Oral health comprehension in parents of Saudi cerebral palsy children

Objective

To determine oral health comprehension among parents of cerebral palsy (CP) children.

Validation and inter-rater reliability testing of the Arabic version of speech intelligibility rating among children with cochlear implant

Objectives:To validate and assess the reliability of the new version of an Arabic speech intelligibility rating among different raters.Methods:This cross-sectional analysis was carried out between December 2018 and January 2019. Thirty cochlear-implant (CI) children (study group) and 30 subjects (control group) were enrolled. Study candidates’ speech skills were evaluated using the translated Arabic SIR by parents and original SIR by professions such as speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Inter-rater agreement, test–retest reliability, pre- and post-intervention score (responsiveness test), patient versus control score comparison (discriminant validity), and cross-validation of Arabic SIR have all been assessed.Results:There was a good sense of agreement between the post-operative SIR parents’ assessments and the professional SLPs’ assessments (r=0.920, p<0.001). The mean of study subjects pre- and post-implantation score of Arabic SIR showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.001).Conclusion:The Arabic SIR demonstrated excellent reliability with strong consistency. It showed its clinical ability in distinguishing healthy subjects from patients along with follow up of speech development skills over time. The Arabic SIR can be used by parents to evaluate post-CI progress of their children.     

Phosphate binders usage,patients knowledge,and adherence: A cross-sectional study in 4 centers at Qassim,Saudi Arabia

Objectives:To assess phosphate binders’ usage, knowledge regarding their utilization, and adherence among hemodialysis patients in Qassim, Saudi Arabia.Methods:A prospective cross-sectional study conducted at 4 dialysis centers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia with inclusion of 237 patients’ undergoing hemodialysis between November 2018 to January 2019. The study involved interviewing the patients, reviewing their medical records for biomarkers used to assess kidney function, and assessing the patients’ knowledge-based regarding dietary phosphate control, as well as adherence to phosphate binders’ usage.Results:Out of 237 included patients, male to female ratio was 54:46. The prevalence of prescribing non-calcium phosphate binders was 82.7% whereas prescribing calcium phosphate binders was 73.8%. A total of 63% of patients showed a medium level of adherence to phosphate binders. Although adherence level was not poor, therapeutic efficacy was affected by other factors such as administration time adherence positively correlated with the serum phosphate level (p=0.00).Conclusion:Phosphate binders usage is frequent among hemodialysis patients in Qassim centers. Circulating phosphate level was affected by the extent of patients’ knowledge of dietary control and adherence to the usage of phosphate binders. Thus, we recommend enhancing patient education in reference to high- and low- phosphate-rich diet to take wise dietary decisions, lower pill burden, and improve adherence toward the control of hyperphosphatemia     

Improving the understanding of originator and biosimilar biologics among healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia

The loss of patentability of many originator biologics has led to the rapid introduction of biosimilar agents. The anticipated economic benefit of introducing such agent has been accompanied by vagueness surrounding their biotechnology, approval requirements, positioning in treatment paradigms and potential for adverse events. The Second Symposium on Biologics and Biosimilars “Beyond Clinical Practice” was held on 24th-26th January 2020 aiming at improving the understanding of these new agents in a diverse interactive conference and to guide stakeholders how to introduce biosimilars into clinical practice. The symposium consisted of 4 tracks and 3 workshops. A total of 217 participants attended the meeting. The majority were pharmacists (78.8%) followed by physicians (18.9%) and other healthcare providers (2.3%). The workshops covered the following topics: basics of pharmacoeconomics, pharmacovigilance and patients’ perspective toward biosimilar biologics. While, the 4 main tracks included: Introduction to biosimilars, challenges in clinical practice, regulatory and pharmacoeconomic aspects and Challenges in biosimilar pharmacovigilance.     

Evaluating the frequency,consumers’ motivation and perception of online medicinal,herbal, and health products purchase safety in Saudi Arabia

ObjectivesPurchasing medicinal products from the internet has become more popular in the last three decades. Understanding consumers’ use and perception of the safety of medicinal products obtained online is essential. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the extent of medicines purchased from the internet in Saudi Arabia, types of products, sources of information, the satisfaction, the motivational factors, and estimate consumers’ vigilance and tendency to report ADRs if occurred.DesignA prospective cross-sectional study using a custom-designed questionnaire was conducted among community adults in Saudi Arabia, age ≥ 18.SettingEvaluation of community subjects' perception towards buying medicinal products was done through the internet in Saudi Arabia from 1st July 2020 until the end of August 2020.Main outcome measure(s)The main outcome of the study was purchasing medicinal products from the internet (Yes, No).ResultsOverall, 36% of the study participants (n = 643) have ever bought medicinal products from the internet (Table 2). Of those, the most obtained was herbal medicine, supplements, or cosmetics (61.3%). Motivational factors towards purchasing medicinal products from the internet were mostly positive, with the most commonly reported agreed motivational factors were lower cost (55.7%), easy online access (54.1%), a wide variety of products (52.6%), and more privacy (43.6%). Around 60.4% of participants believed that buying medicinal products from the internet can be safe. The most perceived risk was the difficulty of distinguishing between registered online pharmacies and other unlicensed commercial websites, with only 32.7% of the participants distinguishing between registered and unlicensed commercial websites.ConclusionsThis study sheds light on the consumers’ use and perception of the safety and risks of medicinal products purchased from the internet. The study findings noticeably describe the great need to increase safety awareness about obtaining medicinal products from the internet among the Saudi community.     

Burnout and imposter syndrome among Saudi young adults: The strings in the puppet show of psychological morbidity

Objectives:To determine the prevalence of imposter syndrome (IS) among Saudi adults and its association with burnout.Methods:Using non-probability convenience sampling, we carried out a cross-sectional analytical study among adults in Northern Saudi Arabia. Data collection toll was a self-administered questionnaire containing young imposter scale (YIS), Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) and depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21 (DASS 21). These 3 scales are valid and reliable measurement tools for measuring IS, burnout, and psychological morbidity.Results:In the study sample (n=384), imposterism was present among 222 adults (57.8%). Moderate and severe symptoms of depression were present in 217 (56.5%), symptoms of stress in 210 (54.7%), and symptoms of anxiety in 126 (32.8%). Burnout was measured in 3 domains of depersonalization, emotion exhaustion, and personal accomplishments. High degree of depersonalization was found in 221 (57.6%), higher emotional exhaustion in 246 (64.1%) while lower personal accomplishment was present in 126 (32.8%). We found statistical association between IS and gender (p<0.01), depression (p<0.001) stress (p<0.001) and all 3 domains of burnout (p<0.01). Imposter syndrome was not found associated with anxiety (p=0.97). Young imposter scale score was associated with all the 3 domains of burnout even after controlling for depression, anxiety, and stress.Conclusion:Imposter syndrome is frequent among Saudi adults and associated with all 3 burnout domains. Mental health domains like burnout, depression, stress, and anxiety were found associated with IS.     

Effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis on human gingival fibroblasts from healthy and inflamed tissues

Background and Objective:  This study compared the ability of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) isolated from healthy and inflamed gingival tissues to degrade collagen in the presence and absence of Porphyromonas gingivalis supernatant.
Material and Methods:  Human gingival fibroblasts were cultured from explants of 21 healthy and 21 inflamed periodontal tissues. The HGFs that grew out of the explants were seeded in the center of six-well plates coated with collagen in the presence and absence of 10% P. gingivalis supernatant. An inflamed and a healthy cell line were also evaluated with Arg-gingipain. After 6 days, Coomassie Blue was used to visualize the collagen cleavage.
Results:  The collagen was totally cleaved in 12 (aggressive) of the 21 cell lines isolated from the inflamed tissues in the presence of P. gingivalis . The remaining nine cell lines (non-aggressive) cleaved only the collagen underneath the cell colonies in the presence of P. gingivalis . Of the healthy tissues, five (aggressive) of the 21 cell lines cleaved all the collagen and 16 cell lines (non-aggressive) only cleaved the collagen underneath the cell colonies in the presence of P. gingivalis . All the collagen was cleaved by an aggressive cell line and only the collagen underneath the cell colonies was cleaved by a non-aggressive cell line in the presence of Arg-gingipain.
Conclusion:  The collagen in the wells was more readily cleaved by the inflamed than by the healthy cell lines, and the difference was statistically significant ( p  = 0.0278). Arg-gingipain gave identical results to the P. gingivalis supernatant.     

Challeges in the management of severe asthma: role of current and future therapies

Severe asthma is a complex and heterogeneous phenotype characterized by persistent symptoms and poor control. While some patients respond to high doses of inhaled corticosteroids in combination with long-acting beta-agonists, a significant subset require oral corticosteroids to achieve symptom control. This issue has led to the development of alternative therapeutic strategies for severe asthma. This article provides an overview of current therapeutic strategies and suggests how they can be best applied to the treatment of severe asthma. The article then reviews alternative therapeutic strategies including macrolide antibiotics, biologic agents, modulators of signal transduction pathways and bronchial thermoplasty. The challenge remains to determine the appropriate phenotype for each therapeutic strategy in view of the heterogeneity of severe asthma.     

Biological activities of the red algae Galaxaura rugosa and Liagora hawaiiana butters

The biological activities; antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer, of the red algae Galaxaura rugosa and Liagora hawaiiana were determined. The total ethanol, lipoidal matters, chloroform, n-butanol, aqueous extracts and powder of both algae showed and bacterial and antifungal activities. However, the chloroform extract of Galaxaura rugosa showed antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae (24?mm, 0.15?mg/ml) higher than gentamycin (23?mm, 0.49?mg/ml). Moreover, the total ethanol, lipoidal matter and chloroform extracts showed antifungal activity (21, 22 and 25?mm, 1.25, 0.312 and 0.156?mg/ml) similar to the antibiotic Ketoconazole activity (23, 24 and 27?mm, 1.25, 0.312 and 0.156?mg/ml) against Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger and Candida trobicalis, respectively. A good antioxidant activity (80.96%, IC₅₀?=?27.8?µg/ml) was provided by Galaxaura rugosa. The anticancer activity results revealed that the lipoidal matters of Galaxaura rugosa and Liagora hawaiiana possessed antitumor activity (IC₅₀?=?15?±?1.7 and 21.2?±?1.6, respectively) against lung carcinoma (A-549) better than vinblastine sulfate (IC₅₀?=?24.6?±?0.7). Although, the lipoidal matters of Galaxaura rugosa and Liagora hawaiiana antitumor activity against cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and intestinal carcinoma (CACO-2) (IC₅₀?=?10.2?±?0.6 and 12.2?±?0.6, respectively) preferable than vinblastine sulfate (IC₅₀?=?59.7?±?2.1 and 30.3?±?1.4, respectively).