The Psychological Impact of Isotretinoin Therapy on Acne Vulgaris Patients.

Introduction Acne vulgaris is a dermatologic condition that affects the pilosebaceous unit. It is the most common skin disorder worldwide, and it is most prevalent during puberty. For patients with moderate to severe acne that is unresponsive to antibiotic treatment, the main treatment is oral isotretinoin. The objective of this study was to define the impact of isotretinoin and its well-established adverse effects on the psychological status of acne patients during treatment.  Methods The sample cohort included 80 patients with acne vulgaris who were treated with isotretinoin. The sample size was calculated using the Raosoft [Raosoft.com (2015) Sample Size Calculator by Raosoft, Inc.] sample size calculator to maintain a confidence interval of 95% and a margin of error of 5%. The participants were assessed using the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The DASS-21 is a self-reporting scale used to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted at the dermatology outpatient clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris between January and April 2020 were included in the study. A multivariate regression analysis was also conducted to determine the presence of any significant independent factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. A P-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We observed that the most prevalent psychiatric disorder among acne patients on isotretinoin therapy was anxiety. Our results also indicate that a history of mental illness is an independent risk factor for developing depression when isotretinoin is used. In addition, known adverse physical effects of isotretinoin treatment, including muscle pain, arthralgia, and headaches significantly increase the likelihood of patients developing psychiatric morbidity during therapy.  Conclusion Isotretinoin is a highly potent therapy for acne. Overall, the physical side effects profile is well acknowledged, yet the exact psychological impact the treatment predisposes the patients to is yet to be determined.

Psoriasis in Saudi Population: Gender Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Quality of Life.

Introduction Patients with psoriasis suffer from an inflammatory immune-mediated skin condition that impacts their quality of life severely. In our study, we aimed to analyze the gender differences in clinical characteristics in patients with psoriasis and to assess the quality of life in these patients. Methods This is a retrospective observational study that was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results A total of 139 patients with psoriasis met the inclusion criteria, with a mean ± SD age of 45.53 ± 15.3 years. No statistically significant gender differences were observed in terms of disease duration, BMI, clinical type and body surface area (BSA) (P=0.657, P=0.782, P=0.565, P=0.088, respectively). However, psoriasis caused a significant impairment in the quality of life in female patients compared to males (P=0.036). Conclusion This study reports the gender differences in clinical characteristics in patients with psoriasis and its impact on the quality of life. More researches with larger sample size and different populations are needed in order to identify more potential gender-specific variations.

Demographic features, clinical characteristics, and prognostic factors of non-epithelial ovarian tumors at Princess Noorah Oncology Center, National Guard Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To reveal the demographic features, prognostic factors, and tumor characteristics of patients with non-epithelial ovarian tumors (NEOTs). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed using data from all female patients diagnosed with NEOT (germ cell [GC], sex cord-stromal cells [SCSC], sarcoma, and small cell carcinoma) from 2002 to 2017 at Princess Noorah Oncology Center, National Guard Hospital Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Forty patients with NEOTs were identified. There were equal percentages of GC (45%) and SCSC (45%) origin tumors, and these were the most common histological types. The remaining tumors were sarcomas. Germ cell tumors were more common in younger patients, while SCSC tumors were more frequent in the older age group. CONCLUSION: The findings for protective and risk factors were inconclusive. Patients with GC tumors had better survival outcomes than those with the other subtypes.

Measuring Patient Satisfaction and Factors Affecting it in the General Surgery Setting in Jeddah.

Introduction A patient-centered approach is critical to improving the overall quality of healthcare, and this also applies to the general surgery setting. To achieve this, it is important to assess patient satisfaction with healthcare, but this topic has not been investigated in the context of Jeddah. Therefore, the present study is the first one to assess patient satisfaction with care in the general surgery department and associated factors in Jeddah. Methods This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study that used a convenience sampling technique to select 307 patients from the outpatient clinic of the general surgery department at King Abdulaziz Medical City from November to December 2018. The cohort comprised 53.1% women and the age range was 18-70 years. For data collection, we used the Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction questionnaire, which contains seven items related to the core domains of patient satisfaction. We modified this by adding two additional items reported in other studies. We also included age, gender, and level of education as variables in the analysis. The scores assigned to each item were compared based on gender, age, and level of education. Results The analysis showed that age, gender, or level of education did not affect the overall satisfaction level, and the majority of participants (93.8%) reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied. Specifically, the majority reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the treatment effect, the explanation provided by the clinician, and the care provided at the clinic. Further, the majority of them also felt that they had received a thorough examination and enough time with the consultant, that they felt respected by the healthcare provider and their concerns were heard and respected, and that they were encouraged to voice their feelings and concerns. The lowest score was related to whether the participants felt like their choices were considered when it came to making healthcare decisions. This could, therefore, be a potential area of improvement. Conclusion Overall, the current findings indicate that the practitioners in the current setting use a patient-centered, adult-to-adult approach to healthcare, and the patients are highly satisfied. One area of improvement could be medical decision-making, where patients' preference could be given more consideration. Thus, these findings provide important insight into patient-centered care in this region.

Quality of Life among Surgical Residents at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Surgical residency program is considered one of the toughest residency programs, which affects quality of life of the residents during training years. To date, no study has evaluated quality of life among residents, especially surgical residents here in Saudi Arabia. AIM: The objective of this study is to evaluate quality of life among surgical residents. METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted during September 2018 in King Khalid Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study utilized the Work-Related Quality of Life, WRQoL, scale which measures perceived quality of life covering six domains: General Well-Being (GWB), Home-Work Interface (HWI), Job and Career Satisfaction (JCS), Control at Work (CAW), Working Conditions (WCS) and Stress at Work (SAW), in addition to demographic questions, asking about (age, gender, marital status, resident level, specialty, BMI, smoking, number of days of exercise per week, hours of sleep per day, on-calls per month, clinics per week, operations per week). RESULTS: Of the 99 surgical residents training at KAMC, 73 residents returned the survey with a response rate of 72.8%. The mean age of the residents was 28 ± 2.1 years with the mean BMI of 25 kg/m2. 54.8% were married, and 42.5% were smokers. Half of the residents (50.7%) working in King Abdulaziz Medical City have low work-related quality of life. In comparison between male and female residents' overall Quality of life, there was no significant difference between them (p = 0.363). CONCLUSIONS: Our main study finding is that half of the residents (50.7%) working at KAMC has low work-related quality of life, and there is no significant difference between male and female residents. Further studies are needed to determine the causes and improve the work-related quality of life among surgical residents.