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BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is among the most common zoonotic bacterial infections, leading to major public health consequences in endemic areas such as Saudi Arabia. Primary healthcare is crucial in controlling brucellosis, as it serves as the frontline for disease prevention, early detection, and appropriate management. However, enhancing the contribution of primary healthcare to the entire brucellosis notification process is necessary to minimize the underreporting and inadequate data collection, which hinders the implementation of effective control measures. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to assess primary care physicians' knowledge and practice of clinical preventive management in Saudi Arabia regarding brucellosis using an adapted assessment tool featuring a semi-structured questionnaire. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The current study's design is a cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire. Three hundred and seventy-three primary healthcare physicians in Saudi Arabia were chosen for self-administered online standardized questionnaires. RESULTS: One-third of the participants answered all the knowledge assessment questions correctly. Most participants had more than 10 years of professional experience and were 40 or older. In response to the practice assessment questions, 210 physicians stated that they had encountered at least one case of brucellosis, and two-thirds had no compliance with the notification process of their cases. CONCLUSION: The limited knowledge and improper practice of primary care physicians regarding human brucellosis are possible underlying reasons for the underdiagnosis and underreporting of brucellosis patients at primary health care clinics in Saudi Arabia. Most research indicates that implementing specific educational programs to improve knowledge is necessary for primary healthcare workers. Furthermore, enhancing the community interaction between healthcare centers and the community facilitates effective control measures against brucellosis.
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of lipase in glucose and lipid metabolisms. METHODS: A prospective study involving 52 diabetics (28 males and 24 females, mean age 47.67 +/- 15.63 years) and 118 normoglycemic controls (39 males and 79 females, mean age 38.91 +/- 16.61 years) was conducted, between February 1st and August 31st, 2006, at King Abdullah Hospital, Bisha, Saudi Arabia. After 10-12 hours fasting, blood was taken from subjects and controls for the determination of glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, and lipase. The results were analyzed by student's t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The levels of glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, and lipase were significantly more in the diabetics (p<0.05). However, HDL-cholesterol was less in the diabetics than the controls, although the difference was not significant (p>0.05). There were significant positive correlations between glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and lipase; while, significant negative correlations were obtained between LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and lipase. CONCLUSION: The higher concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol, as well as the lower HDL-cholesterol in the diabetics were typical and not unexpected, as diabetes mellitus is associated with disturbance of lipid metabolism. The lipase activity was elevated at increased concentrations of glucose and lipids. Hence, it was concluded that the pancreatic lipase was possibly involved in the metabolisms of both glucose and lipids. Lipolysis has been suggested as the link between the 2 processes.