RESUMO
Background As the prevalence of COVID-19 recovery cases increased, patients started to notice new symptoms after being cured of the acute infection. We aimed to study the type of persistent symptoms post-COVID-19 infection, their prevalence, and factors that play a role in developing the post-COVID-19 symptoms among COVID-19 patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from the period of September 2021 to December 2021. Participants were contacted via a phone interview. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics, and p-values of ≤0.05 were considered significant. Results A total of 327 participants completed the study, of which 169 (51.7%) were male. Nearly half of the patients, 161 (49.09%), had persistent symptoms. The most common symptoms were loss of smell, loss of taste, cough, and fatigue (22.6%, 19.2%, 11.6%, and 9.1% respectively). They were followed by an equal percentage of shortness of breath, headache, and hair loss (7.3%). Gender was found to be significant in loss of smell, loss of taste, and hair loss, with p-values of 0.016, 0.018, and <0.001, respectively. Conclusion A large proportion of patients with COVID-19 developed persistent symptoms. The most common symptoms were loss of smell and taste, cough, and fatigue. Some factors played a role in acquiring post-COVID-19 symptoms, including gender and place of treatment. Gender was significantly associated with hair loss. Follow-up after recovery is required to maintain individual well-being.
RESUMO
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious worldwide health problem with a rising incidence and prevalence. CKD can lead to end-stage renal failure that increases the risk of death and requires dialysis or kidney transplantation. Patients' adherence, attitude, and knowledge are important to prevent and control CKD. The aim of this study was to investigate the awareness and knowledge about CKD and attitude toward kidney donation among the general population in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We surveyed the awareness about CKD among adult residents of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We used a self-administrated questionnaire that consisted of three sections; socio-demographic information, awareness about CKD, and attitude towards kidney donation. Simple descriptive statistics was employed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 software. The number of survey respondents was 268. More than half (53.7%) of the included participants knew that the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is a risk factor for CKD, whereas 54% thought that CKD could be diagnosed from a simple urine analysis, and 45% believed that lifestyle modifications can alter the course of the disease. Interestingly, most participants (57.4%) were ready to donate their kidney to a patient with end-stage renal disease, and 68.6% knew that patient can live with one kidney. The present study identifies a low rate of CKD awareness and calls for a need for awareness campaigns and other tools to strengthen knowledge dissemination. Improving public awareness about CKD needs to be addressed to help facilitate disease identification and prevention.