Objective:Vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized epidemic and a common health problem worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate the vitamin D status in children living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to study its relation to various variables.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in the pediatric clinic in Jeddah Clinic Hospital-Kandarah, Jeddah, KSA, from October through December 2010, in which 510 healthy children aged 4–15 years were enrolled. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured. Dietary vitamin D intake and duration of daily sunlight exposure were determined. 25(OH)D levels <20 ng/mL and <7 ng/mL were defined as relative and severe vitamin D deficiency, respectively.Results:The mean concentration of 25(OH)D was 13.07 ± 7.81 ng/mL. Seventy subjects (13.72%) had normal 25(OH)D level ranging 20–70 ng/mL. Three hundred (58.82%) had relative 25(OH)D deficiency and 140 (27.45%) had severe deficiency (P=0.000). 220 (43.14%) subjects were males and 290 (56.86%) were females having a statistically significant higher incidence of 25(OH)D deficiency (P=0.019). 54.9% were Saudis, 27.45% were Yemenis and 11.76% were Egyptians. Saudis and Yemenis were more subjected to 25(OH)D deficiency in comparison to Egyptians and other nationalities (P=0.01). There were significant inverse correlations between 25(OH)D levels and bony aches (P=0.000). 56.25% of asymptomatic children had vitamin D deficiency (P=0.000). Duration of sunlight exposure and daily intake of vitamin D had significant effects on serum level of vitamin D (P=0.000).Conclusions:A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children living in Jeddah was observed in this study. Vitamin D supplementation of food products can prevent vitamin D deficiency in these children.

Microbial resistance to antibiotics is a serious global health problem compounded by antibiotic overuse and limited investment in new antibiotic research. Inappropriate perinatal antibiotic exposure is increasingly linked to lifelong adverse outcomes through its impact on the developing microbiome. Antibiotic stewardship may be the only effective preventative strategy currently available. As the first tertiary neonatal unit in the UK to collaborate in an international quality improvement programme (QIP) with Vermont Oxford Network (VON), we present the results of our antibiotic stewardship initiative.The QIP was officially launched in January 2016 and aimed to reduce antibiotic usage rate (AUR) by 20% of baseline by 31st December 2016 without compromising patient safety. A multidisciplinary team of professionals and parent representatives shared good practices and improvement strategies through international webinars and local meetings, devised uniform data collection methodology and implemented a number of carefully selected ‘Plan–Do–Study–Act’ cycles. Run charts were used to present data and, where appropriate, statistical analysis undertaken to compare outcomes.The QIP resulted in a sustained reduction in AUR from a baseline median of 347 to 198 per 1000 patient-days (a reduction of 43%). The proportion of culture-negative sepsis screens where antibiotics were stopped within 36–48 hours increased consistently from a baseline of 32.5% to 91%. The antibiotic days per patient at discharge reduced from a median of 3 to 2 days, and there was a reduction in practice variation. Our annual mortality and necrotising enterocolitis rates for the VON cohort (<30 weeks or <1500 g) were the best ever recorded, 5.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Audits confirmed a high level of staff and family awareness of the QIP.The QIP achieved a sustained reduction in antibiotic use without compromising patient safety. Our challenge is to sustain this improvement safely.

Parents perceive low awareness levels and delays in investigation of UTI in childhood amongst health professionals. Increasing awareness about the importance of UTI in childhood, its incidence and management should be generated amongst health professionals who deal with young children. Parents need and would like more information about the disease and how to identify it, with guidance on urine collection. Further research is needed into whether educational strategies for either parents or health professionals are effective in identifying UTI earlier, and what the best methods of implementing these would be.

Introduction: Adherence to medications is very crucial for an optimized clinical outcome in the management of chronic diseases. Beliefs about medications and other factors can significantly affect adherence to chronic medications. The objective of the present research was to identify the associated factors of adherence to medication in Jordanian patients with chronic diseases utilizing a stepwise binary logistical regression model. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between November 2018 and March 2020. The participants were reached from secondary and tertiary care setting clinics in Jordan. The recruited patients were asked to report their attitudes of adherence to medications and beliefs about medications via filling out the MARS-5 and BMQ-specific tools. Sociodemographic data were also collected from the recruited patients and included in the regression model. A stepwise binary logistical regression model was applied to identify the associated factors of adherence to chronic medications in the tested sample. Results: A total of 485 patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited. The mean age of the participants was 57.14 (age ranged from 22 to 82 years). Around 39% of the participants were older than 65 years. Most of the patients were either hypertensive or diabetic (35.7% and 32.2%, respectively). The logistic regression model indicated that necessity beliefs are strongly associated with adherence (OR 4.22), while concerns beliefs, dosage frequency and having medical insurance were negatively associated with adherence (OR 0.73, 0.74 and 0.26, respectively), with a p-value ≤ 0.05. Conclusions: Both the MARS-5 and BMQ-specific questionnaires were applied successfully on the tested sample. Better attention should be paid to the logistic regression model variables that were associated with adherence in order to guarantee optimal treatment outcomes in the treatment of chronic diseases.