BACKGROUNDAccidental needlestick injuries sustained by health care workers are a common occupational hazard in health care settings. The aim of this study was to review the epidemiology of needlestick injuries in Buraidah Central Hospital, a 212-bed secondary care hospital in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.METHODSWe conducted a retrospective survey of all self-reported documents related to needlestick injuries, for the period January 2002 through December 2003. The data was analyzed to determine the age, sex and job category of the health care worker suffering the injury as well as the risk factors responsible for needlestick injuries.RESULTSDuring the 2-year period, employees reported 73 injuries from needles and other sharp objects. Nurses were involved in 66% of instances, physicians in 19%, technicians in 10%, and nonclinical support staff in 5.5%. The majority (53.4%) of the injuries occurred after use and before disposal of the objects. Syringe needles were responsible for 63% of all injuries. Most injuries occurred during recapping of used needles (29%), during surgery (19%), and by collision with sharps (14%). Disposal-related (11%) causes as well as injuries by concealed sharps (5%) occurred while handling linens or trash containing improperly disposed needles.CONCLUSIONThis data emphasizes the importance of increased awareness, training and education of health care workers for reporting and prevention of needlestick injuries.

Cholera is an important public health problem, causing substantial morbidity and mortality especially in the developing countries. It is an indicator of socioeconomic problems and is a global threat to public health. Worldwide, approximately -million cholera cases and , -, deaths due to cholera occur annually. Cholera is transmitted by drinking water or eating food, which is contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae. Approximately -% of persons suffer from severe cholera and if untreated, % of severe cases are fatal. The frequency, severity, and duration of cholera infection vary and keep on changing in different parts of the world. Environmental factors such as climate variability, temperature, and rainfall play an important role in cholera transmission. Population density, urbanization, and overcrowding also influence cholera transmission. It is also closely associated with the social and behavioral aspects of individuals as well as communities. Each year, many cholera outbreaks are reported from different regions of the world. These outbreaks have negative impact on social and economic conditions of the affected countries. An integrated, multisectoral program, designed on evidence-based interventions, is required to prevent and control cholera.

The objectives of this study were to determine the burden of foodborne illness, and to identify the specific foods and causative organisms responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks in Qassim, Saudi Arabia, during the year 2006. The study is a descriptive analysis of the surveillance data for foodborne illness outbreaks, collected by the Preventive Medicine Department, Primary Health Care Administration, Qassim province. We analyzed the foodborne illness surveillance data for the year 2006, using SPSS-11 statistical package. The distribution of foodborne illnesses was examined in relation to age, sex, nationality, and month of occurrence. In addition, types of food, place of food preparation, and pathogenic agent responsible for the outbreaks were also analyzed. During the year 2006, 31 foodborne illness outbreaks, accounting for 251 cases, were reported. The highest proportion (64.5%) of outbreaks was reported during summer months of June to August. Men constituted 66.9% of the cases, and 68.1% were adults. Salmonella species was the commonest causative agent, followed by Staphylococcus aureus. The majority (68.9%) of the cases got sick after consuming commercially prepared foods. Meat intake caused 67.7% cases, and Middle Eastern meat sandwich was a commonly implicated food. Our study concludes that foodborne illness is an important public health problem in Qassim province. A comprehensive approach is required to assure food safety in commercial food establishments. Health education of the community, food handlers, and food industry workers regarding food and personal hygiene will reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses in Qassim and Saudi Arabia.

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Objective: To evaluate the health education infographics posted on Twitter accounts by major health care institutions in Saudi Arabia. Method: Cross-sectional review of health education infographics using a semi-structured evaluation form. The scoring rubric included 10 criteria grouped under 4 main headings: (1) usefulness, (2) legibility, (3) graphics and illustrations and (4) aesthetics. Rated on a scale of 1 to 5, scored items were summed and converted into a percentage. Each infographic was classified as being of high quality (70%–100%), medium quality (40%–69%) or low quality (0%–39%). Results: A total of 297 infographics were evaluated. The most common topics concerned chronic diseases and associated risk factors ( n = 72) and healthy lifestyle ( n = 51). The highest re-tweets (524), likes (605) and replies (226) were received by government organisations. Overall, 249 (83.8%) infographics were categorised as of ‘high quality’, 46 (15.5%) as ‘medium quality’, and 2 (0.7%) as ‘low quality’. The highest proportion (93%) of ‘high-quality’ infographics came from government hospitals. Among individual criterion, drawings (17.2%) made up the highest proportion of the ‘low quality’ category followed by overall design (10.8%) and purpose (10.8%). Light text (covering < 50% of the infographic) showed a significant statistical association with the number of replies ( p = .007), number of likes ( p = .003) and number of retweets ( p = .018). Conclusion: The majority of infographics were rated as being of ‘high quality’. Government institutions were assessed as having better quality infographics than private hospitals. We recommend that social media design specialists and health education specialists collaborate to design clear infographics with better overall design.

Background: Irrational prescription of drugs in children is reported to be widespread. There are scarce studies on the pediatric prescribing pattern especially at primary health care (PHC) level. Aim: To determine the physicians’ prescribing patterns for children under five years, to explore completeness of prescriptions’ recorded information, and to analyze the core indicators of drug prescribing at primary health care centers (PHCC) in Qassim. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 25 randomly selected PHCCs. All prescriptions, for the first week of first six months of the year 1437 Hijrah (October 2015 to April 2016), were reviewed. Among 25 012 prescriptions, 4125 (16.5%) were for children under five years. We randomly selected 1212 prescriptions for the study. World Health Organization (WHO) specified drug use indicators, and index of rational drug prescribing (IRDP) with a maximum value of 5, were calculated. The physicians and pharmacists of sampled PHCCs were also surveyed to explore prescribing issues. Findings: The completeness of recorded date, patient age, and gender was more than 90%. The diagnosis was legibly written in 842 (69.5%), while the patient weight was recorded in 307 (25.3%) prescriptions. The least commonly recorded instruction was the drug strength (26.8%), while the dose and frequency of use were stated for 91.3% and 90.8% of the drugs, respectively. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.35 ± 0.89; 72.97% drugs were prescribed by generic name; in 65.98% patient encounters, antibiotics were prescribed. The overall IRDP was 3.56. Most of the physicians and pharmacists reported availability of the drug list and Saudi PHC formulary in their PHCCs. Conclusion: PHC physicians’ drug prescribing was not at the optimal level of rational use, especially regarding prescription of antibiotics. Creating awareness about rational drug use and hazards of overuse of antibiotics is needed.

PHC physicians have a positive attitude to statistics. However, they realize their gaps in knowledge in statistics, and are keen to fill these gaps. Statistics training, resulting in improved statistics knowledge is expected to lead to clinical care utilizing evidence-based medicine, and thus improvement to health care services.

This outbreak demonstrates the increased susceptibility of unvaccinated children aged 6-11 months. To prevent future outbreaks, community awareness, review of measles vaccination schedule, enhanced surveillance and measles 'catch-up' mass immunization campaign to interrupt chains of transmission, are required.