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BACKGROUND: Surgical residency often poses a challenge to residents, with long working hours and a stressful work environment. Surgical residents are at an increased risk of burnout and depression. Such mental health burdens could go so far as to affect treatment outcomes. AIM: To assess the prevalence and risk factors for depression and burnout among residents across surgical specialties in Kuwait. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire was sent to the residents enrolled to the surgical residency programs in Kuwait, from the period of January 2020-February 2020. Variables collected included; age, gender, marital status, smoking history, exercise, specialty, year of training, on-call frequency, assessment of burnout (using the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI)) and assessment of depressive symptoms (using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score). RESULTS: A total of 85 surgical residents between the age of 20 and 40 years responded. Most (64.7%) were male and 35.3% female. More than half were married (51.8%) and 41.2% were single. The majority of the residents were in general surgery (43.5%), with the least being in otolaryngology (7.1%) and neurosurgery (5.9%). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 55.3%, and 51.8% had a high overall burnout score. CONCLUSION: Addressing burnout at all stages during residency training is paramount in improving standard of care as well as increasing the wellness of residents.
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BACKGROUND: To date, multiple scoring systems have been utilised in predicting outcomes in burn patients. The aim of this study is to determine the accuracy of three established scoring systems used for burn patients admitted to the intensive care unit and to determine the risk factors associated with poor outcomes. METHODS: A total of 211 patients who were admitted to the ICBU in a tertiary care centre in Kuwait from January 2017 to December 2019 were analysed retrospectively. Data were collected using patient medical records. The FLAMES, BOBI and revised Baux scores were calculated, and the survivor and non-survivor scores of patients were analysed to determine the sensitivity, specificity and Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (AUROC) of the different scoring modalities. RESULTS: The majority of the analysed population were male patients (165/211) and the most common mechanism of burns was flame burns (166/211). Most of the patients admitted to the ICBU survived (188/211). Female gender was associated with a higher mortality rate, whilst inhalational injury and co-morbidities were not associated with a higher mortality rate. The revised Baux score had a sensitivity value of 96% and 90% specificity. The BOBI score had a sensitivity of 91% and 76% specificity. The FLAMES score had a sensitivity of 96% and the highest specificity of 99%. All 3 scores had AUC values exceeding 90%. CONCLUSION: Statistically, FLAMES score had the highest accuracy of predicting outcomes in burn patients, however all three scores demonstrated acceptable predictive rates when it comes to practical application, permitting the use of either one of the studied scores with satisfactory prognostic outcomes.
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Although the approved COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be safe and effective, multiple beliefs and misconceptions still exist influencing the vaccine uptake rates around the world. The multifaceted complex phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy could jeopardize the efforts to overcome this pandemic. The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence and examine the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Kuwait. This is a web-based cross-sectional study conducted in Kuwait from March 2021 until April 2021, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our questionnaire examined basic demographic information, attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines as well as reasons for and against accepting the vaccine. Out of the 2345 responders, the majority are fully convinced to take the vaccine (83%) and the rate of vaccine hesitancy is 17%. Vaccine hesitancy is higher among non-healthcare workers, those previously positive for the COVID-19 virus, and those against vaccines in general. Vaccine hesitancy could jeopardize the efforts to overcome this pandemic; therefore, intensifying nationwide education and dismissal of falsified information is an essential step towards addressing vaccine hesitancy.
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BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains today a global health pandemic. Those with severe infection are at risk of rapid clinical deterioration; as a result, intensive care unit (ICU) admission is not uncommon in such patients. A number of determinants have been identified as predictors of poor prognosis and in-hospital mortality, ranging from demographic characteristics, laboratory and/or radiological findings. AIM: To identify determinants of in-hospital mortality and examine the accuracy of seven early warning scores in predicting in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted in Kuwait from July 2020 to March 2021, and participants were adult patients with a positive test on the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 and who met the criteria for ICU admission. Data collected included: demographics, clinical status on hospital arrival, laboratory test results, and ICU course. Furthermore, we calculated seven early warning scores for each of our patients. RESULTS: A total of 133 patients were admitted to our COVID-19 ICU with a median age of 59 years. Arrival to ICU on mechanical ventilation (MV), developing in-hospital complications, having chronic kidney disease (CKD), having a high white blood count (WBC), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), lactate, or urea levels were found to be significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. Furthermore, the 4C mortality score for COVID-19, VACO index for COVID-19 mortality, and the PRIEST COVID-19 clinical severity score proved to be the most superior in predicting in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Identifying high-risk patients and those with a poor prognosis allows for efficient triaging and the delivery of high-standard care while minimizing the strain on the healthcare system.
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BACKGROUND: In February 2020 the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in Kuwait. Inevitably as many countries worldwide, the general public were negatively affected by the pandemic. Unemployment, uncertainty, distress, increasing deaths, lockdown measures all of which are potential burdens on mental health. AIM: To assess the impact of COVID19 outbreak on mental health in Kuwait, and to explore the potential influencing risk factors. METHODS: We conducted an online questionnaire-based study in Kuwait between 25th May 2020 to 30th May 2020. Questions were based on demographics, lifestyle during outbreak, depression and anxiety assessment. Total PHQ9 and GAD7 scores were calculated for each responder. RESULTS: We had 4132 responders. Most were females (69.31%), married (59.37%), between the age of 21-30 (23.84%) and non-smokers (81.46%). Only (7.96%) had a positive past psychiatric history, (32.04%) had a past history of a chronic medical disease. During the outbreak most of the responders lost their jobs (39.21%) and only (12.83%) were attending work regularly, only (6.82%) worked in the healthcare sector. 59.27% report increased social media use compared to before the lockdown. When asked about their daily time spent following COVID19-related news, most (37.8%) spend more than 2 hours and (7.74%) spend more than 4 hours. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was (30.13%) and the prevalence of anxiety symptoms was (25.28%). LIMITATIONS: In the cross-sectional nature of the study. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a burden on mental health. Psychological support and mental health awareness should be implemented and made accessible to all individuals during pandemics.