We reviewed any study where 10 or more healthy adults donated a kidney, and proteinuria, or glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was assessed at least 1 year later. Bibliographic databases were searched until November 2005. 31 primary authors provided additional information. Forty-eight studies from 27 countries followed a total of 5048 donors. An average of 7 years after donation (range 1-25 years), the average 24 h urine protein was 154 mg/day and the average GFR was 86 ml/min. In eight studies which reported GFR in categories, 12% of donors developed a GFR between 30 and 59 ml/min (range 0-28%), and 0.2% a GFR less than 30 ml/min (range 0-2.2%). In controlled studies urinary protein was higher in donors and became more pronounced with time (three studies totaling 59 controls and 129 donors; controls 83 mg/day, donors 147 mg/day, weighted mean difference 66 mg/day, 95% confidence interval (CI) 24-108). An initial decrement in GFR after donation was not accompanied by accelerated losses over that anticipated with normal aging (six studies totaling 189 controls and 239 donors; controls 96 ml/min, donors 84 ml/min, weighted mean difference 10 ml/min, 95% CI 6-15; difference not associated with time after donation (P=0.2)). Kidney donation results in small increases in urinary protein. An initial decrement in GFR is not followed by accelerated losses over a subsequent 15 years. Future studies will provide better estimates, and identify those donors at least risk of long-term morbidity.

On the basis of the limited studies conducted to date, kidney donors may have a 5-mm Hg increase in blood pressure within 5 to 10 years after donation over that anticipated with normal aging. Future controlled, prospective studies with long periods of follow-up will better delineate safety and identify donors at lowest risk for long-term morbidity.

Transplant professionals vary in the long-term risks they communicate to potential donors. Improving consensus will enhance decision-making, and emphasize best practices which maintain good, long-term donor health.

Introduction Gum Arabic (GA) is a complex polysaccharide with proven prebiotic properties and potentially beneficial systemic effects. Methods We randomly allocated 36 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients to receive 10, 20, or 40 grams daily of GA for four weeks and studied the systemic effects of this intervention. Results Thirty participants completed the study with baseline glomerular filtration rate 29.1 ± 9.9 mL/min/1.7 m2. In contrast to previous observations, we found no effect on serum urea or creatinine levels. GA supplementation was associated with a small but statistically significant drop in serum sodium level (138 ± 2 to 136 ± 3 mmol/L, p = 0.002) without affecting other electrolytes, urine volume, or indoxyl sulfate (IS) levels. GA supplementation was also associated with a significant drop in C-reactive protein (CRP) level (3.5 ± 1.5 to 2.8 ± 1.6 ng/mL, p = 0.02) even in patients who received only 10 g/day (4.4 ± 1.2 to 3.2 ± 1.5 ng/mL, p = 0.03). Conclusions Supplementing the diet of CKD patients with 10–40 g/day of GA significantly reduced CRP level which could have a positive impact on these patients' morbidity and mortality. This trial is registered with Saudi Clinical Trial Registry number 15011402.

This study’s purpose is to assess the challenges and obstacles faced by female trainee physicians and suggest solutions that could resolve these issues and improve their performance. The study utilized an observational, analytical, cross-sectional design based on a self-administered open-ended and validated questionnaire which was distributed to 133 recruited female resident trainees of medical units in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The findings of the study revealed that 52% female trainees experienced gender discrimination, mostly (65%) by their superiors, while 40% were regularly harassed. About half (53%) of the interviewees were severely depressed, resulting in their reconsidering their career in medicine. A total of 14% thought of suicide, while four planned to end and five had attempted to end their life. However, only eight (6%) participants officially reported the cases of harassment to the accountable superiors. Half of them felt neglected by the healthcare administration, and one-fourth (24%) were underachieving in their studies and work. The study concluded that work dissatisfaction, limited clinical correspondence, high depression, burnout, stress and drop-out rates—all deriving from common gender discrimination—compose the alarming and complex challenges that female trainee residents in Jeddah of various levels and specialties have to face.

In late December of 2019, the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in China, and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Globally, as of 8 July 2020, there have been 11,669,259 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 539,906 deaths. In Saudi Arabia, the confirmed cases have already reached 223,327, with 161,096 patients confirmed to have recovered, and 2100 deaths. This study aims to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the training programs of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) and assess trainees’ mental health status (i.e., anxiety and depression). Trainee evaluations on training programs were also sought in order to obtain insights for strategic planning necessary for curricular modifications or improvements to address the clinical learning needs of trainees during this pandemic. The main contribution of our work is an investigation of the incidence of depression and anxiety regarding COVID-19 within the community of residents and fellows. Furthermore, we elaborate on key responsive actions towards the enhancement of the mental health of trainees. Last but not least, we propose the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) Model for Residents’ Mental Health Enhancement during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which consists of five integrative value layers for medical education and training, namely: the knowledge creation process and innovation; technological capabilities for personalized medicine and patient-centric healthcare with a social impact; innovative applications of technology-enhanced learning and web-based active learning approaches for medical training and education; residents’ wellbeing and the impact of COVID-19 in strategic layers. In our future work, we intend to enhance the proposed framework with studies on trainee satisfaction and the efficiency of different technology-enhanced learning platforms for medical education.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a major transformation in response to a revolutionary vision of 2030, given that healthcare reform is one of the top priorities. With the objective of improving healthcare and allied professional performance in the Kingdom to meet the international standards, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) has recently developed a strategic plan that focuses on expanding training programs’ capacity to align with the increasing demand for the country’s healthcare workforce, providing comprehensive quality assurance and control to ensure training programs uphold high quality standards, and providing advanced training programs benchmarked against international standards. In this research paper, we describe our attempt for developing a general framework for key performance indicators (KPIs) and the related metrics, with the aim of contributing to developing new strategies for better medical training compatible with the future. We present the results of a survey conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), for the enhancement of quality of postgraduate medical training. The recent developments in the field of learning analytics present an opportunity for utilizing big data and artificial intelligence in the design and implementation of socio-technical systems with significant potential social impact. We summarize the key aspects of the Training Quality Assurance Initiative and suggest a new approach for designing a new data and services ecosystem for personalized health professionals training in the KSA. The study also contributes to the theoretical knowledge on the integration of sustainability and medical training and education by proposing a framework that can enhance future initiatives from various health organizations.

Background: Under the urgent circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions of an international scale have resorted to online education methods, exclusive or not. Among those, medical institutions are under double pressure, fighting the pandemic's effects and, at the same time providing efficient clinical training to their residents. The main aim of the study is to evaluate the preparedness of the educational institutions for the e-learning platform transition for the delivery of medical training and also to evaluate the overall satisfaction level of the participants with their e-learning experience.Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study design. The survey's sample included 300 medical students and residents of multiple training levels and specialties, coming from more than 15 different cities of Saudi Arabia. Filling the questionnaire required specific inclusion criteria and all obtained data were secured by the Saudi Commission of Health specialty. The main objective was to evaluate the quality of e-learning methods provided by medical universities. For the collection of the data, Survey Monkey software was used and the analysis was conducted with SPSS.Results: The study found that the frequency of digital education use increased by ~61% during the coronavirus crisis, while almost 9 out of 10 residents have used some e-learning platform. It was reported that before the pandemic, participants' online training was deemed to be rather ineffective, given the rate of 3.65 out of 10. However, despite the increase in e-learning use after COVID-19, many obstacles arose duringcthe adaptation process. According to our survey: lectures and training sessions were not conducted as per the curriculum (56.33%); both students and instructors' academic behavior and attitude changed (48.33%); engagement, satisfaction, and motivation in class were rated low (5.93, 6.33, and 6.54 out of 10 accordingly), compared to the desired ones. Still, participants accredited e-learning as a potential mandatory tool (77.67%) and pinpointed the qualifications that in their opinion will maximize educational impact.Conclusion: The study concluded that innovative restructuring of online education should be based on defined critical success factors (technical support, content enhancement, pedagogy etc.) and if possible, set priority levels, so that a more permanent e-learning practice is achievable. Also our study confirmed that students were overall satisfied with the e-learning support of the training method.