Background: There is a growing interest in exploring the prevalence of comorbid depression in patients with hypertension, and its impact on their physical functioning, quality of life, and healthcare utilization. However, limited data is available from developing countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, on the prevalence of depression in patients with hypertension. Aim: The main objective of our study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and associated factors among hypertensive patients attending a tertiary health care clinic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, with 211 hypertensive patients attending the Out-Patient Department of King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, for a period of 1-month commencing from 15th October to 14th November 2016. Hypertensive patients were given a structured questionnaire regarding socio-demographic data, associated risk factors, and the Beck Depression Inventory-1a (BDI) scale (valid in Arabic version) to assess Depression level. Blood pressure was measured using a manual mercury column sphygmomanometer. Result: 211 hypertensive patients were studied, 127 (60.2%) patients were males and 84 (39.8%) were female. The mean BDI score for all hypertensive patients in this study was 7.35 ± 11.68. The proportion of hypertensive patients with depression (BDI score ≥20) was 20.7%. Conclusion: Depression is highly prevalent in hypertensive patients in Saudi Arabia. Further research into effective management and screening for depression in hypertensive patients is warranted.
During the past few decades, extensive researches were conducted to identify serological markers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can reliably diagnose and monitor disease activity and help in predicting relapses. To date, several serological markers have been identified. This review will address the different serological markers and their clinical significance and applicability in medical practice. Serological markers include antibodies against microbial antigens, peptide antigens, autoantibodies, and basic inflammatory markers. Some serological markers such as anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) and antibodies against exocrine pancreas (PAB) help the confirmation of the diagnosis of IBD to differentiate it from other non-IBD. Perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) and ASCA can distinguish Chron’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Certain markers can aid stratification of Chron’s disease including antibodies to Pseudomonas fluorescens associated sequence I2 (Anti-I2), antibodies to bacterial flagellin (Anti-CBir1), ASCA, and antibodies to outer membrane porin C (Anti-OmpC). ASCA and pANCA can predict disease response to therapeutic agents (e.g. Infliximab). ASCA can also unaffected family members at risk of developing Chron’s disease.
Background: Social media (SM) use is increasing among young adults in Saudi Arabia, and it's becoming an integral part of everyday life. It is thought that social media use is associated with certain behavioral changes, and some authors have shown concerns about its possible effect on mental health. In this study, we investigated the relationship between social media use and depression indicators among adult population in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 618 adults were surveyed about SM and depression with an age range of 16 to 40 years. SM use was assessed by self-reported total number of hours per day spent on social networking. And depression was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale. Also participants were asked to provide data on personal and family history of psychiatric disorders, drug abuse, and demographic data. Descriptive frequencies, Chi-squared tests and ordered logistic regressions were performed on data for analysis using SPSS software version 20.0. Results: Average daily time spent on social networking was 4 hours with standard deviation (SD) of 1.05 hour. Twitter, Snapchat and whatsapp were the most visited social networking applications by participants (85.7%, 74.2% and 67. 2%, respectively). BDI-II score indicated no depression in 572 participants, mild depression in 40 participants, and moderate to severe depression in 4 participants. Compared to those with lowest total hours per day spent on SM, participants with highest total hours per day spent on SM had significantly higher scores of BDI-II (AOR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.09-2.42). Conclusion: Our results indicate that frequent use of social media is related to depression. Additional research is required to determine the possible causal nature of this relationship.
Overcrowding in emergency departments is a significant challenge in the world of medicine. Approximately 90% of the emergency departments face the issue of overcrowding. The causes of the phenomena are intensely contested, which makes it challenging to come up with effective, focused solutions. Individual patients, healthcare systems, and entire communities are all impacted by emergency department overcrowding. Crowding's detrimental effects on the delivery of healthcare services lead to delays, subpar care, and inefficiency, all of which have an adverse impact on the health outcomes of emergency patients. The purpose of this research is to review the available information about factors and solutions addressing overcrowding in emergency departments. Increased number of patients arriving in the emergency department, lack of resources, and the number of admitted patients waiting for transfer from the emergency department to a hospital ward are all contributing factors to the problem of overcrowding in the emergency department. The quality of medical care is directly impacted by emergency department overcrowding, which causes medication to be administered later than intended and raises the risk of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. It also contributes to a number of unintended issues, including increased duration of waiting times, a decline in patient satisfaction, and a loss of revenue for medical facilities. Additional staff, observation units, hospital bed access, non-urgent referrals, ambulance diversion, destination control, congestion controls, and queuing theory are some of the possible solutions to overcrowding. Effective implementation of the strategies managing overcrowding at emergency department is needed.
Studies from global countries indicate that poisoning is a common etiology for morbidities and associated mortality. Most of the cases did not require medical intervention as they were treated at home. However, around one-fourth required management at a healthcare facility. In addition to the healthcare burdens, evidence indicates that these events also have significant economic burdens on the affected patients and healthcare facilities. The present literature review provided evidence regarding the proper ways to identify patients presenting with suspected medication poisoning and the recommended management approaches. Obtaining a complete history from the patient should be the first step that can lead to diagnostic clues. Then, a thorough examination should be provided, followed by relevant imaging and laboratory studies to confirm the diagnosis. Management might be supportive in many cases, and an antidote can enhance the treatment process. Approaches should also be conducted to achieve decontamination and enhance the elimination of the affected patients.
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