Background: Bisphosphonate related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) is a severe but

No abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent endocrinal disorder in Saudi Arabia. Diabetic foot ulceration occurs in about one fifth of diabetics, and significantly increase the risk of gangrene and amputation. Early and proper foot care is essential to prevent such deleterious complication. Objectives: the aim of this review is to study the knowledge and attitude about foot care among diabetics in Saudi Arabia and its impact on prevention of amputation. Methods: To achieve this aim, online database was searched for articles reporting knowledge and/or attitude of Saudi patients about foot care. Results yielded from this search were quickly inspected, the titles and abstract were quickly read to select related studies. Results: Up to one fifth of diabetic patients had poor knowledge about their foot care, and in spite of regular checkups, they lacked awareness of signs and symptoms of diabetic foot infection. However, when educational programs were implemented, complications rate has significantly declined. Discussion: Previous literature studies indicated that Saudi diabetic patients had moderate to poor knowledge about their illness in general. Most of them are not adequately educated about the complications of their illness, and how to deal with them. However, when engaged in systematic educational programs, they were highly responsive and compliant and their new adopted attitude and knowledge about the illness decreased their amputation as well as other complications rate.

No abstract

Background: This study examines factors that influence Saudi Arabian medical school students in their selection of primary care as their career specialty. We focused on the two main factors identified to influence medical students generally in consideration of career specialty: lifestyle and income. We surveyed all fourth- and fifth-year students at 10 medical schools in the Riyad region using a questionnaire regarding factors influencing their intended specialty choice; 1005 (64%) completed the questionnaire. Results: The clear majority (77% of students) considered lifestyle characteristics to be a significant influence in their career decision to enter a specialty versus primary care (P<0.05). There was also significant relationship (p < 0.005) between students’ specialty choices and importance attached to anticipated income. Conclusion: Lifestyle and income consideration are important influences on specialty selection among 4th and 5th year Saudi Arabian medical students. These results are in consistent with findings of previous studies conducted in many nations around the world.