Objectives: To validate C-reactive protein (CRP), red cell distribution width (RDW), and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for both serious outcomes and length of hospital stay (LOS) among hospitalized coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients. Methods: Laboratory data of adult COVID-19 patients (n=74) was collected in this retrospective cohort. Logistic regression was employed for risk factor evaluation and receiver operating curve was used for comparison of these risk factors for the prediction of serious outcome. Multiple regression was applied to determine the association between routine analytes and LOS. Results: Higher levels of CRP (3 times), white blood cells (20%), and neutrophil counts (40%) were seen in the serious category. Odds ratio for CRP for the serious outcome was 1.052 ( p =0.007) and RDW for the serious outcome was 1.218 ( p =0.040) in unadjusted model and odds ratio for CRP for the serious outcome was 1.048 ( p =0.024) and for RDW 1.286 ( p =0.023) in adjusted model. In a multivariate regression analysis for the LOS of the unadjusted models consisting of NLR, monocyte lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), the beta coefficients (BC) for the CRP were 0.006 (NLR), 0.005 (MLR) and 0.006 (PLR), whereas -0.029 (NLR), -0.034 (MLR) and -0.027 (PLR) were BCs for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Additionally, in adjusted models, the BCs for MCHC were -0.044 (NLR), -0.047 (MLR) and -0.043 (PLR). However, the CRP was consistent with 0.004 (BC) in all models. Conclusion: We observed that CRP is a better predictor than RDW and NLR for serious outcome among COVID-19 patients. Besides, CRP was positively, whereas MCHC was negatively associated with LOS.

Background and aim Hydroxyurea (HU) plays an essential role in the complex pathophysiology alteration of sickle‐cell disease (SCD), which translates clinically into the enhanced quality of life and increased survival. This research examines adult patients with SCD's attitudes and awareness toward HU, as well as underutilization consequences. Method A cross‐sectional research was performed in Saudi Arabia, and adult patients with SCD were interviewed. The survey includes patient demographics, attitudes, and knowledge of HU and clinical data. The chi‐square was applied through SPSS version 23 for assessing any association with outcome variables and demographic characteristics. Results HU is known to 72 (67.3%) of the 107 patients. The hydroxyurea treatment was initiated in 46 patients (63%). Of these, 23 (50%) discontinue HU, with the key factors being pregnancy preparation and side effects development. For those who were unaware of HU, 13 (37.1%) were admitted to the intensive care unit because of acute chest syndrome, 29 (82.8%) required a frequent blood transfusion and 12 (34.2%) with frequent hospitalizations. However, there was no significant relationship between awareness and education level (P value is .078 > .05). In addition, there was no significant relationship between the level of awareness and age and gender of participants (P value is .68 and .44, respectively). Conclusion HU is a long‐established and effective disease‐modifying agent for SCD patients, but it is underutilized. The causality of underuse is bidirectional between patients and healthcare providers. It is essential to educate healthcare providers and patients with SCD about hydroxyurea role in modifying disease severity, resolving adverse events, and achieving full benefits.

A tension-type headache (TTH) is a recurrent headache that is mild to moderate in intensity, unlike migraine (MH), which is accompanied by crippling effects of nausea, vomiting, photophobia, or phonophobia. TTH is more frequent than migraine, but it is less likely to cause severe pain and physical dysfunction. TTHs account for more lost workdays due to their prevalence. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, frequency, and disability of MHs and TTHs among the general population in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was employed using a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire implemented the HARDSHIP algorithm to diagnose MH and TTH and questions to correlate their prevalence to socio-demographic data, measurement of the level of disability, headache management, and treatment effectiveness using the chi-square test. The study reviewed 877 subjects (46.6% males vs. 53.4% females). 52.9% of the participants experienced headaches during the previous three months, and 35.6% experienced headaches recently. The most common type of headache was a probable MH (32.1%), followed by a TTH (26.9%), probable TTH (19.5%), and MH (15%). It was reported that some disability was attributed to 47% of MHs and 26% of TTHs. The most commonly used headache medication was paracetamol (53.5%). This study revealed that TTH and MH are common illnesses in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Region. TTH and MH are correlated with significant individual and social burdens, particularly for MH. Headache sufferers mostly manage their headaches using conventional over-the-counter methods.

Background. Recently, researchers have shown increased interest in the psychological effect of the pandemic on healthcare workers, as well as on the general population. Objectives. We aimed to investigate the incidence of adverse psychological effects, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, experienced by medical staff and healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. This is a cross-sectional survey, in which participants were invited to take part in the study by completing a questionnaire. The survey gathered information on demographic data, symptoms of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) tool. Results. The total and subscale of DAS-21 showed that 54.8% of all participants showed signs of depression, (60.1%) anxiety and (59.4%) stress. The faculty member of medicine was substantially correlated with the DASS-21 subscale depression and anxiety. In addition, the stress subscale of the DASS-21 was substantially higher with a medical intern. Similarly, the findings obtained from the preliminary study of participants who encountered or were exposed to COVID-19 patients had significantly higher stress subscale ratings in the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales. In addition, the married participants were correlated with higher scores in the (IES-R) tool. Conclusions. More than half of the participants in this study encountered mild to extreme psychological effects during the pandemic. This investigation's findings indicate that working in the medical profession (medical staff members and medical interns) is associated with depression, anxiety and stress.