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Background The demand for cosmetic procedures has increased significantly due to their positive effects on self-satisfaction. However, individuals often underestimate the potential complications associated with these procedures, driven by a strong desire for transformation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the Madinah community's awareness of cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery, as well as to assess the risks, complications, and clinical outcomes associated with these procedures. Materials and methods A non-probability consecutive sampling method was employed to select study participants, including every patient who met the inclusion criteria until the target sample size was reached, between March and June 2023. An intervener-based questionnaire survey was conducted to assess participant's understanding of the severity and associated risks of cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery. The minimum required sample size was determined to be 82 using OpenEpi version 3 software. Data were analyzed using t-tests, chi-square tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) as appropriate. Results The study included 82 participants, with 48.80% aged between 18 and 30 years and only 3.7% of them were male. The majority were of Saudi nationality (86.60%). While most participants (82.9%) were aware of cosmetic procedures and their risks, 28% lacked knowledge about potential complications, highlighting a notable knowledge gap. Some of the participants reported underlying health conditions such as obesity (8.5%), diabetes (3.7%), asthma (3.7%), and hypertension (2.4%), along with family histories of hereditary diseases (37.8%) and allergies (15.9%). The most common complications were facial swelling (63.41%), bruising (51.22%), rashes (30.49%), and subcutaneous blood pooling (19.51%). Less frequent complications included infections (15.85%) and reduced facial expressions (9.76%). Conclusion The study revealed that most participants demonstrated an overall awareness of the potential complications associated with cosmetic procedures. The commonly recognized complications of cosmetic facial procedures included swelling, bruising, rash, subcutaneous blood pooling, and infection. However, no specific factors related to the planning of facelift procedures were identified., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Approval was obtained from Al-Rayan National College of Medicine, Medical Research Ethics Review Board, Al Rayan Medical Colleges issued approval HA-03-M-122-039. Institutional review board approval was granted by the Research Ethics Review Board at Al Rayan Medical Colleges (Approval No. HA-03-M-122-039). Written consent was obtained from all participants, all of whom were over 18 years old. Data were collected through an online questionnaire available in both English and Arabic. Validation was based on a previously conducted study (Sorensen CP, Urman C: Cosmetic complications: rare and serious events following botulinum toxin and soft tissue filler administration. J Drugs Dermatol. 2015, 14:486-91). Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Babikir et al.)

Background The global impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted the activities of medical and health profession education institutions. This study aimed to determine the impact of COVID-19 on medical and health profession education students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward preventive measures and their commitment to precautionary measures before, during, and after the pandemic. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to March 2023 using an online, structured, validated questionnaire survey to gather information from medical and health sciences students from three universities, encompassing five colleges in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The minimum required sample size was estimated using the Epi Info software as 380. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 (Released 2011; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Statistical tests including Student's t-test, chi-squared test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were applied. Results The findings revealed that personal experiences with COVID-19 infection had a significant impact on students' attitudes and commitment to preventive measures (p<0.05). Among the participants, 172 students (45%) reported having contracted COVID-19. Students with clinical exposure showed a higher level of understanding and adherence to preventive measures (248 students, 68%), compared to pre-clinical students (198 students, 52%) (p<0.05). Positive attitudes were observed toward practices such as sneezing etiquette (289 students, 76%) and flu vaccination (314 students, 83%) (p<0.05). However, negative attitudes were observed toward mask-wearing (155 students, 41%) and social distancing (144 students, 38%), particularly among male students (p<0.05). Conclusion The study provided valuable insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical and health sciences students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward preventive measures and the importance of introducing COVID-19 prevention measures in the pre-clinical phase as well as mental health support to promote positive attitudes and enhance adherence to preventive measures., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Babikir et al.)

Objectives: This study was performed to determine the prevalence of uropathogens causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) and to determine their pattern of antimicrobial resistance., Methods: This study was conducted on 273 urine samples collected from outpatient departments (OPDs) of Qassim University affiliated hospitals. Fully automated VITEK 2 compact system was used in the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of causative microorganisms., Results: Of 273 urine samples, only 89 (32.6%) were found to show significant growth for UTI, and overall, drug resistance was found in 92% ( n = 82/89) of samples, with most (80%) being resistant to at least two drugs. Antibiotic resistance was commonly observed in ampicillin (88.3%), piperacillin (72.7%), clindamycin (66.7%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (66.2%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (50%). The commonly isolated microorganisms were Escherichia coli 24 (27%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 11 (12.4%), Proteus mirabilis 4 (4.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4 (4.5%), Enterobacter cloacae 5 (5.6%) , Enterococcus faecalis 5 (5.6%), and Staphylococcus saprophyticus 3 (3.4%)., Conclusions: This research work has shown that patients with UTI in Qassim are at high risk of antibiotic resistance. The work also showed that multidrug-resistant bacteria can lead to momentous therapeutic problems in OPD patients.

Background: The defense mechanisms of the urinary tract are attributed mainly to the innate immune system and the urinary tract urothelium which represent the first line of defense against invading pathogens and maintaining sterility of the urinary tract. There are only a few publications regarding cathelicidin (LL-37) and a urinary tract infection (UTI). This study was done to investigate the plasma and urine levels of human LL-37 in patients with UTI., Methods: A case-control study was conducted at Omdurman Hospital, Sudan during the period from August 2014 to May 2017. The cases were patients with confirmed UTI and the controls were healthy volunteers without UTI. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained from each participant using questionnaires. Urine cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility were tested. Plasma and urine levels of LL-37 were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. SPSS (version 16.0) was used for analyses., Results: Cases and controls (87 in each arm) were matched according to their basic characteristics. Compared with controls, the median (inter-quartile) LL-37 level in plasma [2.100 (1.700-2.700) vs. 1.800 (1.000-2.200) ng/ml, P = 0.002] and in urine [0.900 (0.300-1.600) vs. 0.000 (0.000-1.000) ng/mg creatinine, P < 0.001] was significantly higher in cases. There was no significant difference in the median plasma [2.1 (1.7-2.9) vs. 2.000 (1.700-2.400) ng/ml, P = 0.561] and urine [0.850 (0.275-2.025) vs. 0.900 (0.250-1.350) ng/mg creatinine, P = 0.124]. The uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) was the predominant isolate, n = 38 (43.7%). LL-37 levels between the E. coli isolates and the other isolated organisms. There was no significant correlation between plasma and urine LL-37 levels (r = 0.221), even when the data of the cases were analyzed separately., Conclusion: LL-37 is notably increased among patients with UTI compared with normal control subjects. Severity of UTI increases the levels of LL-37. The increased level was not only in the patient's urine, but has also been observed in the patient's plasma. Detection of increased levels of LL-37 could help to differentiate subjects with suspected UTI. Accordingly, LL-37 could act as a good marker for diagnosing UTIs.

Background: Onychomycosis is mainly caused by dermatophytes, but yeasts and nondermatophyte molds have also been implicated, giving rise to diverse clinical presentations. The aetiological agents of the disease may show geographic variation., Aim: The aim of the present study was to isolate the causative pathogens and to correlate the various clinical patterns of onychomycosis with causative pathogens., Materials and Methods: The study population comprised 170 patients with clinical suspicion of onychomycosis. Nail samples were collected for direct microscopic examination and culture. Clinical patterns were noted and correlated with causative pathogens., Results: Out of total 170 cases included in the study, 140 (82.4%) were positive by microscopy and 77 (45.3%) showed positive mycological findings by both microscopy and culture. The male: female ratio was 1:2.5 and the mean age was 35.29 ± 16.47 years. Fingernails were involved in 51.9%, toenails in 28.6% and both fingernails and toenails in 19.5% of the 77 patients. The clinical types noted were distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (71.4%), proximal subungual onychomycosis (10.4%), total dystrophic onychomycosis (10.4%), superficial white onychomycosis (3.9%) and mixed pattern onychomycosis (3.9%). Yeasts were the most common pathogens isolated, being found in 36 patients (46.8%) followed by nondermatophyte molds which were isolated from 28 patients (36.4%) followed by dermatophytes which were isolated from 13 patients (16.9%)., Conclusion: Distal lateral subungual onychomycosis was the most common clinical presentation. Candida albicans, Aspergillus species and Tricophyton rubrum were the major pathogens. A single pathogen can give rise to more than one clinical type.