abstract:Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate attitudes, perceptions and perceived barriers towards health research among Saudi Arabian undergraduate medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study took place between August and October 2014 and included 520 students from five medical schools across Saudi Arabia. An anonymous online survey with 21 close-ended questions was designed to assess students' attitudes towards research, contribution to research-related activities, awareness of the importance of research, perception of available resources/opportunities for research, appreciation of medical students' research contributions and perceived barriers to research. Responses were scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Results: A total of 401 students participated in the study (response rate: 77.1%). Of these, 278 (69.3%) were female. A positive attitude towards research was reported by 43.9% of the students. No statistically significant differences were observed between genders with regards to attitudes towards and available resources for research (P = 0.500 and 0.200, respectively). Clinical students had a significantly more positive attitude towards research compared to preclinical students (P = 0.007). Only 26.4% of the respondents believed that they had adequate resources/opportunities for research. According to the students, perceived barriers to undertaking research included time constraints (n = 200; 49.9%), lack of research mentors (n = 95; 23.7%), lack of formal research methodology training (n = 170; 42.4%) and difficulties in conducting literature searches (n = 145; 36.2%). Conclusion: Less than half of the surveyed Saudi Arabian medical students had a positive attitude towards health research. Medical education policies should aim to counteract the barriers identified in this study.

INTRODUCTION:Tobacco smoking is a well-known risk factor for postoperative complications. Quitting smoking prior to surgery helps overcome those complications.PROBLEM:Surgeons' attention for educating their patients about the importance of smoking cessation prior to surgery is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking-related surgical complications. The extent of advised patients by their surgeons has not been identified.METHODS:A descriptive, comparative cross-sectional study using a survey was conducted in 2013 including eligible patients in King Khalid University Hospital. Simultaneously, 69 surgeons were included. All participant data were randomly collected and analyzed using Chi-square analysis.RESULTS:The frequency of smokers is more in surgical patients (37.5%) when compared to ex-smokers (12.5%) and passive smokers (8.3%), which were ex- and passive smokers, and it demonstrated an increased risk (P = 0.001) for surgery group compared to the nonsurgery group (P = 0.001). When comparing with nonsurgery group, most surgical patients agreed to quit smoking before surgery (95.3%). More than half (58.8%) of the patients said that they have been advised by their treating surgeons to quit smoking before surgery. Concerning the surgeons, 66 nonvascular and nonpediatric surgeons responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 22.83%). The majority of the surgeons (60.9%) were interacting with smoker patients. With regard to smoking cessation, 69.6% surgeons have advised smoker patients to stop smoking for more than 2 weeks before surgery. More than half of the surgeons (53.6%) believed that patients quit smoking after preoperative smoking cessation advice.CONCLUSION:The surgeons and patients who participated in this study were aware that smoking cessation improves outcomes, but most of the surgeons did not provide brief advice about time duration to stop smoking.

Starting from the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) global pandemic, most of the published data has concentrated on the respiratory signs and symptoms of Covid-19 infection, underestimating the presence and importance of ocular manifestations, such as conjunctivitis, usually reported in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. With the present review we intend to resume the ocular involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection and the recent discoveries about the different cell types and tissues of the eye that can be directly infected by SARS-CoV-2 and propagate the infection. Moreover, reviewing literature data about p53 expression in normal and diseased eye tissues, we hypothesize that the pleiotropic protein p53 present at high levels in cornea, conjunctiva and tear film might play a protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Since p53 can be easily up-regulated by using small molecule non-genotoxic inhibitors of MDM2, we propose that topical use of Nutlin-3, the prototype member of MDM2 inhibitors, might protect the anterior surface of the eye from SARS-CoV-2 infection, reducing the spreading of the virus.

Purpose:Educating patients about their diagnosis and proposed management is integral part of healthcare. Often patient noncompliance is due to a lack of knowledge that could result in irreversible ocular damage. In an era where access to information is virtually unlimited, an understanding of the preferred method of eye care education among patients is required for greater effectiveness in lowering morbidity and mortality of diseases.Subjects and Methods:Patients visiting the ophthalmology clinics of a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were interviewed. This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2014 and March 2015. A representative sample of 200 patients was enrolled. Close-ended questionnaire covering current and client preferred health promotion methods were used to collect clients’ response. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics.Results:Out of the 200 participants, 110 (55%) were males. The majority (n = 154; 77%) listed an ophthalmologist as their current primary source of information regarding their eye condition. Approximately half of the participants (n = 95; 48%) were keen to be educated regarding the causes of the eye disease. The top four educational methods preferred by patients were one-on-one session with an eye care provider (n = 116; 58%), a group session with an eye care provider (n = 30; 15%), an application on a smartphone (n = 53; 27%), video lectures on eye health and diseases (n = 8; 4%).Conclusion:Majority of patients in ophthalmic care prefer a one-on-one session with an eye care provider for their eye care education.

Purpose: The Aurolab® aqueous drainage implant is a low-cost alternative to the Baerveldt glaucoma implant. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the two implants are comparable in terms of surgical success and safety. Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study of Aurolab aqueous drainage implant done at our institution from May 2015 and May 2017. Twenty-five consecutive patients who received an Aurolab aqueous drainage implant were matched by age and diagnosis to patients who received a Baerveldt glaucoma implant. Data were collected pre-operative and post-operative visits, including visual acuity and intraocular pressure, number of medications, and complications. Surgical success was defined as intraocular pressure between 5 and 21 mmHg with a minimum 20% reduction from baseline, without loss of light perception or the need for further glaucoma surgery. Cox regression analysis was used to predict factors associated with surgical success. Results: The median (interquartile range, IQR) intraocular pressure at 1 year was 16.0 (8.0) mmHg for the Baerveldt glaucoma implant and 13.0 (8.0) mmHg for the Aurolab aqueous drainage implant, p = 0.38. Success (mean ± SE) at 1 year for the intraocular pressure >21-mmHg failure criterion was 65% ± 15% for the Baerveldt glaucoma implant and 79% ± 11% for the Aurolab aqueous drainage implant (p = 0.80). The frequency of complications listed was similar for the two groups (Fisher’s exact p = 0.71). In the Cox regression, the type of implant was not found to be associated with surgical success. Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggest that the Aurolab aqueous drainage implant is comparable to the Baerveldt glaucoma implant. Further long-term data in a larger population are needed to confirm these findings.

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Purpose Preventive measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, minimized workload on health-care systems and redirected resources to COVID-19 patients resulting in a reduction of elective procedures such as cataract surgery. We report the changes in monthly cataract surgery rate and its associated determinants at a tertiary eye hospital during different periods of the pandemic. Studying the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cataract surgery rate will help health-care policymakers to better understand the barriers to overcome the expected surgical backlog. Methods A retrospective review of medical records was performed for cataract surgeries from November 2018 to January 2022, five thousand and ninety-two eyes that underwent cataract surgery during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic were included. The monthly cataract surgery rate (MCSR) was calculated and compared before (Phase 1), during (Phase 2) and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Phase 3 and 4). Changes in monthly cataract surgery rate during and after the pandemic were presented as ratios and compared pre- to post-pandemic levels to evaluate the impact of different determinants. Results Of 9701 cataract patients, 5092 (52.5%) were operated in P1, 71 (0.73%) in P2, 116 (1.2%) in P3 and 4422 (45.6%) in P4. The MCSR varied significantly based on the degree of visual impairment in the operated and fellow eyes, and by the type of operating surgeon (P < 0.05). Age, gender, laterality, and place of residence were not significantly different throughout the study period. During phase 1135 (2.6%) eyes had rupture of the posterior capsule (PCR), while 6 eyes (8.4%) had PCR in phase 2. Conclusion The monthly cataract surgery rate declined during the pandemic and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. This should alert the key stakeholders to address the identified barriers to surpassing the baseline monthly surgical rate as this is crucial to eliminate the surgical backlog after the pandemic.