Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) requires continuous medical care, patients' self-management, education, and adherence to prescribed medication to reduce the risk of long-term complications. The aim of this study was to assess the benefits of an education program on diabetes, patient self-management, adherence to medication, anxiety, depression and glycemic control in type 2 diabetics in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study, conducted among 104 diabetic patients at a major tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between May 2011 and October 2012. Education materials given to diabetic patients included pamphlets/handouts written in Arabic, the national language. Special videotapes about DM were made and distributed to all participants. In addition, specific educational programs through the diabetes educators and one-on-one counseling sessions with the doctor were also arranged. Patients were interviewed using a structured interview schedule both during the baseline, and after 6 months of the program. The interview schedule included, socio-demographics, clinical characteristics, diabetes self-management, adherence to medication, anxiety, and depression. Glycemic control was considered poor, if hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was ≥ 7%. Results: The mean age of the study population was 57.3 ΁ 14.4 years. Seventy one were males (68.3%) and 33 (31.7%) were females. After six months of the diabetes education program, there were significant improvements in patients' dietary plan (P = 0.0001), physical exercise (P = 0.0001), self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) (P = 0.0001), HbA1c (P = 0.04), adherence to medication (P = 0.007), and depression (P = 0.03). Conclusions: Implementation of education programs on diabetes among type 2 diabetic patients is associated with better outcomes such as their dietary plan, physical exercise, SMBG, adherence to medication, HbA1c and depression.

Background: There is little information on the association between watching Television (TV) and obesity in the Arabian Peninsula. Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to explore the association between the watching of television and obesity in Saudi children of school-age. Materials and Methods: A case-controlled study was conducted with students between the ages of 9 and 14 years who attended the school health clinic in King Abdulaziz Housing for National Guard (Iskan), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the study period (February to April 2012). During each clinic, children were selected by simple random sampling (five obese and five non-obese). For data collection, two trained physicians interviewed the participants using a 20-item Arabic questionnaire. Well-trained nurses collected the anthropometric measurements of weight and height. Results: The study included 397 students. Higher (body mass index) BMI was associated with a higher number of televisions at home (P < 0.001), watching TV for more than three hours per day at the weekend (P = 0.047), eating more than three snacks per day (P = 0.005), watching TV at night (P = 0.026), and siblings' decisions on how much TV to watch (P = 0.025). The prevalence of childhood obesity was significantly lower among those whose mothers determined how much TV they could watch (P = 0.03). In logistic regression analysis, the increase in the child's age, the presence of more than one TV at home, having his or her own TV, and an increase in the number of hours of watching TV over the weekend were significantly associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity. Personal computers and the Internet were not significantly associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity. Conclusion: The present investigation revealed that watching TV represents an important risk factor for obesity in children of school-age.

Background: Little is known about the relationship of blood pressure (BP) with adiposity indicators, dietary habits, physical activity, and sleep in school children in Malaysia. We aimed to study about the distribution of BP and its associated factors in primary school children. Materials and Methods: A survey was carried out on a random sample of 335 children in five primary schools. BP was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer. Anthropometry was done by standard methods. Demographic information, dietary habits, physical activity, and duration of sleep were collected by interviews. World Health Organization classification based on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) cut-offs were used to define overweight/obesity. Elevated BP was defined according to US reference standards. Results: A total 335 children (144 boys and 191 girls) were examined. Their mean age was 9.18 years (standard deviation [SD] = 0.28). Overall mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 99.32 mmHg (SD = 10.79) and 67.11 mmHg (SD = 10.76), respectively. Mean BMI and WC were 16.39 (SD = 3.58) and 57.77 cm (SD = 8.98), respectively. The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 12.23% (95% confidence intervals [CIs] 8.73, 15.75) and hypertension was 13.4% (95% CIs 9.78, 17.09). Mean SBP and DBP was higher among overweight and obese children than normal children. By multivariate linear regression analyses, BMI (β = 0.250, P = 0.049) and WC (β = 0.308, P = 0.015) were positively associated with SBP; age (β = 0.111, P = 0.017), BMI (β = 0.320, P = 0.012) were positively associated with DBP but total (weekly) hours of sleep (β = −0.095, P = 0.037) was negatively associated with DBP. Conclusion: BP was associated with BMI and WC. Health promotion activities should be initiated in primary schools.

Background: Adverse events are frequent in clinical practice, but only a few studies in Saudi Arabia have addressed them. The current study was designed to review the lawsuits against healthcare professionals by analyzing records of the cases dealt with by the Medico-legal Committees (MLC) in various provinces in Saudi Arabia, in order to determine the pattern of medical errors and litigations in the country. Materials and Methods: A pre-designed data sheet was used to collect data from the records of the Medical Violation Committee (MVC) and the Medical Jurisprudence Committee (MJC). The data sheets consisted of information on details of the cases, details on where the error had occurred, and details of the errors. Results: The review of records revealed 642 cases, most of which were from hospitals run by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The operating room was where most of the errors (20.4%) had occurred, followed by the emergency room (18.1%). Surgery was at the top of the specialties (25.1%). Most of the deaths occurred in surgery and obstetrics (about 25% for each), followed by other medical specialties (17%). About half of the lawsuit cases studied (46.5%) involved patients belonging to a relatively young age group (20-50 years). Conclusion: Most of the medical error litigations involved surgeons and obstetricians especially in MOH hospitals. The process of litigations and documentation need to be improved, and access to the records for research and education need to be made easier. In addition, there is a need for more prospective field studies.

Background: The quality of life (QOL) has emerged as an important parameter for evaluating the quality of health-care for patients with renal failure. The literature suggests that many factors impact QOL. The QOL of dialysis patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not been studied before. This research examined the QOL of patients in the UAE on dialysis using two QOL tools. Materials and Methods: A descriptive comparative survey design was used to study 161 dialysis patients. The participants completed the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the QOL index dialysis version tool. Comparative analyses of the results for both tools were done using descriptive statistics. Multiple linear regression analysis determines the effect of the variables on the QOL scores. Results: The questionnaires return rate was 93%. The overall QOL for dialysis patients was rated low when self-assessed using the SF-36 (58.9) compared to QOL index (77.2). The multiple regression analysis revealed that having a chronic illness had the strongest impact on the total scores of both tools. The comparison between the statistically significant variables for both samples revealed contradictory results from the two tools used. This meant that the two tools measured QOL differently. Conclusion: The two QOL tools scores impacted very differently on most socio-demographic variables on the two samples. More studies are required to explore the concept of QOL in the Arab dialysis population.

Background: Discharging patients against medical advice is a problem of every age-group. However, because of their physiological vulnerability, the risk for the neonatal population is greater when discharged against medical advice (DAMA). This article is a study of the prevalence of the problem, the possible causes and/or risk factors. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 10 years of medical records of neonates discharged against medical advice from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at a university hospital. Results: The overall prevalence of DAMA was 1.6%. Most of the 51 infants who were taken out of hospital against medical advice (AMA) were term (72.5%) with a mean gestational age of 37.78 ± 2.5 weeks, of normal birth weight, with a mean of 2736 ± 661 g, Saudis (96%), those delivered vaginally (69%), and those that were provisionally diagnosed with transient tachypnea of newborn (TTN) and/or query sepsis (49%). There was no difference between males and females (M/F = 1.2). There was an association between DAMA and the timing of DAMA (27.5% of DAMA at weekends and 67% of DAMA from May to October). Conclusion: DAMA of neonates is particularly critical. The causes and risk factors are many and difficult to predict. In addition to several other factors, its prevalence is influenced negatively by some socio-cultural beliefs.

Objectives: Students who perceived their learning environment positively are more likely to develop effective learning strategies, and adopt a deep learning approach. Currently, there is no validated instrument for measuring the educational environment of educational programs on respiratory care (RC). The aim of this study was to develop an instrument to measure students' perception of the RC educational environment. Materials and Methods: Based on the literature review and an assessment of content validity by multiple focus groups of RC educationalists, potential items of the instrument relevant to RC educational environment construct were generated by the research group. The initial 71 item questionnaire was then field-tested on all students from the 3 RC programs in Saudi Arabia and was subjected to multi-trait scaling analysis. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal consistency reliabilities. Results: Two hundred and twelve students (100%) completed the survey. The initial instrument of 71 items was reduced to 65 across 5 scales. Convergent and discriminant validity assessment demonstrated that the majority of items correlated more highly with their intended scale than a competing one. Cronbach's alpha exceeded the standard criterion of >0.70 in all scales except one. There was no floor or ceiling effect for scale or overall score. Conclusions: This instrument is the first assessment tool developed to measure the RC educational environment. There was evidence of its good feasibility, validity, and reliability. This first validation of the instrument supports its use by RC students to evaluate educational environment.

Context: "Off-service" clinical rotations are part of the necessary requirements for many residency training programs. Because these rotations are off-service, little attention is given to their structure and quality of training. This often leads to suboptimal educational experience for the residents on these rotations. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess medical residents' perceptions, opinions, and levels of satisfaction with their "off-service" rotations at a major residency training site in Saudi Arabia. It was also to evaluate the reliability and validity of a questionnaire used for quality assurance in these rotations. Improved reliability and validity of this questionnaire may help to improve the educational experience of residents in their "off-service" rotations. Materials and Methods: A close-ended questionnaire was developed, Pilot tested and distributed to 110 off-service residents in training programs of different specializations at King Fahad Naitonal Guard Hospital and King Abdulziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between September 2011 and December 2011. Results: A total of 80 out of 110 residents completed and returned the questionnaire. Only 33% of these residents had a clear set of goals and educational learning objectives before the beginning of their off-service rotations to direct their training. Surgical specializations had low satisfaction mean scores of 57.2 (11.9) compared to emergency medicine, which had 70.7 (16.2), P value (0.03). The reliability of the questionnaire was Cronbach's alpha 0.57. The factor analysis yielded a 4-factor solution (educational environment, educational balance, educational goals and objectives, and learning ability); thus, accounting for 51% variance in the data. Conclusion: Our data suggest that there were significant weaknesses in the curriculum for off-service clinical rotations in KAMC and that residents were not completely satisfied with their training.

Background: A variety of oral mucosal lesions and conditions are associated with the habit of smoking and chewing tobacco, and many of these carry a potential risk for the development of cancer. There have been no studies that report the prevalence of habits and associated oral changes in the population in Dharwad region, of Karnataka, south India. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was carried out at SDM Dental College (Dharwad, Karnataka). A total of 2400 subjects (1200 subjects with and 1200 subjects without habits) attending the dental hospital were interviewed and examined by trained professionals to assess any oral mucosal changes. Results: Oral mucosal lesions were found in 322 (26.8%) subjects who had tobacco smoking and chewing habits as compared to 34 (2.8%) subjects without those habits. Oral leukoplakia (8.2%) and oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) (7.1%) were the prevalent oral mucosal lesions found in subjects who had those habits, while the other lesions (1.7%) namely; oral candidiasis, median rhomboid glossitis, recurrent apthous ulcer, frictional keratosis, and oral lichen planus (0.9%) were frequently reported among individuals without those habits. The odds of developing oral lesions in subjects with tobacco habits was nearly 11.92 times that of abstainers (odds ratio, OR = 11.92, 95% confidence intervals, CI = 10.61-14.59%). Conclusion: The study showed that the risk of the development of oral lesions associated with tobacco smoking, chewing, or both is quite high. Males who had one or more of these habits showed more frequent oral changes than females. The study reinforces the association of OSF with gutkha and areca nut chewing, and leukoplakia, erythroplakia, and oral cancer with tobacco smoking, chewing, or mixed habits.

Mycetoma is an uncommon chronic granulomatous infective disease of the skin, dermis and subcutaneous tissues predominantly seen in tropical countries. A patient presented to our hospital with the swelling of the left foot with a healed sinus and a painful nodule. He gave a history of sinuses in the left foot from which there was discharge of yellow granules. Culture of the ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology of the nodule revealed growths of Nocardia species. The patient was treated with a multi-drug therapy along with debridement of the painful nodule. He experienced symptomatic relief and a regression of the swelling within the three months of follow-up so far. Due to the relatively slow progression of the disease, patients are diagnosed at a late stage. Hence, emphasis should be placed on health education and the importance of wearing footwear.