Understanding the Quality of Life Among Patients With Cancer in Saudi Arabia: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer patients' quality of life (QoL) significantly influences treatment response and mortality rates. Understanding QoL domains among patients with cancer and what affects it can help create interventions that improve QoL and ease patients' experience. This study measures the OoL among patients with cancer and influencing factors. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional questionnaire-based study included cancer patients aged >18 currently receiving treatment. The questionnaire collected social and economic data, followed by the validated Arabic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30). Means and standard deviations for described numeric variables and frequencies and percentages described categorical variables. Analysis of variance, F-tests, and P-values were reported. RESULTS: Among 182 cancer patients, 60% were female. Younger patients exhibited higher QoL in physical and role functioning (P = .016 and .03) and experienced more significant financial impact (P = .0144). Females reported more adverse effects from cancer symptoms, including fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and pain (36.7% vs 25.5%, P = .005; 20.6% vs 11.5%, P = .0186; 34.7% vs 25.1%, P = .0281). Single patients had superior QoL in physical functioning compared to others (P = .0127). Patients traveling long distances were more likely to face adverse financial consequences (P = .007). Asthmatic patients exhibited lower QoL in physical, role, and cognitive functioning (72.3 vs 37.8, P = .0147; 76.4 vs 22.2, P = .0024; 84.7 vs 44.4, P = .0038) and reported increased dyspnea and appetite loss (16 vs 55.6 and 26.1 vs 66.7, both P < .05). CONCLUSION: Factors influencing QoL in Saudi cancer patients include age, marital status, gender, hospital distance, and chronic conditions. Thus emphasizing the necessity for personalized care strategies to enhance outcomes and alleviate the overall burden of cancer care.

A Methodological Review of Drug-Related Toxicological Studies in Saudi Arabia.

This study aimed to conduct a methodological review of drug-related toxicological studies in Saudi Arabia. A systematic review and a methodological analysis were conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Medline and Embase were searched for all types of studies reporting toxicological studies in the English language published until January 10, 2022. The search was conducted using both keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. The methodological analysis of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A total of 3,750 studies were extracted and screened. Of these, 30 observational studies (seven cohort studies and 23 cross-sectional studies) met the inclusion criteria. The methodological scores ranged from five to seven out of 10 possible points. Twelve studies had high quality, and 18 studies had moderate quality. Eight studies focused on adverse drug reactions, eight explored poisoning, four explored drug-related hospitalizations, nine explored drug-induced toxicity, and one explored drug overdose. This research project revealed that most of the drug-related toxicological studies conducted in Saudi Arabia were observational studies of moderate quality. Future studies should focus on the quality of the design and reporting.

Extra-intestinal Salmonellosis in a Tertiary Care Center in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Salmonella infection is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis worldwide. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality if not treated properly. It has developed resistance to multiple antibiotics. These developments are concerning. This study sought to observe common patterns of invasive Salmonella infections, such as the common serotypes involved, presentation, sensitive investigations, and effective treatment. This study also aimed to examine the risk factors that can worsen the infection and increase morbidity and mortality. Methodology: This retrospective analysis included all patients who were diagnosed with invasive Salmonella infection at King Khalid University Hospital from May 2017 to December 2018. Most patients in this report were immunocompromised; however, a few previously healthy patients. Different types of specimens were collected. Twenty-two patients with invasive Salmonella were included in this study. Results: Sixteen of them had underlying conditions. The most common presenting symptoms of illness were fever (n = 13), vomiting (n = 6), and diarrhea (n = 4). Most blood samples (94%) were positive for Salmonella. All patients were discharged except three who died; these were all older patients with comorbidities. Although four different antimicrobial resistance patterns were noticed in this study, ciprofloxacin was the highest significant percentage (62.5%). Of five patients initially treated with ciprofloxacin, three of them expressed resistance to this antibiotic. Conclusion: The findings of this study support that immunocompromised patients and people with extreme ages are more likely to have serious medical illnesses and at higher risk of infection with Salmonella spp. Therefore, this study emphasises the importance of antimicrobial judicious utilisation. Tackling the escalating antibiotic resistance could be approached by implementing advanced public education levels to maintain high standards of food and water safety. Moreover, the urge to investigating newer drugs against Salmonella with an acceptable safety profile is a cornerstone to attenuate the rapidly acquired bacterial resistance precisely for those who are immunocompromised. Furthermore, predicting the mortality, morbidity and the clinical response is feasible according to the patient parameters and comorbidities.