RESUMEN
Objectives To determine the association between patient demographics including gender, age, family history of hearing loss, and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) in the Al-Madinah region. Methods This is a cross-sectional observational study that was conducted using an online survey in the Al-Madinah region of Saudi Arabia from March 2022 to August 2022. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire (ETDQ-7) that was designed based on previous studies and frameworks. It consists of seven items, each with a score ranging from 1 to 7, for a total score of between 7 and 49 points. A total score of 14.5 or above, or a mean domain score of 2.5 or above, is considered abnormal, with higher scores indicating greater severity of symptoms. The analysis was carried out using SPSS v23. Results About 380 participants were included in the current study. The mean age of the participants was 29.2 ± 8.7 years old. About 13 (3.4%) of the participants had a history of ETD. The prevalence of ETD among the study population was 41.3%. Gender was significantly associated with the prevalence of ETD (p-value=0.004), with females tending to have the condition more frequently than males. Moreover, the history of ETD was also significant (p=0.001) Conclusion A higher prevalence of ETD was found in the current study when compared to international studies, gender and history of ETD were found to be linked with increased prevalence of EDT.
RESUMEN
Objective In this study, we aimed to assess cytological changes and p53 expression in oral mucosa among waterpipe users in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methodology A case-control study was conducted in KSA from January to October 2022. Two cytologic oral smear samples each were taken from 500 volunteers; 300 were waterpipe users (case) while 200 did not use a waterpipe (control). They were then stained using the Papanicolaou staining procedure and immunocytochemical method to show the expression of P53. Results The interpretation of the Papanicolaou staining outcomes showed the presence of four results with different proportions: inflammation, infection, atypia, and keratinization. Cytological inflammation was identified among 77/300 (25.6%) waterpipe smokers, which was higher than that among non-users (12/200, 6%). The reverse cytological infection and atypia were also higher in waterpipe smokers compared with controls (9% vs. 4.5% and 4.3% vs. 0.5%, respectively), and keratinization was detected only in waterpipe users (3.6%) compared with controls. Waterpipe users had higher p53 protein expression than non-users. Conclusion Using a waterpipe is an effective way to change the oral mucosa. In atypia and keratinization, there was high p53 expression. These results could indicate that p53 is involved in both the change from normal to cancerous cells and the growth of new cells, but the presence or absence of p53 staining could not be used to predict the outcome of potentially cancerous oral mucosal lesions.