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Oral mucositis is a severe ailment that causes erythema, edema, and ulceration of the oral mucosa, as well as pain and oral intake restrictions. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most often utilized cancer treatment options. Despite the fact that these treatments are used to improve a patient's quality of life, they are linked to a number of negative side effects. Oral mucositis is a common side effect in patients undergoing head and neck radiation therapy. While some chemotherapy-related side effects are being better managed, mucositis is becoming more common. Reducing patient risk factors, adopt proven preventative measures, and optimize supportive care practices targeted to the patients' needs and symptoms are all recommendations that can be made. In clinical practice and research, a variety of measures have been used to record the amount and severity of oral mucositis. The World Health Organization (WHO) scale is a simple, easy-to-use scale that can be used in clinical practice on a regular basis. There are multiple approaches for management of Mucositis. Cryotherapy, palifermin, and sucralfate are among the three therapies that showed statistically significant effect in avoiding or lowering the severity of mucositis according to reports. In this article we’ll be looking at Chemotherapy induced mucositis, its etiology, epidemiology, evaluation. And most importantly management.

The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a significant burden worldwide. The most common presentation of coronavirus disease is acute, and most patients recover completely. However, now a substantial proportion of patients experience long-term health effects. Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) is defined as "signs and symptoms that develop after an infection consistent with COVID-19 that persist for more than 12 weeks and have not been explained yet by an alternative diagnosis." We faced a lack of studies regarding PCS in the Gulf area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence, risk factors, and most common persisting symptoms of PCS in confirmed COVID-19 patients who presented to King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah between June 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.This retrospective cohort study was conducted via telephone survey, which took place in June 2022 at KAUH. PCS was defined as the presence of one or more symptoms beyond 12 weeks from the onset of the illness. The inclusion criteria were patients aged 18 or above with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through positive RT-PCR in KAUH from June 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, and both genders were included. The exclusion criteria were inability to provide informed consent, death, currently active COVID-19 infection (PCR +ve), and if they did not complete the interview. Medical records were obtained from patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through positive RT-PCR tests from June 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.Data of 504 patients were analyzed. The incidence of PCS was 45.0% (95%CI, 40.7% to 49.5%). PCS was associated with female gender (OR = 1.71, 95%CI, 1.13 to 2.59, p = 0.011), having three or more co-morbid conditions (OR = 2.37, 95%CI, 1.19 to 4.75, p = 0.014), receiving steroids (OR = 2.13, 95%CI, 1.16 to 3.98, p = 0.016), also patients who experienced congestion (OR = 1.68, 95%CI, 1.05 to 2.71, p = 0.032) and depression (OR = 1.80, 95%CI, 1.03 to 3.18, p = 0.039) during acute COVID-19 infection. The most commonly reported symptoms beyond 12 weeks included fatigue (19.6%), joint pain (14.1%), and decreased exercise tolerance (12.7%).In conclusion, the main risk factors to develop PCS are being female, having three or more co-morbidities, receiving steroids, or patients presenting with nasal congestion and/or depression.

Background: Smoking is a psychosocial problem regarding its causes mainly. In primary health care units, depression is the most common problem that affects the whole body and arises with physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. This study aimed to determine the prevalence rate of tobacco smoking and depressive symptoms among male medical students of Albaha university. Also, to investigate the association between tobacco smoking and depressive symptoms among male medical students of Albaha university. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on All the male medical students in the all-academic year levels of Al-Baha medical college using a self-administrated questionnaire. Results: Two hundred and eight medical students completed the study. About half of the participants (49.5%) weren't smokers. More than two-thirds (69.5%) started smoking in the first academic year. Our statistical analysis results reported; a significant correlation regarding the marital status (P-value = 0.000). The abnormality was significantly higher among current smokers (P-value = 0.013) and markedly lower among nonsmokers (P-value = 0.004). Regarding types of smoking, cigarette smokers were seriously depressed (P-value = 0.000). Conclusion: There is a relationship between smoking and depressive state among medical students. Researches must be conducted to explain this relation of depression symptoms with tobacco and not to increase the prevalence of smoking by helping students quit smoking.

Background: This study examined the prevalence and risk factors of falls, by evaluating the association between risk factors and falls and number of falls, and by determining cut-off scores for fall risk measures among community-dwelling adults in Saudi Arabia.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in community, Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A sample of 276 Saudi citizens aged ³ 40 years who were able to read and write in Arabic. Fall history and number of falls in the past 12 months were determined via self-reports. Variables assessed included demographic information, self-reported chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, and back pain severity.Results: Participants were classified as either fallers (n=28, 10.14%) or non-fallers. Fallers were more likely to have arthritis (odds ratio [OR]: 7.60, p=0.001), back pain (OR: 5.22, p=0.002), and higher depressive symptom scores (OR: 1.09, p=0.013) than non-fallers. The number of reported falls was significantly associated with an elevated body mass index (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.09, p=0.045), arthritis (IRR: 8.74, pConclusions: The prevalence of falls was relatively low among the individuals considered in this study. Chronic conditions, back pain severity, and depressive symptoms were determined to be associated with falls among community-dwelling individuals in Saudi Arabia.

To evaluate early performance indicators for breast cancer screening at the King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia.This study retrospectively evaluated data from women who underwent their first breast cancer screening program in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between 2012 and 2019. Data on screening results were used to estimate performance indicators and generate descriptive statistics.Of the 16000 women invited from 2012 to 2019, a total of 1911 (11.9%) participated. The majority of women (68.8%) were between 40 and 55 years old. Based on the screening process results, 26.6%, 40.1%, 9.7%, 1.3%, 0.7%, and 5.2% of women had BI-RADS scores of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, and R0 respectively. The remaining 16.3% did not have mammogram records. The recall rate, or the percentage of women who underwent further evaluation, was 19.9%; 18.9% underwent a biopsy procedure. In addition, 1.6% of women had cancer screen-detected, although only 0.7% were diagnosed with breast cancer.In light of the low participation and high recall rates, it is essential that the screening program utilizes performance indicators to optimize resource utilization and ensure the quality of the service provided. Additionally, a national framework and standardized performance indicators could mitigate this problem for other cancer screening programs.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. However, our knowledge of the incidence of stroke for Saudi Arabian population is not known. Thus, we aimed to determine the pooled annual incidence of stroke in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS, without language or publication year limits. Outcomes of interest were stroke incidence rate for both first and recurrent. A total of five studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. The pooled annual incidence of stroke in Saudi Arabia was 0.029% (95% CI: 0.015 to 0.047) equivalent of 29 strokes per 100,000 people annually (95% CI: 15 to 47). The findings indicate that there are 29 stroke cases for every 100,000 people annually for individuals residing Saudi Arabia. Our values were lower than those of other high-income countries. Establishing a nationwide stroke registry is warranted for monitoring and improving healthcare services provided to stroke survivors.

Measurement development is a reiterative process requiring refinements and revalidation. The purpose of this study was to examine structural validity and reliability of the Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure (Version 2) for parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) across a broader age span. Participants were 1054 parents of children with CP 1.5–11 years of age. Parents completed the Child Engagement in Daily Life measure that consists of the Participation in Family and Recreational Activities domain (11 items) and the Performance of Self-care Activities domain (18 items) as part of two longitudinal studies related to outcomes for children with CP. Rasch analysis indicated acceptable fit of items, stable item calibration, and logical ordering of items by difficulty for both frequency of participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities. Test–retest reliability was good to excellent: ICC = 0.78 for frequency of participation, ICC = 0.68 for enjoyment of participation, and ICC = 0.97 for self-care. Evidence supports reliability and validity of the Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure (Version 2) for parent-report of their children’s participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities for children with CP 1.5–12 years of age.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONParticipation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities of children with cerebral palsy can be assessed using the concise parent-report Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure V2.Knowledge of the continuum of difficulty of the frequency of participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities can assist practitioners in progressing service plans.Practitioners are encouraged to use the measure to guide discussions with parents and children on areas to focus services to support participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities. Participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities of children with cerebral palsy can be assessed using the concise parent-report Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure V2. Knowledge of the continuum of difficulty of the frequency of participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities can assist practitioners in progressing service plans. Practitioners are encouraged to use the measure to guide discussions with parents and children on areas to focus services to support participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities.

Abdominal pain is a common cause of emergency department visits. It often poses a diagnostic challenge for physicians given the broad spectrum of its possible medical and surgical etiologies. We report the case of a 32-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with a complaint of lower abdominal pain for one week. Abdominal examination revealed suprapubic mass and tenderness. Laboratory investigation revealed elevated leukocyte count and inflammatory markers. An abdominal ultrasound examination showed a collection with poorly defined borders. Additionally, CT demonstrated a soft tissue mass adjacent to the anterior abdominal wall with an upward track to the umbilicus, conferring the diagnosis of a urachal abscess. The patient underwent successful management of the abscess with surgical excision. This case highlights the importance for clinicians to be aware of congenital urachal anomalies since early recognition of the urachal cyst is essential to determine the proper surgical management.

Trisomy 13 was first described by Patau in 1960. It is a rare genetic disease caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 13. Mosaic trisomy 13 happens when a percentage of the cells are trisomic for chromosome 13, while the remaining cells are euploid. Patau syndrome has a limited survival rate, and most of the carriers die before completing the first year of life. Unlike Patau syndrome, mosaic trisomy 13 is known for longer survival. It is associated with central nervous system malformations, cardiac defects, and psychomotor delay. We report a six-year-old male patient, the third child of a first-degree consanguinity. Born at term via emergency cesarean section due to meconium-stained amniotic fluid and fetal distress. Apgar score nine at one minute and nine at five minutes. Initial examination showed typical dysmorphic features like deep-seated eyes, small palpebral fissure, low set of ears, high arched palate, short neck, and right-hand polydactyly. The diagnosis was made through chromosomal analysis, and it revealed mosaic trisomy 13.

Enuresis is defined as bedwetting in children aged five years and older when organic reasons have been ruled out. It can result in substantial psychological repercussions and uncomfortable circumstances for both the child and the family. Medical (desmopressin, tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs]) and behavioral treatment are the basis for the treatment of enuresis. Alarm therapy is considered the first treatment modality of choice for enuresis with almost 50% cure rates are in the long term. Cooperation and compliance from parents and children are the cornerstones of the effectiveness of alarm therapy. Multiple factors, such as technical issues, might slow down the therapeutic response time. The objective of this study is to review the role of alarm therapy in the treatment of enuresis, its types, and its efficacy and to explore the factors that may increase or decrease its efficacy.

Blood transfusion is a common procedure in the realm of medicine and surgery to treat hematological disorders such as iron and hemoglobin deficiency, during and after major surgical or invasive procedures, and in the event of trauma. However, this life saving procedure does not come without adverse complications and risks. In this review we will extensively discuss the indications of blood transfusion and the complications associated with blood transfusion. An extensive literature search was conducted in online databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar to include various publications such as narrative reviews, editorials and clinical practice guidelines on the indications of blood transfusion and its associated complications. After numerous large scale clinical trials and studies, the transfusion trigger for hemoglobin has been readjusted to a lower threshold thus preventing excessive transfusions and thereby limiting complications. There are a wide range of complications and adverse events associated with blood transfusions. Non-infectious transfusion reactions can contribute to significant morbidity and mortality and occur more commonly as compared to infectious transfusion reactions. Non-infectious reactions can be immune mediated and non-immune mediated and can also be subdivided based on their timing and occurrence after transfusion as acute occurring within 24 hours of transfusion and delayed as occurring 24 hours after transfusion. Further studies are warranted to create more precision on indications of blood transfusion especially for blood components such as platelets, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate are still undefined and need further trials to set cut-off limits to indicate transfusion.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. However, our knowledge of the incidence of stroke for Saudi Arabian population is not known. Thus, we aimed to determine the pooled annual incidence of stroke in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS, without language or publication year limits. Outcomes of interest were stroke incidence rate for both first and recurrent. A total of five studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. The pooled annual incidence of stroke in Saudi Arabia was 0.029% (95% CI: 0.015 to 0.047) equivalent of 29 strokes per 100,000 people annually (95% CI: 15 to 47).The findings indicate that there are 29 stroke cases for every 100,000 people annually for individuals residing Saudi Arabia. Our values were lower than those of other high-income countries. Establishing a nationwide stroke registry is warranted for monitoring and improving healthcare services provided to stroke survivors.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was melt blended with linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and subsequently compounded with glass fibers (GF) as reinforcements at percentages ranging from 15 to 45 wt% of LLDPE and 5 to 30 wt% of GF. Thermal, morphological, and mechanical properties of the prepared composites were investigated. It was found that compounding PET/LLDPE blends with GF would be beneficial in producing composites that are thermally stable with good mechanical properties. For example, the impact strength of the composites containing 85/15 wt% (PET/LLDPE) at relatively high loading of GF, ie, from 15 to 30 wt%, was higher than that of the GF-reinforced neat PET. When increasing the percentage of LLDPE in the composites, the impact strength increased with increasing GF content, and this was also better than that of GF-reinforced PET whose impact strength drastically decreased upon increasing the GF%. The improvement in mechanical properties of the composite, we suggest, should be correlated with the morphologies of the composites where the visualized interface adhesion tended to be better at higher loadings of both LLDPE and GF.

Aims: To determine changes in physical caregiving for parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) over a two-year period based on children’s gross motor function level and age. Methods: 153 parents of children with CP rated their physical caregiving using the Ease of Caregiving for Children three times over two years. Parents and assessors classified children’s gross motor function using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Physical caregiving was compared at three test times among parents of children grouped by GMFCS level (I, II–III, and IV–V) and age (1.7–5.9 and 6–11 years) using a three-way mixed ANOVA. Results: Among all analyses, a two-way interaction was found between children’s GMFCS level and test time on ease of caregiving, p

The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and risk indicators of depression in undergraduate students of health-related specialties. A systematic random sample of 398 students from seven health colleges was included. The assessment tool was a self-reported questionnaire based on Becks Depression Inventory (BDI). Participant status was categorized into Absence (BDI = 0-13) or Presence (BDI = 14-60) of depression. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and stepwise logistic regression. About 45% of students reported having mild-to-severe depression. The significant risk indicators for depression were: gender, recent loss of family members, type of study, year of study, presence of psychological illnesses, social life, satisfaction with each of the following: the specialty, teaching staff, college facilities. The regression model showed the following factors to remain significantly related to depression: presence of psychological illness, social life style, recent loss of family member, and satisfaction with teaching staff. In conclusion, a significant number of undergraduate students have depression. This study indicates the need to support this group of students by the community and the university administration. Students' academic and social advisers' roles are recommended to be more effective. Teaching staff are recommended to have their teaching and communication skills enhanced.

PURPOSE: To re-validate stability and hierarchal ordering of items, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the Ease of Caregiving for Children measure for parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) up to 11 years of age. METHODS: Participants were 613 parents of children with CP between 1.5 and 11 years of age. Parents completed Ease of Caregiving for Children and both parents and therapists classified children's levels of gross motor, manual and communication functions. RESULTS: Rasch analysis indicated acceptable fit of items, stable item calibration, and logical ordering of items by difficulty. Test-retest reliability was good: ICC = 0.69 (95% CI 0.52-0.81). For construct validity, ease of caregiving was higher for parents of children with higher functioning compared to parents of children with lower functioning, p < .001. CONCLUSIONS: Ease of Caregiving for Children is a unidimensional, reliable and valid measure of physical caregiving for parents of children with CP 1.5-11 years.

Purpose To cross-culturally adapt the Self-Care Domain of Child Engagement in Daily Life and the Ease of Caregiving for Children to Arabic language and Saudi culture and to examine the reliability of the Arabic version of both measures. Methods A modified cross-cultural adaptation procedure was employed. A total 36 children with cerebral palsy (aged 1.5–11 years) and their parents participated in the pilot and final testing steps. A committee of 7 stakeholders evaluated cross-cultural equivalence of both measures. Cronbach’s alpha, intra-class correlation coefficient, and minimal detectable change were used to establish internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and distribution-based index, respectively. Results Minor linguistic, not cultural, adaptations were made in the Arabic version of both measures. Conceptual, item, semantic, and operational types of equivalences were supported. The Arabic version of Self-Care Domain of Child Engagement in Daily Life and Ease of Caregiving for Children demonstrated high internal consistency (0.97 and 0.91, respectively), excellent test-retest reliability (0.99 and 0.96, respectively), and appropriate minimal detectable change values (0.29, 0.43, respectively). Conclusions The Arabic version of Self-Care Domain of Child Engagement in Daily Life and Ease of Caregiving for Children are reliable and culturally appropriate for use with parents of children with cerebral palsy in Saudi Arabia.

Aims The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of age, sex, gross motor, manual ability, and communication functions on the frequency and enjoyment of children's participation in family and recreational activities. The secondary aim was to determine the relationships between motor and communication functions and participation. Methods Participants were 694 children, 1.5–12 years old, with cerebral palsy (CP) and their parents across the US and Canada. Parents rated children's frequency and enjoyment of participation using the Child Engagement in Daily Life measure. Parents and therapists identified children's level of function using Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). Results Differences in frequency and enjoyment of participation were found based on children's GMFCS, MACS, and CFCS levels but not age or sex. Children with higher gross motor, manual, and communication functions had higher frequency and enjoyment of participation, compared to children with lower functions. Frequency of participation was associated with GMFCS and CFCS levels whereas enjoyment of participation was only associated with CFCS level. Implications Knowledge of child's gross motor, manual ability, and communication functions of children with CP is important when setting goals and planning interventions for participation.

Children with congenital hemiparesis have unilateral upper extremity involvement, limiting their ability in unilateral or bilateral manual tasks, thus negatively influencing their participation in daily activities. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been shown to be promising for improving upper-limb functions in children with cerebral palsy. Clinical assessments may be needed to quantify and qualify changes in children's performance following its application.This study investigated the effectiveness of a child-friendly form of CIMT to improve upper extremity functional performance. Thirty congenitally hemiparetic children aged 4-8 years were randomly assigned to receive either a CIMT program (study group) or a conventional non-structured therapy program (control group). The programs were applied for both groups for six hours daily, five days weekly for four successive weeks. The Pediatric Arm Function Test, Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test, and isokinetic muscular performances of shoulder flexors, extensors, and abductors expressed as peak torque were used to evaluate immediate and long-lasting efficacy of CIMT.The results showed improvement in the involved upper extremity performances in different evaluated tasks immediately post-CIMT program application compared with the control group. These improvements continued three months later.Pediatric CIMT with shaping produced considerable and sustained improvement in the involved upper extremity movements and functions in children with congenital hemiparesis.