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Objectives Antibiotic usage has evolved over the years among the Arab population, and it has also gone under misuse resulting in the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Therefore, the current study aimed to address this issue by evaluating the level of knowledge and attitude of Arab population towards antibiotic usage and AMR to develop a pathway to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among Arab population, including 11 countries from the Middle East and North Africa. A validated and translated questionnaire, consisting of 34 questions, was adopted to achieve the study objectives. Two phases of data collection (online and offline) were performed, and SPSS was used for data analysis. Key findings Three thousand three hundred and nineteen participants were successfully recruited, and the mean age was 37.6 ± 11.73. Approximately 63% of participants wrongly answered they should stop antibiotics when they feel better, and 73.3% of them thought antibiotics could treat cold and flu. Nearly half of the respondents indicated that they were uncertain of how antibiotic resistance affects the body (48.1%), and they were unaware if it could affect them or their families (63.1%). While the majority of the respondents were prescribed antibiotics by a doctor, over half of them were not given any advice on how to take them. Our data showed a significant relationship between respondents' demographic data (e.g. country, age and education) and their knowledge and attitude. Conclusions Participants had poor knowledge of antibiotics and AMR; thus, efforts are needed to conduct health campaigns in public places and create and implement programmes aiming to raise knowledge and awareness of people in the Arab regions. These could aid to curb the risk of antibiotic resistance and increase the chance of successful treatment for infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this review was to assess and analyze the research output on intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke in the Arab world in the Middle East and North Africa., Methods: Published literature on intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke from 2008 to 2021 were retrieved from several electronic databases. Extracted records were analyzed in terms of year of publication, country, journal, research area, authors, and organizational affiliations., Results: A total of 37 studies were published between 2008 and 2021 from different Arab countries. Eight studies assessed the safety and efficacy of thrombolytic agents in AIS. Three studies were KAP studies addressing the knowledge, attitude and practice towards IVT. The majority of the selected studies (n=16) discussed the utilization rate of IVT among patients in different hospital settings across these countries. Ten studies reported the outcomes associated with the use of IVT for AIS., Conclusion: This is the first scoping review to study the research activity related to the use of IVT in stroke in the Arab nations. In the last 15 years, stroke research productivity was very low in the Arab world compared to other regions of the world due to several impeding factors. Given the high burden of in-adherence to acute stroke treatment in the Arab nations, there is a serious need for an increased high-quality research activity to highlight the roadblocks associated with the limited use of IVT., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)