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Urology focuses on the treatment of genitourinary disorders through therapies ranging from lifestyle changes to advanced surgeries; the field has recently incorporated robotic and minimally invasive technologies that have improved patient outcomes and reduced hospital stays and complications. However, these methods still have certain limitations. Regenerative medicine, focusing on natural repair abilities, can be an effective and safer alternative. This review aims to examine the impact of regenerative medicine in urology. We adopted a systematic review design by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An exhaustive online literature search involving the databases PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar was conducted spanning the period between January 2010 and October 2023. Data were extracted from studies on regenerative medicine in urology with a special focus on efficacy and safety. Data from 16 studies were analyzed, which showed that cell therapy, biological materials, and tissue engineering are generally used in the field of urinary diseases. The main applications include the regeneration of urinary tissue, the correction of urinary incontinence, the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the reconstruction of ureteric defects, and the formation of bladder tissue. The study findings generally lack definitive conclusions on effectiveness and safety. While our results indicate that regenerative medicine is successful on a subjective level, more clinical trials are needed to establish its effectiveness and safety.
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Introductions: The awareness of brain death and heart donation (HD) among the Saudi population remains limited, coupled with negative attitudes toward heart donation, resulting in a significant gap between the demand for donor hearts and the available supply. This study aimed to comprehensively understand the current perceptions, attitudes, and practices of the Saudi population regarding HD, as well as identify the obstacles. The ultimate goal was to strengthen the local donor pool. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2023, employing a self-administered internet survey. The survey collected demographic information, assessed awareness, attitudes, and practices related to HD, and was completed by 1820 participants from various regions in Saudi Arabia. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Chi-square test, Independent-samples t-test, one way analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and Spearman correlation coefficient was performed with the significance level set at p < 0.05. Results: A significant portion of the population (out of 1820 participants) lacked organ donation cards and were uncertain about the registration process. Participants displayed a moderate level of knowledge about HD, with roughly half holding unfavorable attitudes toward HD. A considerable percentage of participants 62.0% were unwilling to register as heart donors, but a majority (79.9%) were willing to contribute by disseminating information about HD. The study identified significant associations between knowledge scores and several factors, including age (p = 0.002), career (p = 0.000), possession of an organ donation card (p = 0.000), and a history of transplantation or organ donation among relatives (p = 0.000). A significant relationship was observed between attitude scores and several factors, including career (p = 0.001), Saudi region (p = 0.025), possession of an organ donation card (p = 0.000), and a history of transplantation or organ donation among relatives (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study highlights the urgent need for increased awareness to bolster the number of local heart donors. The involvement of healthcare professionals and social campaigns is essential to enhance public knowledge and potentially boost the willingness of individuals to become donors.
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Background Hemorrhage after trauma is the second leading cause of death in patients in the prehospital environment, and intervention by bystanders before the arrival of professional rescuers has the potential to save lives in such circumstances. No studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia till date to assess the knowledge and awareness of bleeding control by bystanders. Hence, this study was conducted with an aim to assess the level of awareness, attitude, and willingness toward bleeding control by bystanders in Riyadh city, the capital of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methodology This is an observational cross-sectional survey design that was conducted from July 2022 to August 2022 using an electronic questionnaire targeting populations who live in Riyadh city. MS Excel 2022 was used for data entry and coding, while SPSS Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used for data analysis. Results In this study, 585 adults from Riyadh city were recruited. Among the participants, 62.9% of them were between 16 and 26 years of age; 55.4% were males and 90.3% were Saudi Arabian citizens. Of the participants, 76.1% reported that they did not have any experience in participation in bleeding control related activity. Fear of causing more harm to the patients by attempting bleeding control was expressed by 65.1%. In general, 40.2% of the participants have adequate knowledge considering controlling of bleeding in an emergency setting. Higher level of education and having a previous first aid training were associated with better knowledge significantly (p=0.001 and 0.012, respectively). Conclusion There is a great need to improve the level of awareness about the role of bystanders in bleeding control and to design community-level activities to popularize this important life-saving skill.
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BACKGROUND: Nowadays patients are encouraged to partake in healthcare decision making and patient preferences are given increasing weight. Patient's choice is important to reduce waiting time and to encourage competition between providers, as most patients look for high-quality care while minimizing costs, according to different studies this may not be as simple as the attributes and factors that patients value when selecting a hospital or surgeon. Overall, Saudi Arabia has minimal research on how patients select surgeons or surgical facilities. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to evaluate the criteria Saudi population patients used to select their surgeons. OBJECTIVE: The objective is to determine the relative importance of the following aspects that patients may consider when selecting a surgeon: (a) physician-related considerations; (b) elements relating to healthcare service and access; (c) the perspectives of patients on various factors. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study attempts to investigate the criteria that people in Saudi Arabia considered most important while selecting their surgeons. This study was conducted between August and November 2022. The questionnaire is also given in English along with Arabic. RESULTS: Six hundred nine completed the survey with a response rate of 91.6%. Concerning physician-related factors considered when choosing a surgeon attitudes of the physician were the factor most significantly contributed to physician selection rather than reputation or professional experience and physician social media: (84.7%) mentioned that paying attention to patient's needs and opinions is important; sparing enough time for patients is important as reported by 83.9% of the participants; Personal care and hygiene is important for 83.4% of the participants; Communication skills were considered to be important as stated by 82.6% of the participants. Regarding healthcare services/access-related factors considered by patients in physician selection; it was found that patients considered hospital hygiene-cleanliness (91.3 %) as the most significant healthcare service/access-related factor in physician selection and then it comes Ease of obtaining an appointment (89.7%), reasonable scheduling and wait for time (87.7%) and cost of surgery (82.1%). Physician selection was deemed crucial to the success of the therapy by 87.7% of patients, while 88.3% of patients thought it was crucial to research the doctor before contacting her or him for the current admission. CONCLUSION: Patients consider a wide range of variables when selecting their surgeons and the location of their procedure. Depending on sociodemographic, cultural, and other aspects, the conditions surrounding patients' decisions may vary. Overall, the selection of a surgeon by surgery patients appears to be more influenced by the doctor's attitudes than by his or her reputation, professional experience, or social media presence. In order to elicit preferences across a wider range of surgical subspecialties and patient demographics, more study is necessary.
