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Background COVID-19 is a major cause of illness and mortality. The management of COVID-19-related illnesses might change if variables connected to their severity and the requirement for ICU admission could be found. The severity of COVID-19 might be efficiently predicted with several laboratory measures, such as ferritin levels and D-dimer analysis. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum D-dimer and ferritin levels and their effects on mortality in patients with COVID-19. Methods This retrospective observational study included all patients with positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results for COVID-19 who were hospitalized in the Ministry of Health South Al-Qunfudah General Hospital between March and September 30, 2020. Their laboratory parameters, serum D-dimer, and ferritin levels were evaluated. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0 (released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was used to analyze the data. Results A total of 318 COVID-19 patients were analyzed; 56.9% (n=181) were male and 43.1% (n=137) were female. Of these, 78.6% (n=250) survived, including 58% of men and 42% of women. The mean D-dimer was 2.1 mcg/mL (SD=3.16) and the mean ferritin was 698.59 ng/mL (SD=603.11). Non-recovered patients were substantially older (66.16 years old) and had higher D-dimer (5.46) mcg/mL and ferritin levels (992.96) ng/mL. Intubation length and gender did not affect survival. Of the non-survivors, 95.6% (n=239) were admitted to the ICU, and 50% (n=34) required mechanical ventilation. Conclusions COVID-19 infection mortality dramatically increased with older age and increased mean ferritin and plasma D-dimer values, which were significantly higher in COVID-19 non-survivors than in survivors. Therefore, assessing and monitoring these laboratory markers in the early stages of the disease may have a significant impact on preventing disease progression and death.
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The correlation between nocturnal enuresis (NE) and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was reported. We aim to determine whether there is an association between NE and SDB in children and to assess the prevalence of SDB and NE in primary school children aged 6-12 years in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among the caregivers of children aged 6-12 years in all Saudi Arabia regions. The data were gathered through a self-administered online questionnaire. It included demographic information, weight and height, and associated comorbidities, in addition to the weekly frequencies of snoring symptoms and of enuresis, as well as of unrefreshing sleep using Likert-type response scales. Counts and percentages, the mean ± standard deviation, chi-square test, independent samples t-test, and regression analysis were used in the statistical analysis using R v 3.6.3. The questionnaire was completed by 686 respondents. Most respondents did not report any comorbidities in their children (77.1%). Asthma and adenotonsillar hypertrophy were reported in 16.2% and 15.6% of children, respectively. Unrefreshing sleep, mouth breathing at night, snoring, chronic nasal obstruction, and difficulty breathing while asleep were reported once or twice per week in 38%, 34%, 28%, 18%, and 18% of children, respectively. The prevalence of NE was 22.3%, with about 36.6% of children having NE two or more times per week. Significantly, NE was reported in 26.6% of children who slept before 10 PM compared to 19% of children who slept after 10 PM; in 28.6% of children who snored or loudly snored (57.1%) three times or more per week; and in 51.2% and 27.5% of children with difficulty breathing while asleep and who breathed through their mouth at night for one or two nights per week, respectively. A multivariable regression analysis showed that male gender (OR = 1.52, p = 0.010), obesity (OR = 1.24, p = 0.028), early sleeping time (OR = 1.40, p = 0.048), loud snoring for three or more nights per week (OR = 1.54, p = 0.001), difficulty breathing for one or two nights per week (OR = 1.85, p = 0.010), and mouth breathing at night for one or two nights per week (OR = 1.55, p = 0.049) were associated with higher odds of NE. Our study revealed that 22.3% of primary school children reported suffering from NE. SDB is a common problem among children with NE. The exact mechanism that links SDB to the increase in the risk of NE is unknown. Male gender, obesity, early sleeping time, loud snoring, difficulty breathing, and mouth breathing at night are potential independent risk factors of NE in school-age children.
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BACKGROUND: Gynecomastia, defined as a benign proliferation of the breasts in males, is a common pathology of breasts among adolescent males. The root cause behind the condition is the hormonal imbalance between androgens and estrogens at the time of puberty. Different treatment options can be used; however, surgery is the preferred option. The quality of life (QoL) of affected Individuals is usually affected in all aspects. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to assess the QoL of male Saudi patients diagnosed with gynecomastia and their desire to undergo surgical treatment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an Arabic self-administered online questionnaire that targeted males in Saudi Arabia and was distributed throughout the kingdom. RESULTS: A total of 681 participants were involved in this study. Most of the participants were Saudi (n = 607; 90.6%) and married (n = 158; 79%). Approximately, half of the participants were between 18 and 29 years of age (n = 337; 49.5%), while 41.1% and 9.3% were between 30 and 49 years and more than 50 years old, respectively. About 29.5% of the participants were from the middle region, while 26.7% of them were from the northern region, followed by 19.5% of participants from the western region, and only 14.4% and 9.8% from the eastern or southern region. On analysis of different domains, there was no statistically significant difference between participants with gynecomastia and the control group in QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Patients showed no statistically significant change in the QoL between those diagnosed with gynecomastia and those in the control group. Also, more than one-third of our patients did not want to undergo breast reduction surgery.
