BackgroundThe purpose was to measure the prevalence and related risk factors of low back pain (LBP) among health care workers (HCWs) at different levels of health care in southwestern Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among HCWs providing primary, secondary and tertiary health care services in the Aseer region, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire collected data regarding having LBP in the past 12 months, socio-demographics, work conditions and history of chronic diseases, regular physical exercise and overexertional back trauma. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsOut of 740 participants, the overall prevalence of LBP in the past 12 months amounted to73.9% (95% CI: 70.7–77.0). The prevalence of LBP with neurological symptoms reached 50.0%. The prevalence of LBP necessitating medications and or physiotherapy was 40.5%, while the prevalence of LBP requiring medical consultation was 20%. Using multivariable logistic regression, the following risk factors were identified: working in secondary and tertiary hospitals (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI:1.01–1.76), increased BMI (aOR = 1.10, 95% CI:1.01–3.65), and positive history of overexertional back trauma (aOR = 11.52, 95% CI:4.14–32.08). On the other hand, practising regular physical exercise was a significant protective factor (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.42–0.89).ConclusionsLBP is a common problem among HCWs. Many preventable risk factors have been identified, including exertional back trauma, increased BMI and lack of regular physical exercise. Occupational health and safety programmes to build ergonomically safe working conditions and encourage regular physical exercise are needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-019-2431-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has forced the urgent lockdown of schools and colleges worldwide. To ensure the continuity of education a shift from traditional teaching to e-learning was required. This study aims to identify factors that affect students’ satisfaction and continued intention towards e-learning. A questionnaire was distributed to medical and dental students (second to sixth year) from different universities in Saudi Arabia. The study synthesizes the expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict students’ satisfaction and intention to continue using e-learning using a validated self-administered questionnaire. We used the structural equation model to analyze the results and assess the study’s hypotheses. A total of 870 completed questionnaires were received (67% response rate). The results showed that students were at a moderate level of satisfaction (median = 3.5). According to the ECT, both perceived usefulness and confirmation significantly influenced students’ satisfaction (β = −.69 and β = .82, respectively). Satisfaction was the strongest predictor of students’ continued intention (β = 1.95). Among the TPB constructs, perceived behavioral control (β = .51), attitudes (β = .39), and subjective norms (β = .36) had a significant positive influence on their intention to use e-learning. The results suggest efforts to increase students’ satisfaction and intention with e-learning should be directed to adopting easy and useful e-learning platforms. In addition, training and motivating students to continue e-learning and increasing their confidence to ensure the effective and efficient use of such teaching modalities.

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Highlights All neurosurgical procedures decreased in number during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surgical complication rates remained within the acceptable range. Emergency procedures numbers remained the same throughout the study period. Neurosurgical oncology cases were the highest in frequency. There is a decline in hospital length of stay as we progressed during the study period.

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Background. Head injuries contribute to almost 50% of all injuries. Head injuries are still one of the major causes of loss of life and loss of function among young adults. Nowadays, head injury has become a major community problem. Recently, head injury has become one of the biggest issues of almost more than 57 million people in the whole world living with the neurological problem raised by TBI, in which 10 million people require hospital base care. Objectives. To determine the epidemiological aspects of patients with head injury (HI) in Aseer Central Hospital (ACH). Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. Data were gathered from patients’ files and the registrar’s database of ACH. The study duration was January 2015–December 2017. All patients with head injury admitted to ACH during the study duration were included in the study. SPSS software was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics were obtained (mean SD frequencies, percentages). Statistical tests, t test, and chi-squared test were applied to measure the significant difference among the variables. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as a significant difference. Results. There were 353 patients with head injury, and the mean ± SD of age was 27.01 ± 13.9. Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) accounted for (89.3%) of head injury. A total of 87.3% of the patients were male while 12.7% were female. Conclusion. In this study, we observed that MVA is the leading cause of brain/head injuries in the KSA, despite the implementations of new speed rules. However, with new regulations of forbidding cell phone use while driving and forcing the seat belt regulations, a major impact on these numbers is expected in the future. Thus, a future study is recommended to assess these expectations.

Background: Brain tumors are associated with marked disability and mortality. Understanding the patterns and epidemiological characteristics associated with brain tumors can be crucial to their treatment. Objective: To explore the magnitude and epidemiological features of primary brain tumors among patients admitted to Aseer Central Hospital (ACH), Abha City, Saudi Arabia, and to identify different decisions for their management. Methodology: All hospital records of brain tumor patients admitted to ACH from 2015-2017 were reviewed. Collected data included patients' demographic characteristics, clinical findings, histopathological diagnosis, and management. Results: During the aforementioned period, a total of 100 patients with primary brain tumors were admitted to ACH. The most commonly presenting symptoms were headache (72%), vomiting, dizziness, and focal motor deficits (25% for all). Tumor location was mostly at the frontal or parietal lobes. Among those who underwent surgery, meningioma grade I was the most frequently diagnosed (41.7%). The mean surgical time was 4.2 ± 1.6 h. Most patients who underwent surgery at ACH stayed in the intensive care unit anywhere from 1 d or 2-4 d (34% and 40%, respectively). The Glasgow outcome scale scores of most patients (91.7%) indicated that the patients had a good recovery. However, one patient died (1.7%), one was in a persistent vegetative state (1.7%), and three sustained moderate disability (5%). Conclusion: Most patients with brain tumors admitted to ACH undergo surgery. Meningioma grade I is the most commonly encountered brain tumor, and this finding may reflect different epidemiological findings from the internationally accepted concept that glioblastoma multiforme is the most common brain tumor. The most common locations for brain tumors are the frontal and parietal lobes.