BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest global healthcare crises in nearly a century. To face this global health emergency, health institutions have had to readjust their functioning while ensuring the continuity of care and protecting medical staff and patients. Our aim in this study was to assess the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak on family medicine and its practice in Saudi Arabia. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from June 30, 2020, to July 20, 2020, by posting an online survey on social media platforms (WhatsApp and Twitter) and emailing physicians individually to collect data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family medicine and primary care practices during the period of lockdown in Saudi Arabia. ResultsA total of 382 primary healthcare (PHC) providers participated in the study (males: 213 (55.8%); females: 169 (44.2%)). The mean age and standard deviation of the population were 38.27±7.46. Most participants were from governmental health sectors. Participants revealed that they have a good level of knowledge regarding COVID-19. However, they indicated confusion regarding the knowledge due to changing recommendations or multiple-source information. Only 57.3% of respondents received relevant training on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The most frequently used PPE were surgical masks (100%) and gloves (98.4%). The highly protective N95 masks were used by only 55.7%. Many health care workers indicated a high rate of stress and anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. Data obtained are suggestive that there was a reduction in outpatient visits and a reduction in consultation time. Canceled physical examinations of the patients during the consultation were encountered most of the time. There was no shortage of medications, nasopharyngeal swabs, or sanitizers. However, an occasional lack of PPEs occurred. 64.4% of the respondents used online consultations with their patients. A shortage of health care workers during the pandemic in family medicine clinics was encountered by 63.3% of the participants. ConclusionFamily medicine practices are adversely affected by pandemics and lockdowns following them. It has been reported that COVID-19 interferes with preventive, chronic, and acute care visits and increases mental health visits. Outpatient visits have also decreased as well as the amount of time spent in consultations. In addition, the transition from in-person clinics to telemedicine has happened. Perhaps these changes will delay the diagnosis and prescription refills.
Background and aim: Cerumen or ear wax is a normal secretion from sebaceous and ceruminous glands found in the external auditory canal. Wrong self-ear cleaning attempts may lead to cerumen impaction, injuries, and otitis externa. we have concluded this study to assess the local community's knowledge about ear-cleaning, attitudes toward ear care, and self-ear cleaning practices. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey performed in May 2021 among general population to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of self-ear cleaning. We included all people aged between 18 to 90 years who live in Makkah region, also we excluded health care workers and who had previous ears, nose, and throat injuries. Results: A total of 544 participants responded to the survey, 351 (64.5%) were males and 193 (35.5%) were females, age between 18 to 55. Forty-four (8.1%) of participants thought that it is harmful to self-clean your ear. In contrast, 274 (50.4%) thought that we do not have to remove the wax from our ears constantly. About 32% of them clean to remove the dirt and 29.30% clean to improve their ear hygiene. Conclusion: Self-ear cleaning is a widespread practice, and most respondents showed a lack of knowledge regarding ear-cleansing mechanisms. In order to rectify the erroneous views, more public health education is needed to dissuade people from practicing self-ear cleaning and teach them about the function of cerumen and problems associated with self-ear cleaning.
ObjectivesChronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is the persistent inflammation of the mucosal lining of the paranasal sinuses (PNS). By definition, the inflammatory process persists beyond 12 weeks. One of its subtypes is allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS), which has a high risk of recurrence, leading to revision surgery. This study aimed to establish the predictive factors for the recurrence of AFRS in post-sinus surgery patients. MethodsThis single-center retrospective study was conducted in Al-
Objectives: In this review we provide an updated concise review about the most common Otorhinolaryngological symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Methods: A searched strategy designed on published literature in different large medical databases and journals using various keywords to get the recent described manifestations. Results: 25 included studies that focused on ENT symptoms and involved the confirmed cases only. 6276 patients were accounted for the results which showed that the most prevalent ENT manifestation were cough in 3498 (56%) patients, headache in 2013 (32%) patients, sore throat in 1966 (31%) patients, anosmia in 1340 (21%) patients, loss of taste in 914 (15%) patients, and rhinorrhea in 196 (3%) patients. Conclusion: Cough was the commonest symptoms which should raise the suspicion to do COVID-19 swab especially if associated with smell and taste disorder.
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