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Background: One of the basic policy questions to be decided at the inception of medical education institutes is the language of instruction. Aims: This study explored the perspectives of medical faculty and students at a college in Saudi Arabia on the language of instruction in medical education. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of undergraduate medical students and full-time faculty members at a medical college in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was conducted in 2016. Each participant completed a self-administered, validated 28-item questionnaire. Results: The total number of students and faculty who responded were 468 (76%) and 37 (93%) respectively. Most students and faculty members agreed that studying in English enables a better access to medical information (n=457, 91%) and more job opportunities (n=419, 83%). Less than 15% of the students preferred to be taught in Arabic in most of the curriculum aspects except for communication skills (n=131, 28%) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) (n=119, 26%). Conclusions: Most medical students and faculty members preferred English as the language of instruction for medical education and did not believe that teaching medicine in Arabic should be sought as a future goal.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of serious bacterial infections (SBIs) in infants 90 days and younger with a confirmed respiratory tract infection (RTI). Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out of infants 90 days and younger who were admitted to King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2019 to December 2020, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-proven RTI. Cultures from the urine, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid were reviewed with the patients' demographic information and clinical presentation. Original ArticleResults: Of 322 patients with a viral RTI, 21 (6.5%) had a concurrent urinary tract infection (UTI), and no patients had bacteremia or bacterial meningitis. The risk of a concurrent SBI was 4 times higher in neonates (odds ratio [OR]=4.66, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1. 32-16.47]). Previously healthy infants were at lower risk to have a SBI in comparison to those with chronic diseases or renal abnormalities (OR=0.23, 95% CI: [0.09-0.61]). In addition, male gender (OR=3.49, 95% CI: [1. 07-11.38]) and abnormal urinalysis (OR=4.12, 95% CI: [1. 48-11.42]) were predictors of SBIs. There was no statistically significant association between the number or type of detected viruses and SBIs. Conclusion:No cases of invasive bacterial infections were found in infants with PCR-proven viral RTIs. There is a risk of having a concurrent UTI in this cohort of patients. Neonates had a higher risk of UTIs as compared to older infants.