Gaps in knowledge and practice for familial hypercholesterolemia among physicians caring for children in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited genetic disorder that can lead to an early-onset cardiovascular disease if left untreated. Proper awareness of FH among physicians, particularly those taking care of children can facilitate early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. However, data regarding the knowledge, awareness, and practices of physicians in relation to FH are limited worldwide, so we aimed to explore this aspect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians who would potentially treat pediatric patients at governmental hospitals and primary health care centers in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 28 questions that assessed the physicians' knowledge, awareness, and practices related to FH was distributed among the participants. RESULTS: In total, 148 physicians were recruited, including pediatricians, family physicians, and primary care physicians (males vs. females, 52.7% vs. 47.3%; most common age group, 31-40 years [44.6%]), of which 46.6% were familiar with FH. The total mean knowledge score was 5.54 (standard deviation, 3.12) out of 15 points, with 53.4%, 36.5%, and 10.1% of the participants showing inadequate, moderate, and adequate knowledge levels, respectively. The knowledge score was significantly better in the older age group (H=16.155; p=0.01) and among pediatric endocrinologists (H=16.155; p=0.001), while it was significantly lower among resident physicians (H=6.575; p=0.037) and those who had been practicing for 1-5 years (H=5.329; p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: The current study established significant gaps in the awareness, knowledge, and practices related to FH. Pediatric endocrinologists had the best levels of knowledge of FH. These findings emphasize the need for more extensive educational programs regarding the screening, diagnosis, and management of FH.

Effect of honey dressing material on palatal wound healing after harvesting a free gingival graft: a prospective randomized case control study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this prospective randomized case-control study was to understand the clinical benefits and effect of honey as a dressing material on palatal wound healing after harvesting free gingival graft (FGG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective randomized case-control study was conducted on a sample of 20 patients with 10 patients in each group. Medihoney dressing material was applied to the donor site in the test group, whereas no dressing material was applied to the control group. All the patients received the same medication (Ibuprofen 600 mg) and post-operative instructions straight away after the surgical procedure. Patients were given the follow-up appointment at first, second and fourth week after the surgery during which the length and the width of the donor site was measured and recorded. RESULTS: At first week, a significant difference in the proportion of patients showing the healing of donor site percentage was found to be 56% (both in width and length) for test group vs. 44% (both in width and length) for the control group (p=0.001). At 4-week, the healing of donor site percentage was found to be 86% (in width) and 91% (in length) for test group vs. 14% (in width) and 9% (in length) for the control group, the difference being statistically significant (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The result of this current study suggests that the honey dressing material accelerated the wound healing process of the palatal wound after harvesting FGG. It also showed a shorter recovery period along with less post-operative morbidity.