Residents and staff perceptions of a pediatric clinical teaching unit in a large tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The clinical teaching unit (CTU) is a commonly used model of patient care and teaching. Despite being a common model of care, very few studies have looked at its impact on the education of trainees. In addition, it is a relatively new structure for pediatric inpatient care in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study was to compare postgraduate trainees (residents) and staff perceptions of the old and the new (the CTU) inpatient team structures, and to evaluate the impact of the CTU on residents' education. METHODS: An online survey was sent to nurses, pediatric residents, and attending physicians who worked under both structures. Questions for residents were adopted from the National training survey of the General Medical Council, United Kingdom. RESULTS: A total of 147 pediatric healthcare workers completed the survey (97 nurses, 39 residents, and 11 attending physicians), most of whom worked in both the old and new inpatient team structures. More than 97% of residents reported being supervised by their attending on a daily basis in the CTU structure as compared with 15% in the old structure. A higher proportion of residents favored the old structure in terms of the opportunity it provided to develop their leadership skills. Eighty-seven percent of nurses believed the CTU had improved patient safety of pediatric inpatients. Overall, 82% of residents, 91% of nurses, and 100% of attending physicians favoured the CTU structure over the old inpatient model. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that pediatric residents and staff perceived the CTU structure as superior to the old inpatient team structure, especially in terms of patient safety. Although the CTU seemed to have a positive impact on residents' education, this must be further examined especially with respect to its impact on residents' leadership skills.

The adherence to asthma medication for hospitalized children with asthma: A cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

AIM: The aim of the study was to assess adherence to asthma controller therapy and factors that influence asthma control and to determine the association between asthma knowledge of the caregiver and asthma control among admitted children with asthma. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2022 and May 2023 in a tertiary care hospital. Children with a diagnosis of asthma aged 2-14 years, who were admitted to the hospital with an exacerbation of asthma were identified. METHODS: Caregivers of the admitted children were interviewed using the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire and Pediatric Inhaler Adherence Questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Demographic and clinical data were described using descriptive analyses, where mean and standard deviation were used for normally distributed continuous variables, median and interquartile range (IQR), if otherwise. A P < 0.05 was set as a cutoff for statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 144 caregivers completed the survey. Median score for parents' knowledge of asthma was 64%, with an IQR of 59-67. Both mother's and father's educational levels were associated with a good level of knowledge: odds ratio (OR) = 2.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-5.6, and OR = 5.33, 95% CI = 2.23-12.7, respectively. Median adherence to metered dose inhaler (MDI) was 4 (IQR = 2-6). Children who had been admitted to the general ward in the last 6 months were three times more likely to be nonadherent to MDI (OR = 3.03, 95% CI = 1.18-7.82). Forty-three percent of children who were nonadherent to MDI were less likely to have their asthma controlled (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.17-1.06). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that a low level of knowledge among caregivers of asthma patients is linked to inadequate adherence to asthma controller therapy. As medication adherence is crucial for achieving desirable asthma control and improving the quality of life for this population, efforts need to be made to enhance the knowledge level of parents of children with asthma.

Elemental Milk Formula as a Possible Cause of Hypophosphatemic Rickets in Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome.

Phosphate has a fundamental role in bone mineralization, and its chronic deficiency has multiple negative consequences in the body including defects in bone mineralization that will manifest in children as rickets and osteomalacia. We present here a young boy known to have Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome with multiple co-morbidities that necessitated gastric tube feeding. The child at 22 months was found to have hypophosphatemia and a high alkaline phosphatase level associated with rachitic skeletal manifestations that were attributed to low phosphate intake and/or gastrointestinal absorption as there was no evidence of excessive phosphate wasting based on appropriate tubular renal re-absorption of phosphate. The primary nutritional source was an elemental amino acid-based milk formula (Neocate®) from 12 months of age. After switching from Neocate® to another elemental amino-acid based milk formula, all biochemical and radiological abnormalities returned to normal, indicating that the Neocate® formula was the possible cause of the patient's low phosphate intake. However, in the literature, this formula-associated effect was only described in a limited number of patients. Whether or not some patient-related factors, such as the very rare syndrome described in our patient, could influence this effect warrants further exploration.

Prevalence of fall injuries and risk factors for fall among hospitalized children in a specialized childrens hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Fall injuries among children during hospital stay is a major patient safety issue. Inpatient pediatric falls can lead to numerous negative consequences. In contrast to adults, there is a paucity of information on the prevalence and risk factors associated with children's falls during hospitalization. OBJECTIVES: Identify the prevalence of fall injuries among hospital.ized children and describe the demographic and environmental factors that could predict a higher risk of severe outcomes of fall. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional prevalence study. SETTING: Specialized children's hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data was obtained through the electronic Safety Reporting System (SRS). All reported fall events during hospitalization in children less than or equal 14 years of age for the period from 1 April 2015 to 30 April 2016 were included. Fall events that occurred in the day care unit and the outpatient clinic were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence and possible risk factors for fall events. SAMPLE SIZE: 48. RESULTS: The prevalence of falls among the 4860 admitted children was 9.9 (95% CI=7.5, 13.1) per 1000 patients (48/4860). A majority of the falls were among boys (n=26, 54%), in the age group from 1-5 years old (n=22, 46%), in children at high risk of falling (n=35, 73%), with normal mobility status (n=21, 44%), and with no history of previ.ous falls (n=33, 69%). Severe injuries accounted for 25% of falls (n=12). However, falls among the moderate risk category (n=9, 69%) were more often severe than falls among the high risk category of children (n=12, 34%) (P=.03). CONCLUSION: Risk factor identification is required to prevent falls and their severe outcomes. LIMITATIONS: Underreporting and single-centered study. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.