Awareness of Urgent Care Services Among Primary Healthcare Center Patients in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.

Background Urgent care clinics (UCCs) provide services for patients without the need to book an appointment in advance to treat acute diseases and injuries that do not need ED service and provide care for chronic conditions. This study aimed to assess the patients's level of awareness regarding UCCs in the Al-Ahsa region and provide information contributing to decision-makers' support about the urgent care services and their patterns of use within primary healthcare. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Al-Ahsa region from August 2023 to December 2023. A validated questionnaire was used. Cluster sampling was used to select three primary healthcare centers from four health sectors (southern cluster, middle cluster, northern cluster, and eastern cluster), and then simple random sampling was used to select participants. sample size calculated by Cochran's sample size formula, which estimated 377 participants. However, to accommodate a non-response rate of 10.0% and stronger statistical power and effect size, the final sample size was 469 participants. Data were analyzed by SPSS Statistics version 28 (IBM Corp. Released 2021. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 28.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. A p-value ≤0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results Of the 469 participants in the study, more than half (54.8%) were aged between 18 and 38 years old, and more than half (54.8%) were male. More than half (67.4%) reported having no chronic diseases, whereas the most common chronic diseases reported were diabetes mellitus (11.9%) and hypertension (14.3%). Most of the participants (84.9%) weren't aware of UCCs. Among the participants who were aware of UCCs (n=71), 53.5% of them had visited a UCC in the last three months. The most common reasons for their visits were the common cold (40.8%), headaches (5.6%), and abdominal pain (5.6%). More than one-third of participants (38.6%) believed that UCCs provide services like those of the emergency center. According to patients' sex, there was a significant (0.031) difference in the awareness level; the highest was among females at 20.1% vs. 12.6%. Conclusion The study revealed that the majority of the participants were unaware of UCCs. Increasing patients' awareness of UCCs is necessary through different media to improve access to healthcare services and reduce overcrowding in the ED that is caused by non-urgent problems.

Common clinical pattern of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody -associated vasculitis: An experience from a multicenter study in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the most common type and clinical manifestations of associated vasculitis (AAV) in the Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at King Fahad Medical City and the Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between January 2014 and May 2022. Patients aged ≥18 years were included in the study and diagnosed based on clinical manifestations, serology, or histopathology according to the EMA algorithm. Univariate analysis was carried out to compare different groups; a series of independent samples t-tests was applied for continuous data. RESULTS: A total of 53 patients were enrolled: eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). Overall, proteinase-3 was the most prevalent (52.8%), and myeloperoxidase, myeloperoxidase MPO was the least prevalent antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-type (18.9%) among patients; other patients showed negative ANCA test results. The clinical manifestations differed significantly between EGPA and GPA groups in pulmonary, neurological, cardiological, and renal signs and symptoms (p<0.05); there was a higher incidence of the former 3 in the EGPA group. Although upper airway was predominant in all groups, there was no statistical difference between both groups. CONCLUSION: This study validated international reports on AAV clinical manifestations in the Saudi population. The GPA was associated with more upper airway and pulmonary signs and symptoms. Further investigation is needed to understand the treatments and quality of life of patients with AAV.

Depression and anxiety among parents and caregivers of autistic spectral disorder children.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the presence of depression and anxiety in parents/caregivers of autistic spectral disorder (ASD) children, and to identify associated factors. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study carried out between July and December 2011, parents/caregivers of at least one child diagnosed with an ASD (cases group), were recruited through the Saudi Charitable Society of Autism Families and the Autism Clinic in the Pediatric out-patient clinic in King Fahad National Guard Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The parents/caregivers of a normally developed child (control group) were recruited from the Well Child Clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. We used a self-reported questionnaire containing questions on demographic data, as well as the Arabic version of the hospital anxiety and depression scale. RESULTS: The study included 100 parents/caregivers, 50 cases and 50 controls. More than 50% of the control group was in the age group 26-30 years (56%), while 42% of cases were in the age group 31-35 years. Time lapsed since autism diagnosis was over 3 years in one-third of cases. Twenty-two percent of cases, and only 2% of control parents/caregivers had a history of psychiatric problems (p=0.002). Both the mean depression score, and the mean anxiety score was significantly higher among cases when compared with controls, p<0.001. CONCLUSION: Autism is associated with burden and stress for parents/caregivers of the affected child. The demands placed by the disability contribute to a higher overall incidence of depression and anxiety among parents/caregivers.