of tuberculosis but cannot produce sputum, sputum acid-fast bacilli, or Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin (Xpert MTB/RIF) is negative, resulting in suboptimal management. As a result, more invasive techniques must be used on these patients to establish the diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective study recruited 330 suspected pulmonary TB patients with negative sputum of Xpert MBT/RIF who underwent bronchoscopy between March 2018 and December 2021. The diagnostic yields of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (acid-fast bacilli, Xpert MTB/RIF, and culture) and histopathologic examination (HPE) were calculated and compared to the final diagnosis and culture as a gold standard. Results: Out of 330 suspected pulmonary TB patients, 181 had a final diagnosis of TB, and 149 had non-TB. The sensitivity of BALF (culture, Xpert, acid-fast bacilli) and trans-bronchial lung biopsy (HPE) was 80.7%, 72.9%, 21.1%, and 87.1%, respectively. Multiple nodules were associated with significantly higher BALF Xpert MTB, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid culture, and trans-bronchial lung biopsy (HPE) positivity. Conclusions: Bronchoscopic specimens are essential for accurate and rapid diagnosis of sputum Xpert MBT/RIF negative patients with high clinical and radiological suspicion of tuberculosis.

Sleep quality and mental health in coronavirus disease 2019 patients and general population during the pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep problems during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic commonly affected general populations. Data on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality in Saudi Arabia are scarce. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate sleep quality and assess the psychological burden of the pandemic in COVID-19 patients and the general population. METHODS: This was a multicenter, observational, cross-sectional survey. Participants with COVID-19 were recruited from different health-care centers in the western region during the lockdown period from May 13, 2020 to September 2, 2020. All participants completed a validated online survey. The control group comprised individuals from the general public who responded to the online survey through social media. Demographic data, COVID-19 status, and history of chronic diseases were collected. Sleep quality, depression, and insomnia were assessed using validated questionnaires. RESULTS: In total, 1091 participants were surveyed and 643 (58.9%) were positive for COVID-19. Poor sleep quality was reported in 66.1% of COVID-19 patients (mean score ± standard deviation [SD] 6.9 ± 4.0) and 72.8% of controls (mean score ± SD 7.6 ± 4.3). Insomnia affected 50.5% of COVID-19 patients (mean score ± SD 6.5 ± 5.5) and 58.5% of controls (mean score ± SD 7.6 ± 5.5). Depression was diagnosed in 39.5% of COVID-19 patients (mean score ± SD 4.7 ± 4.6) and 70.1% of controls (mean score ± SD 8.9 ± 6.7). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on mental health and sleep quality in both COVID-19 patients and the general population but more pronounced in the general population.

Negative Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR Conversion in Response to Different Therapeutic Interventions.

Background The current management practices for patients with COVID-19 consist of infection prevention and supportive care. We aimed to explore the association between negative nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clearance and different therapeutic interventions. Methods This study is a retrospective cohort study of 93 patients who were admitted to a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia with a PCR confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. There were three intervention subgroups (group A) (n = 45), which included those who received chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) only (A1), those who received chloroquine or HCQ in combination with azithromycin (A2), and those who received chloroquine or HCQ in combination with antiviral drugs with or without azithromycin (A3), as well as one supportive care group (group B) (n = 48). The primary and secondary endpoints were achieving negative SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal PCR samples within five and 12 days from the start of the intervention, respectively. Results A median time of three days (interquartile range (IQR): 2.00-6.50) is needed from the time of starting the intervention/supportive care to the first negative PCR sample. There was no statistically significant difference neither between the percentage of patients in the intervention group and the supportive care group who achieved the primary or secondary endpoint nor in the median time needed to achieve the first negative PCR sample (p > 0.05). Conclusion Prescribing antimalarial medications was not shown to shorten the disease course nor to accelerate the negative PCR conversion rate.

Impact of night shifts on sleeping patterns, psychosocial and physical well-being among healthcare professionals: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Shift work and night shifts are very common in healthcare organisations worldwide. However, healthcare professionals doing shift work and night shifts are exposed to several stressors with psychological, social, physical and sleeping consequences. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of night shifts on the psychosocial, physical well-being and sleeping patterns of healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study from July to September 2019 at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling technique was used to recruit healthcare providers to participate in the study. The outcomes measured included the effect of working hours of healthcare workers on psychosocial and physical health, substance use, and sleep quality and patterns. Pearson's χ2 test was used to compare proportions, and Student's t-test/Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the mean differences among different demographic groups. RESULTS: A total of 352 healthcare providers were involved in the study, of whom only 272 were night shift workers. The mean level of job satisfaction was higher among day shift workers than night shift workers: the mean scores were 3.82 (SD=0.93) and 3.48 (SD=1.04), respectively, p=0.007. Moreover, social life was more adversely affected among night shift workers compared with day shift workers: 3.95 (SD=1.11) and 3.61 (SD=1.25), respectively, p<0.030. Likewise, family life was more adversely affected among night shift workers than day shift workers, with a mean of 3.92 (SD=1.10) and 3.50 (SD=1.21), respectively, p<0.006. Around 71% of night shift workers reported having poor-quality sleep compared with 50% of day shift workers (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Quality of life is poor among night shift workers than day shift workers, particularly concerning sleep and social and physical outcomes. Further research is needed to investigate factors associated with the quality of sleep and the psychosocial and physical well-being of healthcare professionals working night shifts.

Incidence and Outcomes of Pulmonary Embolism among Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with COVID-19 may be at high risk for thrombotic complications due to excess inflammatory response and stasis of blood flow. This study aims to assess the incidence of pulmonary embolism among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, risk factors, and the impact on survival. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia between 15 March 2020 and 15 June 2020. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and confirmed diagnosis of pulmonary embolism by Computed Tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) formed the case group. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and without confirmed diagnose of pulmonary embolism formed the control group. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of pulmonary embolism and survival. RESULTS: A total of 159 patients participated were included in the study, of which 51 were the cases (patients with pulmonary embolism) and 108 patients formed the control group (patients without pulmonary embolism). The incidence of PE among those hospitalized was around 32%. Smoking history, low level of oxygen saturation, and higher D-dimer values were important risk factors that were associated with a higher risk of developing PE (p < 0.05). Higher respiratory rate was associated with higher odds of death, and decreased the possibility of survival among hospitalized patients with PE. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary embolism is common among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Preventive measures should be considered for hospitalized patients with smoking history, low level of oxygen saturation, high D-dimer values, and high respiratory rate.

New disease and old threats: A case series of COVID-19 and tuberculosis coinfection in Saudi Arabia.

COVID-19 and TB coinfection are not common and may occur more in TB endemic countries. However, patients with pre-COVID-19 chronic respiratory symptoms should be screened for TB as well.

Predictors of Length of Hospital Stay, Mortality, and Outcomes Among Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic is a major strain on health and economic systems, with rapidly increasing demand for in patients' facilities. Disease diagnosis and estimating patients at higher risk is important for the optimal management during the pandemic. This study aimed to identify the predictors of mortality and length of hospital stay in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2020 and August 2020 at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. All patients who were admitted and had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe patients' demographic characteristics, laboratory findings, and clinical outcomes. Multiple logistic/linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of death and length of stay at the hospital. RESULTS: A total of 706 patients were hospitalised for COVID-19. The mean age was 48.0 years (SD: 15.6 years). More than half of the patients (68.5%; n= 292) were males. The median duration of stay at the hospital was 6.0 days (IQR: 300-10:00). The prevalence rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among the patients was 3.0% (n= 21). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, age (AOR: 1.05; 1.02-1.09), patients with end-stage renal disease (AOR: 6.44; 2.20-18.87), low Oxygen saturation SPO2 (AOR: 9.92; 4.19-23.50), D.dimer >0.5 (AOR: 13.31; 5.45-32.49), ESR>10 mm/h (AOR: 4.08; 1.72-9.68), Ferritin>400mcg/L (AOR: 18.55; 6.89-49.96), and Procalcitonin>0.5ug/L (AOR: 8.23; 1.81- 37.40) were associated with a higher risk of death among patients with COVID-19. Patients with VTE (AOR: 12.86; 3.07- 53.92) were at higher risk of death due to COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Hospitalised COVID-19 patients have multiple negative consequences in terms of their laboratory findings, signs and symptoms. Age and end-stage renal diseases have a significant impact on the mortality rate and the length of hospital stay among COVID-19 patients.

Clinical, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly spreading global pandemic. The clinical characteristics of COVID-19 have been reported; however, there is limited research investigating the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in the Middle East. This study aims to investigate the clinical, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID19 in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This study is a retrospective single-centre case series study. We extracted data for patients who were admitted to the Al-Noor Specialist Hospital with a PCR confirming SARS-COV-2 between 12th and 31st of March 2020. Descriptive statistics were used to describe patients' characteristics. Continuous data were reported as mean ± SD. Chi-squared test/Fisher test were used as appropriate to compare proportions for categorical variables. RESULTS: A total of 150 patients were hospitalised for COVID-19 during the study period. The mean age was 46.1 years (SD: 15.3 years). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (28.8%, n = 42) and diabetes mellitus (26.0%, n = 38). Regarding the severity of the hospitalised patients, 105 patients (70.0%) were mild, 29 (19.3%) were moderate, and 16 patients (10.7%) were severe or required ICU care. CONCLUSION: This case series provides clinical, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

Psychological Effects on Health Science Students After Implementation of COVID-19 Quarantine and Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia.

Background The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the globe dramatically. It has affected daily life noticeably and the teaching process is one of the significantly affected aspects as the learning approach has been shifted to distance learning (DL). These new changes may affect student performance and emotional well-being. This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning on healthcare students. Method An online self-administered cross-sectional survey was distributed to healthcare students for the period between April 2020 to June 2020. The study included students from different universities in Saudi Arabia. Knowledge and perception of COVID-19 and the experience of distance learning during the pandemic period were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Psychological effect was evaluated using Four-Item Patient Health Questionnaire for Anxiety and Depression (PHQ-4). Results A total of 721 students completed the survey with the majority being females. Around 25% of students had experienced anxiety, while 35% had depression. Severe anxiety and depression were noted in over 6% of the participants. Younger age and female gender were more affected psychologically. Students with higher scores in PHQ-4 were strongly disagreeing that hand gloves and surgical masks may help in preventing COVID-19 transmission. Students with normal psychological assessment were more likely to favor DL, while students with moderate to severe anxiety and depression disagreed. Conclusion Healthcare students have alarmingly high levels of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. General knowledge of the pandemic is not associated with the psychological impact. DL is a convenient approach for students with normal PHQ-4 scores. Programs to help students overcome the psychological impact of COVID-19 are highly recommended.

Bronchiolitis Obliterans After Cefuroxime-Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

BACKGROUND Bronchiolitis obliterans is the term used to describe a clinical syndrome of irreversible airflow obstruction. Among the etiologies linked to this entity is the rarely reported association with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which has had a poor outcome in most of the previously published cases. The optimum management of bronchiolitis obliterans as a complication of Stevens-Johnson syndrome is not well defined. CASE REPORT A 41-year-old woman developed significant shortness of breath 3 months after recovering from Stevens-Johnson syndrome precipitated by a second-generation cephalosporin. She was found to have severe irreversible airway obstruction on physiology studies, and computed tomography scans of the inspiratory and expiratory phases of respiration showed air trapping that was more prominent on expiratory films. The patient was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, for which bronchodilators and long-term macrolide therapy were administered. Although she did not recover completely, her follow-up physiology studies showed that the bronchiolitis obliterans was stable. CONCLUSIONS Bronchiolitis obliterans secondary to Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a rare entity that is progressive and can lead to functional impairment. Identifying the disease at an early stage might stabilize or slow its progression. Herein, we describe a case of bronchiolitis obliterans as a complication of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and review the literature to raise awareness of this condition, highlight its course, and discuss the available treatments.

Biological therapy in arthritis patients with hepatitis B or C infection: a multicenter retrospective case series.

OBJECTIVE: Reactivation of viral hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) has been reported in various case reports of patients with arthritis on biological therapy. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of arthritis patients with HBV or HCV treated with biological therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective case series including all patients above 13 years of age with arthritis patients from four centers in Saudi Arabia with concurrent chronic viral hepatitis infection (HBV or HCV) who received biological agents in the rheumatology clinics during their course of their disease from duration of the disease onset until last outpatient visit up to November 2015. Demographic information, full details about the hepatitis status of each patient, rheumatic disease diagnosis and different therapies used were reviewed. RESULTS: We identified 10 cases each with HBV and HCV on biological therapy. The mean age in the HBV group was 51 (34-85) years and 80% were females. Eight patients had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one patient had RA/systemic lupus erythematosus, and one had human immunodeficiency virus related-arthritis. Seven were chronic inactive HBsAg carriers and three had chronic active HBV. Nine HBV patients received prophylactic antiviral therapy. Two cases with chronic HBV had reactivation with no elevation of the transaminases.The mean age in the HCV group was 54 (23-79) years and all were female RA patients. Three had detectable hepatitis C virus-ribonuecleic acid (HCV-RNA) before the start of biological therapy. Nine HCV patients received antiviral treatment and seven had a sustained virologic response (SVR) before start of biological treatment. Three patients had detectable HCV-RNA during the course of biological therapy. One of the three was a non-responder and two were relapsers. One of the patients with HCV relapse was started on sofosbuvir plus ribavirin and achieved SVR on follow-up. CONCLUSION: We report the successful use of biological therapy in arthritis patients with hepatitis B infection with antiviral therapy with no detoriation of their viral status. Due to the lack of sufficient prospective studies demonstrating the rate of HCV flare on biological therapy, caution should be exercised and careful monitoring with liver enzymes and viral load is mandated in vulnerable HCV RNA patients. Treatment should be individualized by the rheumatologist in collaboration with the hepatologist to minimize complications.

Severe Primary Raynaud's Disease Treated with Rituximab.

Raynaud's phenomenon refers to reversible spasms of the peripheral arterioles that can be primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP) or secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (SRP) to underlying connective tissue disease, both of which are characterized by a triphasic color response triggered by cold exposure or stress. PRP is typically a benign disease, whereas SRP may progress into digital ulcers and/or gangrene. Here, we report a case of a 55-year-old female diagnosed with PRP 7 years ago. Treatment with first-line agents, including calcium channel blocker, aspirin, and phosphodiesterase inhibitor, did not control her symptoms, which progressed to digital ulceration and gangrene. There were no symptoms of underlying autoimmune disease or malignancy, and autoimmune, serology, and immunology test results were normal; a biopsy of her left little finger was negative for vasculitis. Development to critical digital ischemia necessitated treatment with intravenous iloprost and heparin infusion followed by angioplasty, which led to a partial improvement. Due to persistent symptoms, rituximab therapy was initiated and two cycles induced a complete resolution of symptoms.

Poncet's disease (reactive arthritis associated with tuberculosis): retrospective case series and review of literature.

The primary objective of this study is to describe the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients with Poncet's disease (PD) in the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia, where tuberculosis is on the rise. The secondary objective is conducting a PD systematic literature review to compare our findings. We studied seven patients who presented with arthritis within the first 3 years from diagnosis of active tuberculosis in two centers in the Makkah region: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and King Fahad Hospital in Jeddah from January 2005 to December 2011. We conducted a literature review on PD in multiple biomedical/pharmaceutical databases up to December 2011. We detected a new pattern of reactive arthritis associated with tuberculosis (TB). We identified this as PD or tuberculous rheumatism, which is a sterile reactive arthritis that can emerge during any stage of acute TB infection. Seven cases of Poncet's disease were identified in our study. The most common presentation was extrapulmonary with involvement of multiple sites. Six out of seven patients developed arthritis after initiation of anti-TB drugs; one patient developed polyarthritis after completion of anti-TB medication. Asymmetrical polyarthritis was the most common presentation and the resolution of the arthritis was with symptomatic treatment and continuation of anti-TB drugs except in one case. PD may manifest in a variable pattern during the course of active tuberculous infection. Physicians should be aware of this rare complication associated with a common disease to prevent delay in diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment.