Background Gastric cancer accounts for 2.7% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases in Jordan. Objective The aim of this study was to calculate the survival rate and its determinants among Jordanian patients who were diagnosed with gastric cancer between 2010 and 2014. Methods A descriptive study was conducted based on secondary analysis of data from the Jordan Cancer Registry during the period of 2010-2014. Only cancer-related deaths were recorded as “death” in the survival analysis. Results A total of 1388 new cases of gastric cancer were recorded between 2010 and 2014. Of these, 872 (62.8%) were Jordanians and 60.5% were males. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.9 years and the median follow-up time was 1.6 years. The 5-year survival rate decreased significantly from 89% in patients with well-differentiated cancer to 32% in patients with poorly differentiated cancer (P=.005). The overall 5-year survival rate was 37.7% and the median survival was 1.48 years (95% CI 1.179-1.783). The 5-year survival rate decreased significantly with increasing age and with advanced stage of the disease: the 5-year survival rate was 75% for localized-stage, 48% for regional-stage, and 22.7% for distant-metastasis disease (P=.005). Conclusions This study showed that the overall 5-year survival rate among patients with gastric cancer in Jordan between 2010 and 2014 was 37.7%, which is higher than the reported rates from different countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region such as Egypt.

Background COVID-19 vaccinations were first met with public hesitancy. There are some debates about the vaccines’ effectiveness in reducing hospital admissions or length of stay. Objective We aim to compare the effectiveness of different vaccine statuses and types with hospital admissions and length of stay. Methods Data related to hospital admissions, length of stay, the need for intensive care, and vaccination data were obtained from the Jordanian Ministry of Health. Results A total of 17,182 hospital admissions were recorded from February 2, 2021, the earliest date a vaccinated individual who has passed the 20-day mark on the first dose was admitted with relation to COVID-19, to August 15, 2021. The mean age admitted was 53 years. From all those who were admitted, the unvaccinated group was the majority in both overall admissions (93.7% with the length of stay of 6.9 days for older groups and 8.3 days for the younger) and intensive care unit admissions for both the older and younger age groups (91.23% and 93.3%, respectively), followed by those fully vaccinated (3.4% with the length of stay by vaccine type: Pfizer 4.9-6.1 with 115 admissions; AstraZeneca 10.8-5.1 with 26 admissions; Sinopharm 5.3-6.7 with 440 admissions; Sputnik 2-4 with 4 admissions) and those with only the first dose (2.5% with the length of stay by vaccine type: Pfizer 7.05-7.25 with 133 admissions; AstraZeneca 7.73-7.53 with 109 admissions; Sinopharm 6.5-7.9 with 253 admissions; Sputnik 4 with 1 admission). The time between the vaccination and admission was noticeably longer after the second dose of each vaccine compared to only the first dose with the exception of AstraZeneca (Pfizer 35.4-35.73 to 46.8-79.85; AstraZeneca 48.3-50.7 to 33.4-43.4; Sinopharm 22.65-24.86 to 54-62.9; Sputnik 28 to 99.5-101.5). Conclusions The study showed a lower admission and shorter stay at the hospital for those who are vaccinated, indicating the ability of vaccines to reduce the burden on the health care system.

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer accounts for 2.7% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases in Jordan. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to calculate the survival rate and its determinants among Jordanian patients who were diagnosed with gastric cancer between 2010 and 2014. METHODS A descriptive study was conducted based on secondary analysis of data from the Jordan Cancer Registry during the period of 2010-2014. Only cancer-related deaths were recorded as “death” in the survival analysis. RESULTS A total of 1388 new cases of gastric cancer were recorded between 2010 and 2014. Of these, 872 (62.8%) were Jordanians and 60.5% were males. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.9 years and the median follow-up time was 1.6 years. The 5-year survival rate decreased significantly from 89% in patients with well-differentiated cancer to 32% in patients with poorly differentiated cancer (<i>P</i>=.005). The overall 5-year survival rate was 37.7% and the median survival was 1.48 years (95% CI 1.179-1.783). The 5-year survival rate decreased significantly with increasing age and with advanced stage of the disease: the 5-year survival rate was 75% for localized-stage, 48% for regional-stage, and 22.7% for distant-metastasis disease (<i>P</i>=.005). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that the overall 5-year survival rate among patients with gastric cancer in Jordan between 2010 and 2014 was 37.7%, which is higher than the reported rates from different countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region such as Egypt.

Background Chickenpox is the primary infection of varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is a highly contagious disease. Objective The main goal of this epidemiological descriptive study was to analyze the medical chickenpox data from 2013 to 2020 in Jordan. The aim of the study was to obtain in-depth statistics for all Jordan cities comparing the year semesters for these years, with comparisons of gender and age categories. In addition, we aimed to determine the status of the epidemiological situation in Jordan with concern of the effects of Syrian refugees and the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods This was an epidemiological descriptive study focusing on children under 15 years old. Data were collected based on a clinical diagnosis by doctors. Chickenpox data were obtained from the Ministry of Health as computerized and manual weekly reports from public and private health centers and hospitals. SPSS was used to statistically analyze the data. Results The total number of chickenpox cases reported from 2013 to 2020 in Jordan was 40,988. There was an obvious rise in cases in 2014 (19.24%) with possible outbreaks due to the influx of Syrian refugees, whereas the lowest number of cases (2.44%) was reported in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated quarantine that occurred in Jordan, especially because of closing schools and clinics. Although the total number of chickenpox cases varied from 2013 to 2020, all years showed the same seasonal distribution, with the highest numbers in the spring (especially May), at 16.12%. Geographic distribution analysis showed that the highest numbers of cases were reported in the cities of Amman and Zarqa, with 18.15% and 12.81%, respectively, according to the highest population and gatherings. In gender distribution, there was a sustained preponderance for males over females with 54.48% of the cases reported in males. The age category of 5-9 years was the most likely to be affected by this disease, accounting for 43.34% of cases. This is because these younger children are newly entering school and starting to interact with others. However, the age category of over 20 years showed the lowest number of cases, accounting for 3.98%. There is more concern in Mafraq city (which has the greatest number of Syrian refugees), and we found that children in the age categories of 1-4 years and less than 1 year were more likely to be infected than others. Conclusions Our analysis showed a possible outbreak of chickenpox in 2014, and the lowest number of cases occurred in 2020. In addition, the spring season is the time with the highest number of infected cases. Chickenpox is a highly transmissible childhood disease that becomes more severe with age, and is especially prevalent in children 5-9 years of age in Jordan. Moreover, the gender distribution of cases throughout the years showed a sustained preponderance for males over females. Due to the high populations in Amman and Zarqa cities, these areas had the highest numbers of people infected with chickenpox.

Background Acute flaccid paralysis surveillance played a major role in the global eradication of polio. The World Health Organization adopted this method to monitor the progress toward poliomyelitis eradication. The Expanded Program of Immunization in Jordan has routinely collected acute flaccid paralysis data since 1999, which then attained a polio-free certification. Yet, because of wars in neighboring countries such as Syria and Iraq, there is a risk of polio outbreaks occurring. Objective This study aims to evaluate the acute flaccid paralysis surveillance system in Jordan from 2016 to 2020 and identify areas for improvement. Methods This was a retrospective descriptive study that used data from the acute flaccid paralysis surveillance system in Jordan between January 2016 and December 2020. The World Health Organization standard indicators were used to evaluate the performance of the surveillance system. Results A total of 483 cases of nonpolio acute flaccid paralysis were reported. Most of them (n=478, 99%) were younger than 15 years, and among those, 55.6% were younger than 5 years, and 58% were male. At the national level, the surveillance achieved all the World Health Organization indicators throughout the evaluating period, except for two indicators: the proportion of stool specimens from which nonpolio enterovirus was isolated in 2016 and 2017, and the nonpolio acute flaccid paralysis detection rate per 100,000 of the population younger than 15 years in 2020. At a subnational level (governorates level), the proportion of stool specimens from which nonpolio enterovirus was isolated, as an indicator, was not achieved most of the time. This was frequently observed in each of all evaluation years of 2016 to 2020. Moreover, most indicators were not achieved at the governorate level in 2020. Conclusions There are some gaps that need improvement in the acute flaccid paralysis surveillance system in Jordan, especially at the governorate level. The lower performance during 2020 could have been caused by the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown during the pandemic. Similar challenges are possible in the future and proper preparation is required.