Awareness and knowledge of laser hair removal: a cross sectional study from tertiary care dermatology clinics in Oman.

BACKGROUND: Laser hair removal (LHR), including the use of home-based devices, is becoming very popular in Oman. Despite this, some people still have many misconceptions about this procedure, especially of its long-term complications. This study aimed to assess the awareness and knowledge of LHR among dermatology clinic attendees in Muscat, Oman. METHODS: A cross sectional survey study was conducted at Al Seeb and Bowshar polyclinics in Muscat, Oman, to attendees between the ages of 18 and 70 years. The Chi-square test was used to assess the association between different categorical variables. Results were considered to be statistically significant if P < 0.05. RESULTS: Of the 500 questionnaires which were distributed, 403 were completed (response rate = 80.6%). The mean (± standard deviation [SD]) age of participants was 32.9 (8.5) years old. In this study, 45.7% (184/403) of participants had used LHR, and of those, 88.6% (163/184) were satisfied with the results. The knowledge percentage among individuals was higher among those who used LHR compared to those who did not use LHR (46% vs. 27%, respectively; P < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences in LHR knowledge percentages based on employment status or monthly income. Female participants and subjects with an educational level of a college degree or above had superior knowledge regarding the safety of LHR use during pregnancy (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study noted a lack of knowledge, with various misconceptions, about LHR among patients attending dermatology clinics in Oman, especially in individuals who had not used LHR before.

Inappropriate Hospital Stay of Patients Admitted Under Care of General Medicine Units: A retrospective study.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the incidence of inappropriate hospital stay and to identify the reasons behind inappropriate hospitalisation. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients admitted in the General Internal Medicine Unit, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, from January to June 2020. The average length of hospital stay for all included patients was calculated. The appropriateness evaluation protocol technique was used to examine admissions that exceeded the average length of hospital stay; subsequently, the reasons for the inappropriate hospital stay were identified. Results: There were 855 admissions during the study period. In this cohort, 53.1% were male and the median age was 64 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 44-75 years). There was a total of 6,785.4 hospitalisation days and the average length of hospital stay was five days (IQR: 3-9 days). A total of 31.8% of admissions (n = 272) and 9.9% of hospitalisation days (n = 674 days) were classified as inappropriate. Delay in complementary tests (29.0%) and unavailability of extra hospital resources (21.7%) were identified as the most common reasons associated with inappropriate hospital stays. Old age was associated with increase in inappropriate hospital stay. Conclusion: A significant proportion of hospitalisation days were inappropriate due to hospital-related factors. Therefore, auditing hospital services and investing in home-based care are among the top strategies that are likely to improve early discharge and minimise inappropriate hospital bed occupancy.