RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Allergic Rhinitis (AR) has a negative impact on both patients and society. Our study aims to assess the impact of allergic rhinitis on the academic performance and quality of life of medical students in Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey targeted medical students in Saudi Arabia; a total of 851 students were included. The survey included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, academic year and GPA, Score for Allergic Rhinitis (SFAR), and Rhino-sinusitis Disability Index (RSDI). RESULTS: We found that about 340 students (39.9%) had AR. The RSDI for students with AR was 34.9 28.8, significantly higher than those with no AR (17.0 + 23.6),p<0.001. The relationship between AR and students* GPAs showed that those who had not experienced AR significantly had comparatively good PAs and above. In contrast, those who had experienced AR had poor GPAs (p<0.001). Similarly, students with AR had significantly missed classes more than those who had not experienced AR (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The study showed that Allergic rhinitis negatively impacted Medical Students' academic performance and quality of life. It impacts wakefulness, and sleeping patterns can have a negative impact on academic performance.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study are to measure the prevalence of the most common symptoms and different long-term otorhinolaryngology manifestations among COVID-19-positive patients in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a Google form questionnaire sent to the study sample. The data were entered and then analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). RESULTS: A total of 13,530 COVID-19-positive adult patients were enrolled in the current study. The most reported initial symptom was fever (53.3%) followed by headache (49.3%), sore throat (48.9%), nasal congestion, rhinorrhea (42.1%), and loss of smell and/or loss of taste (37.8%). Regarding the continuation of the symptoms, vertigo was mentioned by 5852 (43.3%) followed by fever (16.1%) and blocked ear sensation (15.6%). CONCLUSION: The most commonly reported initial symptom was fever followed by headache. Interestingly, vertigo is a frequent long-term complication after a COVID-19 infection. Other otology-related symptoms include hearing loss and ear blockage, while rhinology and upper airway-related symptoms were less frequent in the long term after the acute phase of the infection.
