Low back pain and its correlations with poor sleep quality among health care providers.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationship between low back pain (LBP) and sleep quality among health care workers in KSA. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous questionnaire consisting of three sections was administered to health care providers in KSA. The first part included the biographic data of participants, while the second comprised the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the extended version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ-E) for LBP. The third part contained the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS: A total of 442 healthcare providers completed the questionnaire. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents were male (62.7%). Most were living in either the central region (23.3%) or the northern region (23.3%). There was a statistically significant correlation between the global PSQI and ODI score (r = 0.235; p < 0.001). The correlation between ODI score and PSQI components including subjective sleep quality (r = 0.229; p = 0.007), habitual sleep efficiency (r = 0.229; p < 0.01), and the daytime dysfunction was also statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Health care providers in KSA with high rating for LBP disability demonstrated poorer overall sleep quality and vice versa. However, further research is essential to investigate whether this relationship is causal.

The Correlation Between Surgical Procedures and Quality of Life Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Perspective Saudi Study.

INTRODUCTION: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is among the common prevalent diseases in Saudi Arabia. It is associated with several complications that sometimes necessitate surgical procedures. Those patients can also have a lower quality of life (QoL) due to several reasons. Our aim in this study is to highlight the association between sociodemographic data, clinical data, and SCD-related surgeries in patients with their QoL. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed using a validated Arabic version of the World Health Organization QoL-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire distributed in electronic form. Male and female Arabic speakers (18+ years old) of Saudi origin were included in this study; those who did not meet these criteria were excluded. RESULTS: We distributed 309 questionnaires to the targeted subjects; however, only 204 met our inclusion criteria. Our findings revealed 135 female respondents and 69 male respondents. Interestingly, splenectomy was not significantly associated with a difference in all aspects of QoL in SCD patients. However, the data showed significantly lower respective mean scores for physical health (p=0.002 & p=0.022) and overall QoL (p=0.024 & p=0.042) for those who underwent cholecystectomy and hip arthroplasty. In contrast, shoulder arthroplasty appeared to be associated with significantly lower mean scores for physical health (T=-2.597; p=0.010) and the environmental aspect of QoL (T=-2.016; p=0.045). CONCLUSION: Cholecystectomy, hip arthroplasty, and shoulder arthroplasty were significantly associated with lower QoL in SCD patients.

Survival From Ninety-Five Percent Total Body Surface Area Burn: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Burns can be devastating and result in unwanted consequences with prolonged length of hospital stay. The mortality rate increases as the total body surface area increases, so proper management of patients with extensive degrees of burns is crucial for their survival. We present the hospital course, management, and survival of a patient after he sustained a 95% total body surface area, second-degree burn from a gas flame. Furthermore, we present from the literature different cases of patients with large total body surface area burns and survived after being managed in burns specialty centers. Although large total body surface area burns can result in significant morbidity and mortality, early management and intervention by an expert surgical team can result in positive outcomes.

Clinical and Laboratory Predictors of Painful Vaso-Occlusive Crisis Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Single-Center Study in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) episodes are considered to be the cause of 95% of hospitalizations for sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. The frequency of VOC is significantly associated with higher or lower lactate dehydrogenase levels, higher hemoglobin concentration, higher white blood cell, and neutrophil count, and lower platelet counts. In this study, we highlighted the association and predictors of VOC episodes in Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a retrospective observational study that was conducted in a period from January 2018 to December 2019 which included patients who were admitted and treated as sickle cell disease patients were included in this study. Retrieved data included patients' age, sex, and other demographic data items as well as the clinical history of SCD. The patients were divided into two groups. Those patients who developed one or two VOC episodes in the period between 2018-2019 were considered mild in severity and patients who developed three or more VOC episodes in the period between 2018-2019 were categorized as moderate to severe. Results A total of ninety-four patients (58 males and 36 females) with a male to female ratio of 1.6 were included in this study. The prevalence of patients who had severe vaso-occlusive crisis was 39.4% while mild-moderate were detected among 60.6% of the patients. It was found that there was no significant difference between the frequency of vaso-occlusive crisis and all the hematological parameters (all p>0.05). It was found that the risk of having vaso-occlusive crisis for those patients who were admitted more than three times was 30 times higher than those patients who were admitted by three times or less [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 30.081; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 8.204 - 110.3; p<0.001)]. Conclusion It was found that those patients who had three times VOC episodes in our studied period are more liable to have frequent episodes in the future which might necessitate urgent intervention for these patients.

Telemedicine for Musculoskeletal Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evaluating Readiness of Saudi Citizens.

INTRODUCTION: Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was announced as a global pandemic, it has become important to control the pandemic with several approaches, including limiting hospital visits. Telemedicine is a good option to help reduce in-person visits during the pandemic. Saudi Arabia has prepared for this pandemic by implementing applications, such as Tetamman and Seha. In this study, we aimed to determine the readiness of the Saudi population to use telemedicine for musculoskeletal care during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2020 to October 2020. The study used a predesigned, self-administered questionnaire with acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.79). A questionnaire with 30 questions was distributed electronically and randomly to the Saudi population. The included participants were Arabic speakers, Saudis, and men or women age 18 years or older. RESULTS: A total of 635 respondents, of which 250 were men (39.4%) and 385 were women (60.6%), completed the questionnaire. The most common region of residence was the Central region (41.6%), followed by the Eastern region (28%). The proportions of patients who had knowledge about virtual clinics and who used a virtual clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic were 47.6% and 30.4%, respectively. The mean overall attitude score was 24.4 (standard deviation, 9.9) of 35 points; negative, neutral, and positive attitudes were reported among 9.9%, 54.3%, and 35.7% of respondents, respectively. Compared with the older population, younger-aged participants (≤25 years) had significantly more positive attitudes about virtual clinics (χ2=6.068; p=0.048). Those respondents who had never been married showed significantly more positive attitudes about virtual clinics compared with those who had been married (χ2=6.695; p=0.035). CONCLUSIONS: The studied Saudi population shows a moderate level of acceptance of the concept of using telemedicine in musculoskeletal conditions, but some issues about patient access and understanding of the technology remain unaddressed.

Reasons for Hospitalization of Sickle Cell Disease Patients in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: A Single-Center Study.

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is among the prevalent chronic diseases in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. To our knowledge, there is no published research that reports the reasons for hospitalization in the Eastern Province of the country. Therefore, this study aimed to fill this gap. DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study that was conducted in the period from January 2018 to December 2019. Patients with sickle cell disease who were admitted and treated in the hospital were included in this study. Patients' sociodemographic data and reasons for hospitalization were collected and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences, version 21 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: There were 103 SCD patients, and the age range was from 18 to 62 years old. The majority of the patients were males (56.3%) and were in the younger age group (≤30 years old; 60.2%). The results showed that the most frequent cause of admission was a vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) (n=94, 91.3%), followed by acute chest syndrome (ACS) (n=32, 31.1%), and then by hemolytic crisis (27 of the cases; 26.2%). However, we found that a higher number of hip avascular necrosis (AVN) cases were statistically significant in relation to the higher number of hospital admissions (p<0.05), whereas other reasons were not found to have a statistically significant association. CONCLUSION: The most frequent cause of admission was VOC episodes, followed by ACS, and then by hemolytic crises. Also, a higher number of hip AVN episodes were statistically significant with the higher number of hospital admissions.