Assessment of the Level of Knowledge About Risk Factors, Prevention, and Treatment of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a Community Sample From Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common disease affecting pregnant females, and it carries a major risk of short and long-term health problems for both mothers and their offspring. Multiple factors like advanced maternal age, obesity, and unhealthy lifestyle can increase the risk of GDM. The current guidelines recommend screening all pregnant females for risk factors during the first trimester with subsequent testing of the blood glucose level at 24 weeks gestation. Lack of awareness about GDM is a main contributing factor in the delay in screening and diagnosis of GDM with subsequent fetal and maternal complications. This study aims to identify the level of knowledge about GDM among the adult population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Material and methods A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge about risk factors, prevention, and treatment of GDM in a community sample from Saudi Arabia. A self-administered electronic questionnaire was designed, tested for validity and reliability, and distributed through social media platforms. It consisted of 18 questions asking about the socio-demographic characteristics, the type of hospital in which the participant receives their medical care, whether the participant heard about GDM or not, and if they know someone with GDM, in addition to questions to assess the level of knowledge about risk factors, complications, prevention, and treatment of GDM. The total score of knowledge was calculated. The multivariate regression analysis test was employed to analyze the relationship between various demographic variables and the level of knowledge about GDM among the study population. A p-value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 539 (100%) participants completed the questionnaire: 263 (48.8%) of them were in the age category (18-25 years), 440 (81.6%) of them were females, 307 (57%) had a bachelor's degree, 275 (51%) were single, 454 (84.2%) had heard about GDM, and 258 (47.9%) of them have or know someone with GDM. The total score of knowledge revealed excellent, good, fair, and poor levels among 334 (62%), 140 (26%), 49 (9%), and 16 (3%) of participants, respectively. The multivariable linear regression model revealed that participants who received health care from governmental hospitals heard about GDM and had or knew someone with GDM were positively associated with a higher level of knowledge. Conclusions The findings revealed that among participants, 62% showed excellent knowledge about GDM, although, the other 38% had non-optimal levels of knowledge. Awareness campaigns are recommended to improve the level of knowledge about this disease, its risk factors, treatment, and complications.

Cyberchondria and smartphone addiction: A correlation survey among undergraduate medical students in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: There is an increase in smartphone usage globally. Cyberchondria (CYB) is characterized by excessive Internet searches for health information. Smartphone addiction is constantly rising among medical students together with CYB as a collateral emerging risk, yet there is limited research available on the topic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study explores the rising phenomenon of smartphone addiction and its potential role in CYB among medical students in seven Egyptian universities. A total of 1435 medical students participated in completing online questionnaires that assessed smartphone addiction and CYB using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) and Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12). Multivariable regression analysis was applied to assess predictors of smartphone addiction and CYB. RESULTS: Based on the used scales, 57.6% of students were suffering from smartphone addiction, and 85.8% exhibited a moderate degree of CYB. There was a significant positive correlation between smartphone addiction scores and CYB (p < 0.05). The multivariable regression models revealed that four factors including using Facebook, using WhatsApp, increasing time spent on the Internet per day, and a higher CYB score increase the probability of smartphone addiction. The factors that increase the probability of CYB are using Facebook, an increase in the frequency of Internet searches, a higher degree of worry about one's health or a family member's health, and being a smartphone addict. CONCLUSION: Smartphone addiction among undergraduate medical students is prevalent. Social media use, time spent online, and smartphone addiction were linked with the risk of CYB. Regular physical activity decreases the probability of smartphone addiction. Awareness programs and increased mental and physical activities are required to help reduce smartphone addiction among youth.

Egyptian perspectives on potential risk of paracetamol/acetaminophen-induced toxicities: Lessons learnt during COVID-19 pandemic.

Paracetamol/Acetaminophen was widely used as a first-line antipyretic and analgesic for COVID-19 patients without giving any attention to the potential risk of related toxicities. A survey was conducted on 176 Egyptians using an online survey portal to assess their knowledge, and attitude regarding potential risk of paracetamol toxicities and whether COVID-19 pandemic affected their practices regarding safe use of paracetamol. The self-administered questionnaire was developed by the researchers and was validated by expert opinions. A pilot testing of the questionnaire was done. Alpha Cronbach test used to assess the internal consistency reliability of the survey revealed good reliability. Overall percent-score revealed that only 24.4% of participants had good knowledge about paracetamol and its related potential toxicities. 62.5% of participants considered paracetamol safer than other medications of the same indications. 42.6% of participants could advise others to use paracetamol without prescription. According to the participants' responses, physicians were less concerned to give instructions about possibility of overdosage. Our results also revealed that participants' administration of paracetamol without physician prescription was more during COVID-19. Practice of paracetamol administration more than the allowed number of tablets/day was significantly more evident during the pandemic. We concluded that the unsupervised use of paracetamol is an alarming sign that should be addressed as this could lead to a high rate of accidental paracetamol toxicity. A lesson learnt from COVID-19 pandemic is the need to implement behavior change measures to mitigate the risk of accidental paracetamol toxicity.

Virulence-determinants and antibiotic-resistance genes of MDR-E. coli isolated from secondary infections following FMD-outbreak in cattle.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, multidrug-resistance traits, PCR-detection of virulence, and antibiotic-resistance genes of E. coli isolated from secondary infections following FMD-outbreak in cattle. A total of 160 random samples were gathered from private dairy farms in Damietta Province, Egypt. The specimens were subjected to bacteriological examination, serotyping, congo-red binding assay, antibiogram-testing, and PCR-monitoring of virulence-determinant genes (tsh, phoA, hly, eaeA, sta, and lt) as well as the antibiotic-resistance genes (blaTEM, blaKPC, and blaCTX). The prevalence of E. coli was 30% (n = 48) distributed in 8 serogroups (40/48, 83.3%), while 8 isolates (8/48, 16.6%) were untypable. Besides, 83.3% of the examined isolates were positive for CR-binding. The tested strains harbored the virulence genes phoA, hly, tsh, eaeA, sta, and lt with a prevalence of 100% and 50%, 45.8%, 25%, 8.4%, and 6.2%, respectively. Furthermore, 50% of the recovered strains were multidrug-resistant (MDR) to penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems, and are harboring the blaTEM, blaCTX, and blaKPC genes. Moreover, 25% of the examined strains are resistant to penicillins, and cephalosporins, and are harboring the blaTEM and blaCTX genes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning the E. coli secondary bacterial infections following the FMD-outbreak. The emergence of MDR strains is considered a public health threat and indicates complicated treatment and bad prognosis of infections caused by such strains. Colistin sulfate and levofloxacin have a promising in vitro activity against MDR-E. coli.