Willingness to Receive the COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines among the Saudi Population and Vaccine Uptake during the Initial Stage of the National Vaccination Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This study aimed to assess the willingness to receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza vaccines and vaccine uptake during the early stage of the national vaccination campaign in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among adult Saudis between 20 January and 20 March 2021. The questionnaire addressed vaccine hesitancy, perceived risk, willingness, and vaccine uptake. Approximately 39% of the participants expressed vaccine hesitancy, and 29.8% and 24% felt highly vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, respectively. The majority (59.5%) were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, although only 31.7% were willing to receive the flu vaccine. Adjusted analysis showed that vaccine hesitancy (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.27-0.43) and the perception of being at high risk (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.68-4.60) independently affected the intention to be vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy was similar among those who were willing to be vaccinated (29.8%) and those who had already been vaccinated (33.1%). The perceived risk was significantly higher among those who had been vaccinated (48.1%) than among those who were willing to be vaccinated but had not yet been vaccinated (29.1%). In conclusion, the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia is high. Saudis who received the vaccine had a similar level of vaccine hesitancy and a higher level of perceived risk.

Apoptotic endocrinal toxic effects of perchlorate in human placental cells.

BACKGROUND: Perchlorate is a strong oxidizing agent and has many adverse health effects. This study investigated the potential oxidative, apoptotic, and endocrinal toxic effects of perchlorate in human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HP-MSCs). METHODS: HP-MSCs were treated with two doses of perchlorate (5 and 15 µg/L) for three days. The perchlorate's effects were detected by histopathological examination, aromatase/CYP19 A1 activity, reactive oxygen species production (ROS), and Caspase-3 expression. RESULTS: The highest perchlorate concentration (15 µg/L) caused significant placental histopathological changes. The placental cell viability was significantly affected by a significant increase in ROS generation; caspase-3 expression, and a significant reduction of CYP 19 activity. Despite the slight induction effect of the lowest perchlorate concentration (5 µg/L) on caspase 3 expression, CYP 19 activity, and ROS generation, it did not affect placental cellular viability. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that perchlorate could modulate aromatase activity and placental cytotoxicity. The continuous monitoring of the actual perchlorate exposure is needed and could be cost-effective.

Medical Doctors' Offline Computer-Assisted Digital Education: Systematic Review by the Digital Health Education Collaboration.

BACKGROUND: The widening gap between innovations in the medical field and the dissemination of such information to doctors may affect the quality of care. Offline computer-based digital education (OCDE) may be a potential solution to overcoming the geographical, financial, and temporal obstacles faced by doctors. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the effectiveness of OCDE compared with face-to-face learning, no intervention, or other types of digital learning for improving medical doctors' knowledge, cognitive skills, and patient-related outcomes. Secondary objectives were to assess the cost-effectiveness (CE) of OCDE and any adverse effects. METHODS: We searched major bibliographic databases from 1990 to August 2017 to identify relevant articles and followed the Cochrane methodology for systematic reviews of intervention. RESULTS: Overall, 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 1 cluster RCT (cRCT), and 1 quasi-RCT were included in this review. The total number of participants was 1690 in addition to the cRCT, which included 24 practices. Due to the heterogeneity of the participants, interventions, and outcomes, meta-analysis was not feasible, and the results were presented as narrative summary. Compared with face-to-face learning, the effect of OCDE on knowledge gain is uncertain (ratio of the means [RM] range 0.95-1.17; 8 studies, 495 participants; very low grade of evidence). From the same comparison, the effect of OCDE on cognitive skill gain is uncertain (RM range 0.1-0.9; 8 studies, 375 participants; very low grade of evidence). OCDE may have little or no effect on patients' outcome compared with face-to-face education (2 studies, 62 participants; low grade of evidence). Compared with no intervention, OCDE may improve knowledge gain (RM range 1.36-0.98; 4 studies, 401 participants; low grade of evidence). From the same comparison, the effect of OCDE on cognitive skill gain is uncertain (RM range 1.1-1.15; 4 trials, 495 participants; very low grade of evidence). One cRCT, involving 24 practices, investigated patients' outcome in this comparison and showed no difference between the 2 groups with low-grade evidence. Compared with text-based learning, the effect of OCDE on cognitive skills gain is uncertain (RM range 0.91-1.46; 3 trials with 4 interventions; 68 participants; very low-grade evidence). No study in this comparison investigated knowledge gain or patients' outcomes. One study assessed the CE and showed that OCDE was cost-effective when compared with face-to-face learning if the cost is less than or equal to Can $200. No trial evaluated the adverse effect of OCDE. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of OCDE compared with other methods of education on medical doctors' knowledge and cognitive skill gain is uncertain. OCDE may improve doctors' knowledge compared with no intervention but its effect on doctors' cognitive skills is uncertain. OCDE may have little or no effect in improving patients' outcome.

Using Skin Gene Markers for Estimating Early Postmortem Interval at Different Temperatures.

Many researches document long-term RNA persistence in a variety of tissues and its applicability in estimating the postmortem interval (PMI). Skin-specific mRNA marker, late cornified envelope 1C (LCE1C), was used to identified skin samples. Before using the LCE1C in criminal casework, its persistence and applicability for estimating PMI in different temperatures were tested. Twelve skin samples were collected from 6 patients, and 6 samples were kept at 24°C and others were kept at 40°C for 5 days. The expression levels of LCE1C mRNA are serially detected and quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of LCE1C were decreased with increasing the time interval in time-dependent manner, whereas changing the surrounding temperatures did not show any statistical significance. These results could suggest using LCE1C in estimation of PMI. Moreover, these encourage investigators and crime laboratories to know environmental conditions before interpreting the results.

Effectiveness of health education programme: Level of knowledge about prevention of cervical cancer among Saudi female healthcare students.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of health education programme on the knowledge of human papilloma virus among female medical students. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2014 at the Princess Nourah bint Abulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and comprised female medical students. An intervention programme was implemented in the form of lectures, videos, posters, etc. on human papillomavirus. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: There were 535 participants in the study. There mean age was 20.3±1.3 years. After the intervention, there was a significant increase in the level of knowledge. Of all, 495(92%) students recognised avoidance of sexually transmitted disease, vaccination and screening as effective preventive measures. In comparison to pre-intervention results, significantly higher percentage of students defined risk factors: sexually transmitted disease 392(73.3%) versus 329(61.8%), and human papillomavirus 293(54.8%) versus 151(28.4%). Knowledge regarding sensitivity, 280(52.3%) after the campaign versus 160(30.1%)before, and time to perform Pap smear,229(42.8%) versus 113(21.1%),increased significantly (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Health education programme was effective in improving the level of knowledge on human papillomavirus.

The effectiveness of breath carbon monoxide analyzer in screening for environmental tobacco smoke exposure in Saudi pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has harmful effects on the pregnancy outcomes similar to those observed in actively smoking pregnant women. The aim of this study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the breath carbon monoxide (BCO) analysis in the assessment of smoking status among Saudi pregnant women, including ETS exposure compared to self-reported tobacco smoke exposure. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used during January 2012, 560 pregnant women, irrespective of their gestational age, agreed to undergo BCO testing and completed the data collection sheet for the study. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated to compare the BCO test with self-reported exposure to ETS. RESULTS: Of the study population 151 (27%) women self-reported ETS exposure during the index pregnancy, 409 (73%) self-reported non-exposure. Sensitivity of the test was 32.5% (95% CI; 25.2-40.3%), the Specificity was much higher at 69.2% (95% CI; 64.4-73.5%), the positive predictive value was 28% (95% CI, 21.9-35.1%), and the negative predictive value was 73.5% (95% CI; 68.9-77.7%). CONCLUSION: The BCO test is an ineffective tool to detect the level of ETS exposure among Saudi pregnant women.