Febrile neutropenia associated with adalimumab in a patient with ulcerative colitis.

Adalimumab has become essential for managing various chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While hematologic complications of adalimumab therapy are rare, they can have significant clinical implications. This report highlights the importance of recognizing and monitoring for neutropenia in patients receiving adalimumab treatment. We also describe the potential mechanisms and management strategies for this adverse event.

Lifestyle factors and quality of life among primary health care physicians in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Physicians are considered to be a high-risk population for a poor quality of life (QoL), but few studies of lifestyle factors include the QoL among them. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between lifestyle factors and a positive QoL among primary health care (PHC) physicians. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at 20 primary healthcare centers in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was used, including sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle data, and the short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. Appropriate statistical analyses were used, including multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: The response rate was 85.7% (72/84) physicians. The mean score of the total QoL and its four studied domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental) was relatively high, with no statistically significant difference between the consultants and general practitioners. The positive total QoL in this study was significantly lower among physicians with obesity (OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.25-0.97), those using butter and animal fat for cooking (OR = 0.10, 95%CI = 0.02-0.81), and those eating meals out > 3 times per week (OR = 0.30, 95%CI = 0.10-0.90). Although non-significant, vegetable consumption and a high level of physical activity were associated with a positive QoL, with adjusted ORs of 2.5 (95%CI = 0.82-7.58) and 1.5 (95%CI = 0.33-6.65), respectively. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a relatively good QoL among the participating physicians; however, a lower QoL was associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors. QoL was significantly associated with obesity, cooking practices, and eating meals from restaurants.

Effects of Computerised Clinical Decision Support on Adherence to VTE Prophylaxis Clinical Practice Guidelines among Hospitalised Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important patient safety concern. VTE leads to significant mortality and morbidity and a burden on healthcare resources. Despite the widespread availability of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on VTE prophylaxis, we found that only 50.9% of our patients were receiving appropriate prophylaxis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of automation of an adapted VTE prophylaxis CPG using a clinical decision support system (the VTE-CDSS) on VTE prevention among hospitalised adult patients. DESIGN AND SETTING: A quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-implementation) was conducted at a large 900-bed tertiary teaching multi-specialty hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PARTICIPANTS: The 1809 adult patients in the study included 871 enrolled during the pre-implementation stage and 938 enrolled during the post-implementation stage. INTERVENTION: Multi-faceted implementation interventions were utilised, including leadership engagement and support, quality and clinical champions, staff training and education and regular audit and feedback. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Two rate-based process measures were calculated for each admission cohort (i.e. pre- and post-implementation): the percentage of inpatients who were assessed for VTE risk on admission and the percentage of inpatients who received appropriate VTE prophylaxis. Two outcome measures were calculated: the prevalence of hospital-acquired VTE (HA-VTE) events and the in-hospital all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The percentage of inpatients risk assessed for VTE on admission increased from 77.4% to 93.3% (P < 0.01). The percentage of patients who received appropriate VTE prophylaxis increased from 50.9% to 81.4% (P < 0.01). The HA-VTE events decreased by 50% from 0.33% to 0.15% (P < 0.01).All-cause in-hospital mortality did not significantly change after implementation of the VTE-CDSS compared with pre-implementation mortality (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The VTE-CDSS improved patient safety by enhancing adherence to the VTE prophylaxis best practice and adapted CPG. The multi-faceted implementation strategies approach improved the compliance rate of risk assessment and the adherence to prophylaxis recommendations and substantially reduced the HA-VTE prevalence. A successful CDSS requires a set of critical components to ensure better user compliance and positive patient outcomes.

Patients' satisfaction with the quality of nursing care provided: the Saudi experience.

Patient's satisfaction has emerged as a central focus of health-care delivery during the last decades, and nursing care became one significant component of patient's satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to examine patients' satisfaction with quality of nursing care provided in Saudi Arabia. Cross-sectional descriptive correctional design was used to recruit 100 patients from one regional hospital in Saudi Arabia. Data collected using structured interview from patients related to six dimensions of nursing care. Patients had a high level of satisfaction with nursing care provided (86% agreement rate). Language (56% disagreement rate), discharge information (56% disagreement rate) and availability (20% disagreement rate) have been identified with the lowest rates of patients satisfaction. Nursing leaders and health-care administrators need to maintain quality nursing care and develop strategies for improving nursing care emphasizing language as barrier and strategies of information dissemination.