Giant cell arteritis: insights from a monocentric retrospective cohort study.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), more common in Northern European populations, has limited data in Arabcountries. Our study reports GCA's clinical manifestations in Jordan and reviews published research on GCA across Arab nations. In this retrospective analysis, GCA patients diagnosed from January 2007 to March 2019 at a Jordanian academic medical center were included through referrals for temporal artery biopsy (TAB). A comprehensive search in PubMed, Scopus, and the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) databases was conducted to identify all relevant English-language manuscripts from Arab countries on GCA without time limitations. Among 59 diagnosed GCA patients, 41 (69.5%) were clinically diagnosed with a negative TAB, and 19 (30.5%) had a positive result. Females comprised 74.6% (n = 44) with 1:3 male-female ratio. The mean age at diagnosis was 67.3 (± 9.5) years, with most presenting within two weeks (n = 40, 67.8%). Headache was reported by 54 patients (91.5%). Elevated ESR occurred in 51 patients (78%), with a mean of 81 ± 32.2 mm/hr. All received glucocorticoids for 13.1 ± 10 months. Azathioprine, Methotrexate, and Tocilizumab usage was 15.3% (n = 9), 8.5% (n = 5), and 3.4% (n = 2), respectively. Remission was observed in 57.6% (n=34), and 40.7% (n = 24) had a chronic clinical course on treatment. Males had higher biopsy-based diagnoses (p = .008), and biopsy-diagnosed patients were older (p = .043). The literature search yielded only 20 manuscripts originating in the Arab world. The predominant study types included case reports and retrospective analyses, with only one case series and onecase-control study.

Migration intent among Jordanian medical students: a nationwide cross-sectional investigation.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To investigate postgraduation emigration intents of medical students throughout different years and different universities in Jordan. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted via an online self-administered questionnaire from medical students in six schools of medicine in Jordan. Our questionnaire included two sections with questions regarding sociodemographic, intentions and reasons behind residency and fellowship abroad, and views on Jordanian residency programmes. RESULTS: Of a sample of 1006, 55.7% were females, and 90.7% were holding Jordanian citizenship. 85% and 63% of respondents intended to pursue residency and fellowship abroad, respectively. Intention to continue residency abroad was associated with males, expatriates and those living in urban areas. The main three destinations were the USA (37.4%), UK (22.3%) and Germany (16.6%). 30% of respondents intended to leave the country permanently, because of low salaries, poor education and lower ranking of Jordan residency programmes. When asked about ranking Jordanian residency programmes, it was found that on average, students ranked military hospitals first and government hospitals last with university hospitals being in second place and private hospitals in third. CONCLUSION: Unfortunately, a striking number of Jordanian medical students intended to leave the country postgraduation, which points towards the necessity for Ministry of health to take immediate actions to reduce the loss of our best students.