Background Drug overdose is a significant healthcare issue and remains a common phenomenon in the emergency department (ED). The incidents have increased over the last few years worldwide. There are a few studies about drug overdose in Saudi Arabia in general and Jeddah city specifically. We aimed to describe the pattern of drug overdoses in the emergency department at an academic hospital in Jeddah between 2015-2022. Methodology A retrospective record review study was done in 2022 at an academic hospital in Jeddah between 2015-2021, where charts were reviewed for all reported patients presenting to the ED with drug overdose, including all ages and both genders. A careful review of their medical records, data collection, and processing was done using Google Forms (Google, Mountain View, California) and Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington), respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software (IBM Inc. Armonk, New York). Results Seventy-eight patients were identified, meeting the criteria from the medical records. Most of the patients were children under 12 years of age. Most patients were clinically stable when they arrived at the emergency department. Gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common clinical presentations, followed by drowsiness, while some patients were non-symptomatic. Analgesics and nonsteroidal were the most common causes of drug overdose. Conclusion We concluded from this limited study that the most commonly used causative agent in drug overdoses was nonsteroidal and analgesics. Moreover, children younger than 12 years of age constituted the majority of drug overdose patients, and accidental overdose represented the majority of cases. Therefore, it is important to increase public awareness of proper child supervision and keep drugs out of children's reach. More research using larger and more representative data is needed to identify patterns of drug overdose in the community.
BACKGROUND The use of pre-hospital ultrasound (U/S) in Saudi Arabia requires further elucidation. AIM We aim to assess the use of pre-hospital ultrasound, as well as its barriers and enablers, among emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Saudi Arabia. METHOD This is a cross-sectional observational study, based on a self-administered questionnaire distributed to emergency services personnel in Saudi Arabia between May and August 2022. RESULT 420 EMS providers responded to this survey. 55.5% (n=233) of them had a positive attitude towards using ultrasound in their practice, although about 81% (n=341) had no ultrasound training. Barriers to the implementation of ultrasound included the need for training, difficulty using ultrasound in an ambulance, case overload, and shortage of personnel, among others. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that emergency care providers have a positive attitude towards the use of ultrasound in the pre-hospital setting. Saudi Arabian EMS should invest in training, raising awareness, and establishing or strengthening existing regulations in this regard.
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