Effectiveness of photodynamic therapy on clinical and biomarker related periodontal parameters and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Parkinson's disease patients with stage III periodontitis.

AIMS: To evaluate the clinical, radiographic, immune modulatory biomarkers and quality of life with the application of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an adjunctive treatment to dental scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with chronic periodontitis and Parkinson's disease. METHODOLOGY: Individuals who had a confirmed diagnosis of stage III periodontitis and stage 4 Parkinson's disease according to Hoehn and Yahr scale were involved in this study. The participants were divided into two groups: Group SRP (n = 25) received traditional dental scaling procedure including full-mouth debridement and disinfection, and Group PDT + SRP (n = 25) received both traditional cleaning procedures along with adjunctive chloro­aluminum phthalocyanine (CAPC) gel (0.005% concentration) mediated PDT. CAPC photosensitizer was activated using a diode laser (wavelength=640 nm, energy=4 J, 150 mW power, and overall power density of 300 J/cm2) for 60 s. The study measured clinical parameters such as plaque score (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and radiographic alveolar bone loss (ABL). Proinflammatory cytokine levels such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and oral health related quality of life were also assessed. RESULTS: The mean age of patients in Group SRP was 73.3 years, while the mean age in Group PDT + SRP was 71.6 years. The PDT + SRP group showed a significant reduction in all clinical parameters at 6 and 12 months compared to the SRP group alone (p < 0.05). IL-6 and TNF-α levels were significantly reduced in the PDT + SRP group at 6 months compared to the SRP group alone (p < 0.05). However, at 12 months, both groups showed comparable TNF-α levels. The results showed that Group PDT + SRP had significantly lower OHIP scores compared to Group SRP, with a mean difference of 4.55 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.98 to 7.12) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Combined SRP with PDT showed significant improvement compared to SRP alone in terms of clinical parameters, cytokine levels, and oral health-related quality of life in individuals diagnosed with stage III periodontitis associated with Parkinson's disease.

Knowledge, practice and attitude about photodynamic therapy use among practicing nurses: A large scale cross-sectional data on implementation of photodynamic therapy education.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, practice and attitude towards photodynamic therapy (PDT) among nurses of several medical colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, to appraise the implementation of PDT education in their clinical practice, we have conducted a large cohort cross-sectional study to identify their interest in PDT training, if they ever received one. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive observational cross-sectional survey was conducted among the medical nurses in Riyadh city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was formulated consisting of 20 items in five sections to assess knowledge, behavior, practice and attitude of medical nurses regarding PDT. To compare behavior, knowledge and clinical perceptions with knowledge score of nurses', spearman correlation coefficient was used. RESULTS: A total of 225 participants completed questionnaires were analyzed. Most of the respondents demonstrated good knowledge. A cumulative 41 % of respondents agreed on the point when asked about 'awareness of the therapeutic significance of PDT'. Whereas, 61 % respondents answered to the option 'sometimes' when queried about 'do you endorse therapeutic choices of PDT to patient'. Moreover, 17 % respondents answered the option 'always' when questioned about 'do you recommend patients to consider PDT for skin melanoma, psoriasis, surgical excision, curettage and cryotherapy?' There were 26 % respondents who agreed to the question when inquired about 'how contented are you in knowing about PDT in clinical practice?'. Whereas, 93 % respondents showed their interest on hands on session on PDT. A majority of the respondents 41 % chose the option 'PDT is peripheral to my role as medical nurse. CONCLUSION: Nurses demonstrated good knowledge related to PDT and modest awareness about the therapeutic significance of PDT. A high number of practicing nurse s showed interest for skilled PDT education seminars and workshops.

Gap Analysis between Perceptions and Expectations of Medical-Surgical Patients in a Public Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate patients' satisfaction with nursing care by measuring the gap between patients' expectations of care and perceptions of the actual care provided and to identify the areas of nursing care that need improvement. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients who were admitted to the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A modified Service Quality (SERVQUAL) instrument was adapted to collect information from a convenience sample of 432 patients from November 25, 2012, to February 3, 2013. The instrument comprised 22 pairs of questions assessing 5 dimensions of the nursing care provided to patients during hospitalizations. The mean patient expectations and perceptions as well as the gap score values for each dimension of nursing service were tested for differences between the mean scores of the sample at a level of significance of 0.05 using a t test. RESULTS: The gap score for all of the 5 dimensions of nursing services were: responsiveness, -1.71; reliability, -1.48; tangibles, -1.36; assurance, -1.26, and empathy, -0.96. Service quality across the dimensions of responsiveness and reliability was statistically significant (p < 0.05). This result indicated that patients were not satisfied with the nursing service quality in relation to all dimensions. CONCLUSION: Our study showed negative gaps for the 5 nursing service quality dimensions evaluated. This could provide nurses with information about the aspects of nursing care that promote more positive patient outcomes and satisfaction.