Comparison of Cardiac Risk Scores among the East Mediterranean and South Asian Population.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global burden particularly in developing countries necessitates the periodical monitoring for these vulnerable population. This study aimed to compare four tools to measure the CVD risk between the East Mediterranean and South Asian population. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 139 patients from East Mediterranean (n=90) and South Asians (n=49) ethnicity who were admitted during the one-year period in a multi-specialty tertiary care hospital located in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Four different tools currently in use across the world were used to analyses the CVD risk. RESULTS: Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) from American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) was found to be significant (P=0.0000) than World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) and Framingham Risk Score (FRS) European SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) memo card from European Society of Cardiology risk prediction charts. Meanwhile, FRS looks equally good as it detects 44.89% of South Asian study population with >10% CVD risk while ACC/AHA detects 46.93%. CONCLUSION: The present study recommends ACC/AHA cardiac risk estimator to identify the CVD risk in East Mediterranean population. However, the South Asian population needed a population-based tool to assess the accurate CVD risk.

Chemical pneumonitis due to accidental inhalation of benzene: A case report.

Acute accidental inhaled benzene toxicity is rare; however, it associates with the complications including chemical pneumonitis frequently and rarely with the cardiac and neurological complications. The patient should be treated symptomatically since there are no specific clinical practice guidelines especially antidotes established in this regard. The follow-up and monitoring of the patient are crucial for the remission and also to rule out further complications.

Good sleep quality is associated with better academic performance among Sudanese medical students.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing awareness about the association of sleep quality and academic achievement among university students. However, the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance has not been examined in Sudan; this study assessed the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance among Sudanese medical students. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted among 165 male and female medical students at two Sudanese universities. Excellent (A) and pass (C) academic groups were invited to respond to a self-administered questionnaire, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Students also completed a diary detailing their sleep habits for 2 weeks prior to filling out the questionnaire. Various parameters of sleep quality were then compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A significant difference (p < 0.001) between the excellent and average groups was found for overall sleep quality, subjective sleep rating, bedtime later than midnight, sleep latency, and daytime dysfunction (during driving, preparing a meal, etc.). No differences were found between groups for the use of sleep medications. The mean sleeping hours was (7 ± 1.9) and (6.3 ± 1.9) for the excellent and pass groups respectively (p < 0.05). A significant difference (p < 0.001) between the excellent and average groups was found for weekday and weekend bedtime, weekend wake-up time, and weekend wake-up delay. No differences were found between groups for the weekday's wake- up time, and bedtime delay during weekends. Besides, snoring was present in 9.2 % of the excellent group versus 28 % in pass group (p < 0.005).