The Concept of Do Not Resuscitate for the Families of the Patients at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital.

AIM: Do not resuscitate (DNR) is an order in medical practice for the patients who are suffering from a grave medical condition, and their life is in danger to end. DNR decision-making varies from one hospital to another. This study is aimed to assess the knowledge of the patients' relatives about DNR concept and their opinion about the DNR decision-making. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a nonintervention cross-sectional study conducted, during 2016, among 420 patients' relatives in the Emergency Department at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital in KSA. Data were collected by interviewing the participants. Data were further analyzed using SPSS software. The Chi-square test was used to determine the associations. RESULTS: Variation in responses related to the DNR concept was observed. Around 44% of participants thought that DNR involved maximum intervention in the hospital, including intensive care. Further, the majority (55.2%) of the participants were assured about the quality of the services the patient would receive. Furthermore, 51% of the participants believed that ultimately, it should always be the doctor who decides on a DNR decision. Meanwhile, 36.4% of the relatives opined that the family members should be involved in the discussion regarding the DNR order. CONCLUSION: We observed a gap in the understanding of the concept and decision-making of DNR-order among the participants. Health-care providers should provide a greater explanation about DNR orders to the families of the patients to avoid any misunderstandings, and also support them psychologically to avoid any stress they might encounter in such situations.

The Concept of Do Not Resuscitate for Students in King Abdulaziz University Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Do not resuscitate (DNR) is a medical procedure for patients who are suffering from critical, untreatable, and irreversible disease where the patient's life is predicted to end. DNR is considered a sensitive decision for patients and their relatives, as well as physicians. AIM: This study is aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students and interns toward the DNR order and the factors affecting their attitude at the King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah. METHODS: Nonintervention cross-sectional study was conducted among 429 medical students (preclinical and clinical years) and interns who were given an online questionnaire between May and June in 2016 at KAUH in 18 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Our study indicates that most of the participants (73.2%) were familiar with DNR order; however, more than half of them (58.3%) did not take any lecture or session on DNR. Large proportion of medical students had the opinion that attending a lecture or session on DNR would help them discuss it more skillfully with the patients and their relatives. More than half of the participants (55%) believed that there is a Fatwa that regulates DNR on the Islamic level. CONCLUSION: Participants, who were interns, were more familiar with the term DNR, whereas the 2nd-year medical students were less familiar with DNR. Considering the variation in the knowledge of participants about DNR, we conclude that additional lectures and sessions about DNR should be added to the medical school curriculum to make the students more confident and able in handling the DNR discussions.

Population awareness of coronary artery disease risk factors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a serious cardiovascular disorder affecting middle-aged individuals. It is a major cause of death among adults over the age of 35 years. In Saudi Arabia, CAD is associated with higher mortality rate, and Saudi patients are reported to have significantly higher prevalence of risk factors for CAD than the Western population. Furthermore, as, to date, there is no definite cure for CAD, prevention of the disease and tight control of the known risk factors are the cornerstones for reducing CAD-associated mortality. Thus, the present work aimed to assess the population awareness of CAD risk factors in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah during the period January 2017 to December 2017 by using an online survey questionnaire to assess participants' awareness of 14 risk factors for CAD, namely: smoking, lack of physical activity, fast food and soft drink intake, television and computer use; history of diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction and stroke; as well as a family history of diabetes mellitus, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, CAD and myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Of 468 respondents, 41% were males. The mean age was 31.9±12.4. Approximately 86% were Saudi, and ~60% had a university education. The mean overall awareness score was 4.31±1.36 (1.00-8.00). Fast food, soft drinks, and family history of diabetes were the most commonly identified risk factors, reported by 74.8%, 64.3%, and 47.2% of participants, respectively. There was a strong correlation between overall awareness score and awareness of each risk factor individually (P<0.003). CONCLUSION: There is an evident limited knowledge among the population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia regarding the risk factors for CAD, and it is recommended that the healthcare sector in the country focus on public health education programs about the disease.