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BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition that can significantly affect the quality of life for individuals, particularly those with diabetes. This study aims to examine the severity of CTS symptoms among diabetic patients and explore the associations between demographic factors, diabetic characteristics, knowledge, and management approaches. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among diabetic patients, and data were collected using standardized questionnaires. The incidence and severity of CTS were assessed using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ). Demographic information, diabetic characteristics, knowledge of CTS, and management approaches were also recorded. Descriptive statistics and inferential analysis were performed to analyze the data. RESULTS: The study included 303 participants. The majority of the participants were aged 50 or older (44.9%) (N=136), followed by those aged 39-49 (24.4%) (N=74). In terms of gender, there were more female participants (61.4%) (N=186) than male participants (38.6%) (N=117). Older age groups exhibited higher mean BCTQ scores, suggesting increased severity. Females had significantly higher severity scores compared to males (mean BCTQ score of 17.52 vs 15.56). Regarding diabetic characteristics, complications in the eye and pain/numbness in the legs or feet were significantly associated with higher severity scores of CTS (P=0.0001). The study revealed a knowledge gap among diabetic patients about CTS, with inadequate knowledge about its causes, symptoms, consequences, and treatment options among 68.6% of the patients. The use of medical interventions such as splints, injections, and surgery was associated with higher severity scores. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the incidence and severity of CTS symptoms among diabetic patients and its associations with demographic factors, diabetic characteristics, knowledge, and management approaches. Older age, female gender, widowed, diabetic complications in the eye, and pain/numbness in the legs or feet were found to be related to increased severity of CTS. Additionally, inadequate knowledge about CTS was observed among diabetic patients.
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Background The primary healthcare professionals' work description changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as was the case of all other healthcare departmental operation systems. Objectives This investigation compares job satisfaction between emergency department (ED) and primary healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic to ascertain the possible effect of the pandemic on healthcare providers. Methods A cross-sectional online self-assessment questionnaire consisting of 36 questions was distributed using available social media to target all frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in emergency departments and primary healthcare centres in Riyadh. The inclusive criterion was that the respondents should have been frontline HCWs during the pandemic era. The questionnaire was validated by a pre-test of responses of 10 frontline HCWs. This was to ensure the comprehensibility and validity of the questions. Thereafter, necessary corrections were made to the final questionnaire. Responses were collected with an Excel sheet (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA), while data were analysed with SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and GraphPad Prism version 9.2.0 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA). Results The targeted sample size was 400; however, 159 HCWs responded to the questionnaire and were thus included in the investigation. There were more male (60.4%) than female (39.6%) respondents, the majority of whom were Saudi nationals (86.6%) while the remaining were non-Saudi nationals working in the Kingdom. Also, 67% of the respondents were emergency medical service professionals while the remaining (23%) were primary healthcare professionals. Significantly, 71.8% of the respondents (p < 0.05) disagreed with adequate enumeration, rewards, and chances of promotion compared to those who agreed (28.2%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Job satisfaction was not significantly correlated to gender or the work departments (p > 0.05). Respondents significantly (p < 0.05) agreed to the competence of their supervisors, and liked their colleagues and work environment. Conclusion The study has shown that although supervision during the pandemic era was with competence; however, hours of work put in by these frontline emergency professionals were not adequately remunerated. Also, the services they provide seemed not to have been appreciated and hence did not lead to promotion either. Therefore, there was job satisfaction. As expected, the workload was huge while chances of promotion were lacking. These observations could lead to a substandard service should there be another pandemic. There is a need for all stakeholders to look into this more cautiously should there be another pandemic.
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Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma are one of the most common diseases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Asthma and AR patients report significant reductions in their daily activities due to this condition. Therefore, measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adult asthmatic and AR patients and evaluating the use of allergic rhinitis treatment modalities to improve asthma control may help prevent future respiratory complications, improve patient quality of life, and reduce morbidity. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was conducted through an online self-administrated questionnaire distributed electronically on social media through "Survey Monkey" (http://www.surveymonkey.com) from April 2 to September 18, 2021. The study targeted adult patients with asthma and/or allergic rhinitis residing in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. The study compared and evaluated HRQOL between three groups: asthmatic patients with concomitant AR, patients with asthma only, and patients with AR only. Results A total of 811 questionnaires were analyzed. Of those, 23.1% were diagnosed with asthma and 64% were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis; from those who were diagnosed with AR, 27.2% were asthmatics. A statistically significant association was observed between receiving AR medications and asthma control in respondents with intermittent AR (P < 0.001). However, no association was observed between asthma control and receiving medications for AR in respondents with persistent AR (P = 0.589). The average scores for all eight-item short-form (SF-8) QOL dimensions were lower in patients with combined asthma and AR than in patients with AR only and asthma only (P < 0.001). Conclusions This study suggested that AR was associated with more severe asthma and quality of life impairment.
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Background: The knowledge, preventive behaviors, and risk perception of the COVID-19 pandemic among health care workers can affect virus transmission and control. As the primary individuals in contact with infected patients, health care workers risk infection. There are a few studies on the knowledge and self-practice prevention for COVID-19 among medical students. Objectives: This study evaluated the COVID-19-related knowledge, preventive behaviors, and risk perceptions among medical students and interns. Methods: This study used a quantitative cross-sectional evaluation of the Saudi Arabian medical students utilizing a previously published online survey in 2020. Results: The study questionnaire was completed by 474 respondents. The average knowledge and preventive behavior score was significantly lower in males. The reported source of information showed a statistically significant association with knowledge and was higher in the respondents who reported world health organization (WHO)/centers for disease control and prevention (CDC)/UpToDate as their main source of information. The National Guidelines of the Ministry of Health was the second source to be reported for seeking information. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between the knowledge and preventive measures scores. The respondents who did not follow any information regarding COVID-19 had significantly lower knowledge and preventive behavior scores than those obtaining knowledge from sources. The preventive behavior score was not significantly different between clinical and pre-clinical students. Conclusion: This study assessed the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of COVID-19 following the onset of the pandemic in Saudi Arabia, indicating an acceptable level of undergraduate students' knowledge regarding the epidemic and its control measures.
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Objectives To investigate the prevalence of shoulder pain and its functional limitations among patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted over a period of four months from October 2019 to January 2020 and included all patients with uncontrolled DM (HbA1c > 9) who are visiting the diabetes clinic at Security Forces Hospital during the study period. Telephone interviews were held by a physician from the Family Medicine Department using a previously validated questionnaire, that is, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Evaluation Form. Results A total of 285 patients were included in the study; 156 (54.7%) were females and 129 (45.3%) were males. Most (51.1%) of the patients aged 45-64 years. The majority of the patients 58.9% had type II DM and 41.1% of them had type I DM. The mean HbA1c level was 10.56. Of the patients are having shoulder pain (109; 38.2%), 42.5% were between 45 and 64 years of age and 44.1% were between 65 and 96 of years. While 176 (61.8%) of the participants had no pain at all, 70.5% males and 54.5% females did not have shoulder pain (p<0.001). The mean shoulder pain intensity for all patients was 5.81(SD=3.21), ranging from 4.71 (SD=3.15) to 6.13 (SD=3.29), according to different age groups, and showed a significant correlation (p<0.05). Conclusions Increasing prevalence of shoulder dysfunction is making physicians alert regarding early diagnosis and management of the disease. Thus, it should be mandatory to include screening, prevention, and rehabilitation strategies for shoulder dysfunction in diabetic care programs to improve the daily lifestyle of the patients.