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Faisal Minshawi,1 Mohammed Samannodi,2 Hassan Alwafi,3 Hamza M Assaggaf,1 Mohammed A Almatrafi,4 Emad Salawati,5 Radi Alsafi,1 Ruba A Alharbi,3 Raghad F Alduais,3 Muruj Alrehaili,3 Shahad Tariq,3 Rahaf Alghamdi,3 Shumok Almatrfi3 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 3Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Pediatrics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Mohammed Samannodi, Email mssamannodi@uqu.edu.saIntroduction: Influenza vaccination is the primary control measure for severe complications caused by influenza viruses. Moreover, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia recommends vaccinating people at risk against influenza to minimise co-infection risk with SARS-CoV2. Therefore, this study aims to assess the Saudi population’s knowledge, attitude, and practice toward influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seasonal influenza vaccination.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey in Saudi Arabia between July to August 2021. Participants were invited to complete the questionnaire through a survey link sent to social media platforms.Results: A total of 2410 participants were included in this study. Our data demonstrate a lack of practice, attitude, and knowledge, especially on the influenza virus’s symptoms, viral transmission, and vaccine efficacy. Moreover, this study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted seasonal influenza vaccination in the Saudi population by 1.5-times compared to the previous years.Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has increased the hesitancy of Saudi participants in influenza vaccination due to the lack of knowledge. As the pandemic of COVID-19 is fading, awareness campaigns are needed to encourage the public about the importance of receiving the influenza vaccine, especially for those at high risk each year.Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, influenza vaccine, vaccine hesitancy

Hearing impairment is a prevalent disabling condition among children; all newborns should undergo a universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS). Unfortunately, many newborns who fail the screening test are lost to follow-up. Our study aims to evaluate parents’ perceptions of UNHS and to identify predictors for newborn hearing screening recall in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study involving Saudi parents with 0-to-18-year-old children born in Saudi Arabia was conducted. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to describe the participants’ characteristics and to identify UNHS recall predictors. A total of 1533 parents were surveyed. Overall, 29.9% of them recalled a hearing screening at birth, while 22.2% reported no hearing screening, and 47.8% were unable to remember. Only (6.9%) participants reported a failed hearing screening, of which 75.9% recalled a follow-up recommendation. Females, parents aged 30–34 years, consanguineous parents, and parents of newborns who were treated with antibiotics were more likely to recall hearing screening compared to others. This study highlights inadequate awareness of UNHS among parents. Our findings support the need to improve the reporting system of UNHS results and implement educational programs to increase parents’ recall of hearing test results and ensure early follow-ups for neonates with failed test results.

Mohammed A Almatrafi,1 Lama Sindi,2 Malak Alshehri,2 Esraa Sendi,2 Ghufran Sindi,2 Ghaida Alzahrani,2 Joud Alwan,2 Emad Salawati,3 Hassan Alwafi,4 Faisal Minshawi,5 Rafat Mosalli,1 Mohammed Samannodi6 1Department of Pediatrics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2Medical College of Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Mohammed Samannodi, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966548293937, Fax +966125502188, Email Samannodi@gmail.comBackground: Parent’s misconceptions or lack of knowledge about childhood urinary tract infections (UTIs) can negatively impact their children’s health. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the childhood urinary tract infections awareness and understanding among parents in Saudi Arabia.Patients and Methods: An online validated cross-sectional survey of parents in Saudi Arabia was conducted from August to September 2021. Study participants who met the inclusion criteria were selected using a convenience sampling technique. A questionnaire with two domains was used to assess parental awareness of childhood urinary tract infection symptoms, complications, treatment, prevention, epidemiology, and diagnosis. The total childhood urinary tract infections awareness scores were classified into three categories: low awareness, moderate awareness, and high awareness. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the data distribution. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the relationship between parental awareness about urinary tract infections in children and other variables. Statistical significance was established at 0.05.Results: Of the 1688 parents who completed the survey, 1289 (76.4%) were female, 1581 (93.7%) were married, and 1161 (68.8) had a university degree. Parent’s total awareness scores were high; however, individual domain scores indicate a moderate level of knowledge. Statistically significant relationship were observed between total awareness and gender, occupation, and level of educational level ((P=0.004, P=0.001, P=0.007, respectively). Another statistically significant relationship was noted between the history of urinary tract infections and awareness of disease prevention (P=0.009).Conclusion: In Saudi Arabia, parental knowledge about childhood urinary tract infections is moderate to high. However, future studies are needed to investigate gender, educational, and occupational variations in childhood UTI knowledge among parents in Saudi Arabia.Keywords: urinary tract infections, awareness, parents, childhood

Hassan Alwafi,1,2 Reham Alwafi,3 Abdallah Y Naser,4 Mohammed Samannodi,1 Dalia Aboraya,5 Emad Salawati,6 Afnan Alqurashi,7 Rakan Ekram,8 Abdullah R Alzahrani,1 Abdulelah M Aldhahir,9 Hamza Assaggaf,10 Mohammed Almatrafi11 1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Abidiyah, P.O.Box 13578, Makkah 21955 Saudi Arabia; 2Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan; 5Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 7Independent Researcher, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 8School of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 9Respiratory Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 10Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 11Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Hassan Alwafi, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Abidiyah, P.O. Box 13578, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966 555544319, Email hhwafi@uqu.edu.saBackground: Previous studies investigating the impact of social media influencers on food consumption are limited. Therefore, this study explores the influence of social media on people’s health choices to understand the consequences of food consumption among the Saudi community.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia between 24 June and 20 July 2021. A convenience sample of eligible participants was used to recruit the study participants. A 32-items questionnaire was distributed via social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram). In addition, significant predictors of people being affected by social media to change diet and living with obesity were determined using binary logistic regression.Results: A total of 1124 participants were involved in this study. More than half of them (57.8%) were females and aged below 40 years (57.4%). The study participants’ median body mass index (BMI) was 27.4 kg/m2 (IQR: 23.5– 32.5). Around one-third of the study participants (36.6%) reported following influencers on social media. The median attitude score for the study participants was 15.00 (IQR: 1.00– 27.00) out of 72, equal to 20.8%, which highlights that social media influence the diet of around one-fifth of the study participants. Males were less likely to be affected by social media than females (OR: 0.51; (95% CI: 0.40– 0.65). Participants with obesity and participants who had tried a diet to lose weight were more likely to be affected by social media, with odds ratios of 2.14, and 4.83, respectively. Followers of social media influencers were 10-folds more likely to be affected by social media than others.Conclusion: This study showed that social media might influence the food consumption manner in the Saudi population.Keywords: social media, obesity, food consumption, Saudi Arabia, Twitter, Snapchat

Mohammed Samannodi,1 Adeeb Bulkhi,1 Hassan Alwafi,2 Rahaf Bukhari,2 Emad Salawati,3 Bayan Hafiz,2 Faisal Minshawi,4 Maryam Dahlawi,2 Sara Kamfar,5 Hanan Halawani,6 Abdallah Y Naser,7 Roaa Mandora,2 Mohamad Alshekh Ali,8 Mohammed A Almatrafi9 1Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 6Computer Science Department, College of Computer Science and Information Systems, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Isra University, Amman, Jordan; 8Department of Medicine, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Pediatrics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Hassan Alwafi, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, 24381, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966555544319, Email hhwafi@uqu.edu.saBackground: As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has made a tremendous impact on medical education and healthcare institutions, we aimed to measure effects of online classes on medical students’ comprehension in comparison with attending campus classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional survey has been conducted between September 2020 and June 2021 in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The Convenience sampling technique was conducted to collect the data from medical students in their basic and clinical years, using a questionnaire that involved 45 multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions.Results: Out of 3700 questionnaires, 922 completed the questionnaires from 11 different medical schools. Umm AL-Qura University had the highest response rate with 232 responses (25.2%), followed by King Abdulaziz University with 186 responses (20.2%). The majority of institutions preferred Blackboard and Zoom as platforms for e-learning. A total of 355 (38.5%) believed that it resulted in higher academic achievement, whereas 555 (60.2%) of students believed the limitation of clinical access was one of the biggest disadvantages of e-learning. Overall, 518 (56.2%) of students did not want to continue using e-learning on its own in the future. Whereas 668 (72.5%) wished to keep using e-learning in combination with traditional learning.Conclusion: According to our findings, advantages of e-learning vary among students. Most of the students thought e-learning to be an interactive system that provides a learning opportunity. In contrast, many of the students believed that there were many disadvantages regarding online teaching methods.Keywords: COVID-19, e-learning, students, online, learning

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) responsible for a catastrophic global pandemic. The complexity of COVID-19 is centred on the unpredictable course of the disease, which can rapidly develop from patients being asymptomatic to having life-threatening symptoms. The unpredictable disease severity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been a major problem facing the healthcare system during the pandemic. Identifying the laboratory biomarkers would help predict SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. This study focused on the previous literature regarding three laboratory biomarker profiles: haematological, inflammatory, and biochemical biomarkers.A retrospective study of COVID-19 patients was conducted between May 2020 and September 2020 to determine the predictors of hospitalization (severity) in COVID-19 patients. Patients were divided into two groups: those admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU, severe) and those admitted to a non-ICU (stable). Patients' data were obtained from their medical records at Al Noor Specialist Hospital and East Arafat Hospital in Saudi Arabia.A total of 487 patients with COVID-19, including 304 males and 183 females, were investigated in this study. A total of 217 patients were admitted to the ICU. Patients admitted to the ICU had a higher prevalence of chronic comorbidities than non-ICU patients. D-dimer, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were more elevated in patients admitted to the ICU compared to non-ICU patients.Chronic comorbidities are a significant predictor for admission to the ICU. Moreover, tests for D-dimer, WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, CRP, LDH, and ALT could be used to predict patients' admission to the ICU.

Emad Salawati,1 Hassan Alwafi,2,3 Mohammed Samannodi,4 Faisal Minshawi,5 Atheer Gari,6 Suhail Abualnaja,6 Mohammed A Almatrafi7 1Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 3Alnoor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 6Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Pediatrics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Emad SalawatiDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi ArabiaTel +966560058585Fax +966126400855Email esalawati@kau.edu.saPurpose: To explore the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on caregivers’ willingness to vaccinate their children against influenza in 2021 in Saudi Arabia and the factors influencing this decision.Patients and Methods: An online survey of 2501 caregivers in Saudi Arabia with children aged 6 months– 18 years was conducted between July 15, 2021, and August 2, 2021. A convenience sample of participants that met the inclusion criteria was used as the study sample. Social Science Package Statistical (SPSS) was used for the statistical analysis. Categorical variables were reported as frequencies and percentages. The Chi-square test was used for categorical variables to assess the difference between the variables and the parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children against seasonal influenza after the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Of the 2501 respondents to the survey, 1185 (47.3%) parents plan to give their children the influenza vaccine next year, which is an increase from 745 (29.8%) in the previous year. The following were the main reasons for not giving children the vaccine: children were less likely to get seasonal flu (617, 24.7%), fear of side effects (491, 19.6%), and fear of needles and syringes (484, 19.4%). Among the parents, 1222 (48.9%) were more likely to receive the seasonal flu vaccine themselves the following year, and 1361 (54.4%), which is more than half, were concerned about their children contracting seasonal influenza.Conclusion: Parents’ decision-making to vaccinate their children against seasonal influenza has been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous factors including a caregiver who had received the seasonal influenza vaccine themselves, who had vaccinated or planned to vaccinate their children during the previous or current seasonal influenza season, and/or who had a higher education level were associated with increased willingness to receive the flu vaccine.Keywords: seasonal flu, novel coronavirus, immunization, COVID-19