Background Workplace bullying is persistent aggressive behavior, including verbal or physical abuse, exhibited in a working environment. The impact of workplace bullying in any industry leads to negative outcomes in multiple dimensions, such as issues with mental health, problems with physical health, and a reduction in productivity in the workplace. This study aims to measure the relationship between personality traits and workplace bullying victims. Moreover, it explores how personality traits predict being a victim of workplace bullying. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among 625 participants from various regions of Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a self-administered survey, which included sociodemographic questions, the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) for bullying assessment, and the Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10) for personality trait assessment. The statistical analysis encompassed descriptive statistics and inferential tests such as the correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. These analyses were conducted using the SPSS software version 27.0.1 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Personal-related bullying was more prevalent compared to work-related bullying, particularly "facing disregard of opinion" was the most frequent type of bullying. Moreover, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience were demonstrated as major self-perceived personality traits among participants. Some sociodemographic factors were reported to be significantly associated with both bullying and personality trait scores. Personality traits such as conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion were adversely correlated while openness to experience and neuroticism were positively correlated with bullying. Conclusions Our study illustrates the current prevalence of workplace bullying in Saudi Arabia and its impact on participants' mental health and productivity. We identified a significant correlation between self-perceived personality traits and the risk of experiencing workplace bullying. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, enabling them to develop targeted interventions to reduce bullying within work settings in Saudi Arabia.
BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a complication of chronic hyperglycemia associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Several studies have demonstrated the positive impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on kidney outcomes. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of dapagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, on kidney outcomes in Saudi patients with type 2 DM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study included all Saudi patients with type 2 DM who visited our center from August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, and had been on dapagliflozin for at least 3 months. Data was abstracted through chart review for all patients included in the study. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare the results before and after treatment for continuous variables and the McNemar test was used to compare the results for categorical data. RESULTS: Study included 184 Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes with a mean age of 61.32 years (SD=9.37). Dapagliflozin 10 mg/day significantly reduced hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) from a mean (SD) of 9.00 to 8.40 (P < 0.001). Among a subgroup of patients with significant proteinuria (n = 83), dapagliflozin significantly reduced ACR from a median of 93.1 to 64.9 mg/g (P = 0.001). Following treatment, the estimated glomerular filtration rate improved from a mean of 69.83 to 71.68 mL/min and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) fell from 90.03 to 89.06 mmHg, both were not statistically significant. Despite a statistically insignificant increase in the episodes of urinary tract infections (UTIs), the hospitalization rate declined. No episodes of amputations or ketoacidosis occurred during the study period. CONCLUSION: SGLT2 inhibitors had beneficial effects among Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes by improving diabetic control and lowering proteinuria. Dapagliflozin did not result in significant harm, including UTIs, amputations, and ketoacidosis.
Introduction Long-term fatigue is a common condition that involves both physical and psychiatric symptoms, and it affects multiple age groups and causes morbidity and disabling symptoms that range from mild to severe symptoms. Many patients are discharged following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection without proper follow-up and evaluation of long-term effects, resulting in the improper treatment of the long-term symptoms, which increases the burden on the patients and healthcare systems. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2. It results in a variety of symptoms, including fever, cough, respiratory distress, the loss of the sense of smell and taste, and long-term effects such as post-severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is characterized by chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, myalgia, weakness, and depression. The aim of this study is to assess the incidence of long-term fatigue in patients who achieved remission from COVID-19 at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), National Guards Health Affairs, Riyadh. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional, non-probability convenience sampling study. All participants who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and achieved remission were approached in an outpatient department (OPD) setting and signed an informed consent form and were evaluated by standard questionnaires at clinics after remission from COVID-19 at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 343 subjects who fit the inclusion criteria of any patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and achieved remission were included in the study. This study included patients from the National Guard Hospital, students, and staff members. The primary outcome variable was the incidence of long-term fatigue in patients who achieved remission from COVID-19 as measured by the Chalder fatigue scale (CFQ). The participants were approached in clinics and generalâ¯OPD by one of the research teams. Results Based on the study design, 343 patients were selected from King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, the incidence of long-term fatigue in patients who achieved remission from COVID-19 was 55.7%, and the rest were normal (44.3%). The incidence of long-term fatigue was statistically significantly higher in females and those who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and achieved remission for more than two months. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to more than 45, with a predominance of females (60.6%). Regarding body mass index (BMI), 39.9% were overweight, and 29.2% were obese. Additionally, the incidence of patients with associated chronic disease was 27.4%; among these chronic diseases, hypertension was the most common one (18.1%), followed by diabetes (17%) and thyroid diseases (14.9%). Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that were carried out in Saudi Arabia that assess long-term fatigue post COVID-19 infection. In our study, we discovered that long-term fatigue was highly prevalent (55.7%). We found that among those participants, more than half of those who reported chronic fatigue had a COVID-19 diagnosis for longer than two months. Furthermore, females made up the majority of those who had long-term fatigue. We urge that additional longitudinal and standardized studies be carried out in order to thoroughly determine the severity of long-term fatigue in patients who obtained remission from COVID-19.
Monoclonal plasma cells form the solitary neoplasm known as solitary plasmacytoma. Isolated extramedullary plasmacytoma is less common than solitary bone plasmacytoma. An elderly male presented with coughing blood and was diagnosed with pharyngeal plasmacytoma with synchronous multiple myeloma. Herein, we present this challengingly rare case to increase awareness of this unusual entity.
Tardive dyskinesia is an involuntary athetoid or choreiform movement lasting a minimum of a few weeks. It is associated with the use of neuroleptic medication for at least three months and persists beyond four to eight weeks. Tardive dyskinesia usually occurs as a result of the long-term use of dopamine receptor-blocking agents, mainly first-generation antipsychotics or a high-dose, second-generation antipsychotic. We present a case of a 28-year-old female with osteogenesis imperfecta presented later with major depressive disorder with psychotic features. She was given a low-dose second-generation antipsychotic, namely, risperidone (2 mg) for psychosis for a cumulative duration of three months. As a result, she developed extrapyramidal symptoms in the form of akathisia, axial dystonia, involuntary movement of the right hand, and smacking movement of the lips. Symptoms persisted for more than eight weeks despite discontinuing risperidone and switching to quetiapine. After the exclusion of other differential diagnoses, she was labeled as a case of tardive dyskinesia. More studies are needed to assess whether undiscovered contributing factors to tardive dyskinesia exist and to understand how second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) contribute to the development of tardive dyskinesia.
