Search

Background and Objectives: Blood donation is a remarkably safe medical procedure. However, it can easily be affected by attitudes, beliefs, and level of knowledge. A knowledgeable, attitudinal, and practical survey has been used in Albania, to understand and identify (1) The factors that influence blood donation, (2) the factors stopping people from blood donation, (3) the behavior and approach of the people toward blood donation in the future, (4) the knowledge level among donors and nondonors, and (5) misconceptions related to blood donation. Materials and Methods: This search was conducted on online surveys using Google Forms, which were shared through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Gmail, and a self-administered questionnaire was shared to random people through social media platforms. Results: Of the 858 people answering the questionnaire from Albania, only 32% of the people were blood donors. The motifs that encouraged the people in Albania mostly to donate were to help others in need and save lives and donations for family members. The main reasons preventing people from donation were the fact that they were not asked for and medical reasons. In Albania, 88.6% would donate if called upon. Conclusion: Some of these results reflected an encouraging attitude toward blood donation. Further future planning with emphasis on educational programs and more organizations of donor recruitment campaigns could result in an increase of donations and thus fulfilling the needs of the patients in the country but not only.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections and are associated with an increased rate of antimicrobial resistance in Saudi Arabia. Better knowledge of the most common pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance patterns will be useful for creating new treatment guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using suitable keywords to identify UTI publications until November 2022. Eligible studies were selected and analyzed. A total of 110 records were found, but only 58 articles were analyzed. Most studies were retrospective, and just a few were cross-sectional or prospective. The majority of the studies were conducted in the central region followed by the Eastern region. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. were the most common pathogens. There was a significant resistance rate against co-trimoxazole and ciprofloxacin. On the other hand, amikacin was one of the most effective antibiotics. Overall, only a few studies have been published on UTIs in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, not all regions have been represented, so the full scope of the issue is unknown. UTIs are still a major problem, and resistance has developed against commonly used antibiotics. Thus, large epidemiological studies are needed to battle the rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance.