Background and Objectives: Standard isolation precautions (SIPs) are clinical practice policies and guidelines for controlling healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). Healthcare students are frequently exposed to HAIs and their abidance of SIPs is paramount. This study is designated to evaluate healthcare students' knowledge and compliance with SIPs. It also identifies the most frequent sources of their information. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 5^th January to 16^th February 2016 at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University in Al-Kharj Governorate, Saudi Arabia. A novel self-constructed questionnaire was taken from a literature review and reused. Results: About 353 students, of which 73.4% being males with a mean age of 22.3; 1.53 (mean; standard deviation), were surveyed. Seventy percent had previously attended an infection control course. The overall means of knowledge and compliance with SIPs were included within highest ranges. This means that the study sample agreed with all correct answers of knowledge questions and always complied with all recommended statements of compliance. The most frequent source of information was self-learning while the current curriculum was the least frequent. Females were found to have higher mean scores in knowledge and compliance, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). According to the results of one-way analysis of variance, there were statistically significant differences in mean scores of knowledge and compliance between different specialities and academic levels. Conclusion: Despite the relatively weak role played by the current curriculum, this sample showed above average overall means of knowledge and compliance with SIPs.

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Context: In Saudi Arabia, there is still an insufficient supply of nursing graduates to meet the growing demand for nurses to provide patient care. Aims: The aim of this study was to further investigate on the knowledge, attitude and intention towards nursing profession among pre-clinical students. Settings and Design: A descriptive-correlational design was used in this study with a total of 128 pre-clinical male and female students from a nursing school in Riyadh. Subjects and Methods: Data were obtained using an adopted survey instrument for describing the knowledge, attitude and intention among the participants. In the last two parts of the instrument, the participants answered the questions using 5-point Likert scale. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Descriptive statistics was utilised to describe the variables and Chi-square to show correlation between variables. Results: In general, the participants had good knowledge of the nursing profession and a majority of the students disagreed that nursing is a job for females only. However, about 60% of the participants were not interested to study nursing. Conclusions: The findings concluded that working with the opposite sex and people not respecting the nursing profession were found to have the highest influence in preventing the students from becoming a nurse. Moreover, positive attitude towards nursing would significantly result in students becoming more interested to the profession.

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Context: It has been observed that emergency department (ED) visits have been continuously increasing globally and that certain days might affect ED visits and trauma patterns. In previous literature, there is controversy regarding the correlation between paediatric ED (PED) visits and holidays. Aims: To identify the impact of holidays on overall PED visits, trauma rates and characteristics. Settings and Design: This is a retrospective time-series analysis of PED visits and paediatric trauma from 2004 to 2013 conducted in King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: We extracted all ED visits during the 10-year period and included all trauma-related visits recorded in the paediatric trauma registry. The days were marked as holidays or non-holidays. Statistical Analysis Used: SAS Ver. 9.3 was used for analysis. Chi-square test and negative binomial regression were used. Significance was declared at P< 0.05. Results: Holidays were associated with decreased PED visits by 13% compared to non-holidays. Paediatric trauma increased during the holidays by 30%. The highest decrease of PED visits was observed during the summer by 32%. By contrast, during the summer, there was a 56% increase in trauma rates. In Eid A-Fitr, all PED visits decreased by 28%, whereas paediatric trauma increased by 70%. Time of trauma arrival, mechanism of injury, Injury Severity Score and Glasgow coma scale changed significantly during the holidays. Conclusions: Holidays appear to be associated with higher rates of paediatric trauma and fewer overall PED visits. Future work could focus on exploring the reasons behind this change and potential counter measures.

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Introduction: Research is becoming indispensable in today's medical education and clinical practice. Engaging medical students in research activities and producing clinically competent and research-oriented medical students are essential demands of today's modern medicine. Incorporating research-based competencies and designing research-oriented medical curricula are challenging and need more attention, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify research competencies for medical students and the best instructional modality for their integration in the medical curricula. Methodology: A list of research competencies needed to be acquired by medical students during their undergraduate level have been proposed and classified under the following categories: general research skills, biostatistics, basic biomedical research and clinical research and epidemiology. The competencies were further reviewed by academicians of different fields. Afterwards, a questionnaire was prepared targeting researchers who have mentored undergraduate medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Research mentors were asked to rate the importance of the competencies listed using a 5-point Likert scale and to determine how they should be delivered into the medical curricula. Results: Results showed that Likert scale mean score ranged from 3.44 to 4.71, illustrating mentors' agreement to the importance of the competencies listed. Around 52% and 58% of mentors choose 'compulsory component' in case of 'general research skills' and 'biostatistics', respectively. On the other hand, 75% and 66% of mentors choose 'non-compulsory component' in case of 'basic research' and 'clinical research and epidemiology', respectively. Conclusion: Standardisation of competencies might help to better integrate research competencies in medical curricula.

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Background: Helicobacter pylori eradication is achieved in 60%–80% with first-line therapy. Different second-line therapeutic options are available. However, the success of second-line therapy has not been addressed or reported from Saudi Arabia. Objectives: The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of the 10-day course of levofloxacin, doxycycline and esomeprazole in non-responders to first-line therapies for H. pylori eradication in Saudi Arabia. Secondary objectives included were symptoms' response to treatment, factors associated with eradication of H. pylori and adverse events associated with the treatment. Patients and Methods: A prospective, open-label, single-arm study was conducted. Patients were recruited from a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia from June 2013 to April 2014. A total of 55 patients had previously received standard triple therapy and/or sequential therapy from 2011 to 2014 and failed to eradicate the infection. The rescue treatment was given for 10 days consisting of levofloxacin 500 mg once daily, doxycycline 100 mg twice daily and esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily. Urea breath test (UBT) was done at a minimum of 6 weeks after completion of the treatment to confirm the H. pylori eradication. Results: From 55 patients recruited, 32 had failed to respond to previous standard triple therapy, 15 patients failed to respond to sequential therapy and 8 patients failed to both regimens. Persistent H. pylori infection was confirmed by rapid urease test, histology or UBT. H. pylori eradication was achieved in 20 out of 51 patients (39.22%, per protocol analysis, 36.36% by intention to treat analysis). Therapy was well tolerated and side effects were generally mild. Conclusion: Rescue treatment with levofloxacin and doxycycline-based therapy for 10 days was well tolerated but effective only in 39.22% of patients infected with H. pylori in Saudi Arabia. More trials to determine the most efficacious rescue therapy in Saudi Arabia are needed.

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Introduction: Evidence has been found to suggest that methylglyoxal (MG) plays a mediating role in diabetes-related gastrointestinal conditions, and a possible mechanism relating to these conditions could be revealed by determining MG as a transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel agonist. Methods: Muscle strips from the distal colon of male Wistar rats were used, and organ bath was employed to gain insight into the impact of MG + TRPA1 antagonist (HC-030031). Results: Considerable rise of spontaneous contractions for longitudinal muscle strips subjected to pre-treatment with MG were observed. The potentiation of the contractile response of control longitudinal muscle strips to electric field stimulation (EFS) took place as a consequence of pre-treatment with 10 mM MG, and maximum response values displayed a rise from 2.16 g ± 0.323 to 3.64 g ± 0.421. 10 μM HC-030031 was observed to block the improvement of EFS responses by MG, and regarding circular muscle strips, a considerable decline in the maximum relaxation response was facilitated by 10 mM MG. Specifically, this was achieved at 20 Hz from 0.26 g ± 0.036 to 0.055 g ± 0.046. Conclusion: MG has been found to directly contract the distal colons of Wistar rats while enhancing the responses initiated as a result of carbachol and EFS. After blockading the impacts using HC-030031, evidence was found to suggest that the mediation of the impacts takes place through the activation of the TRPA1 channel, which occurs from the excretion of excitatory neurotransmitters. The findings also implicate MG in the blocking of inhibitory neurotransmission.

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Introduction: Personalized medicine is the field that utilises patients' genetic and environmental data in order to deliver optimal healthcare, and since it is a rapidly evolving area and is currently incorporated in several health care systems, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge and awareness about personalized medicine among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A sample of medical students from the King Abdulaziz University Hospital were selected for this study and interviewed using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Results: 534 students participated in the study, 324 (60.7%) acknowledged to having heard of personalized medicine, yet only 42 (7.9%) self-scored their level of knowledge about personalized medicine at “extremely knowledgeable”. About one-third of the participants showed high interest in genetic testing personally, and the other applications of personalized medicine. On an academic note, 437 (81.8%) were interested in attending rotations and rounds focusing primarily on personalized medicine. Conclusion: Participants demonstrated genuine interest in personalized medicine; however, more focus on this field should be introduced into the medical curricula. There is a need to conduct more national surveys to assess the level of awareness among health professionals and the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding personalised medicine.

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Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is related to immunological, genetic and environmental factors. It has been recognised as a multisystemic disorder with an increased risk of developing extracutaneous manifestations. Aim: This study aims to explore the distribution and proportion of major comorbidities among psoriatic patients of King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC). Methods: A case series study was conducted in KAMC in Riyadh. It targeted psoriatic patients of all age groups from both genders. Data were collected by retrieving psoriatic patients' medical files to acquire age, gender, weight, blood pressure and different laboratory profiles from their charts.Results: A total of 81 psoriatic patients were included (45 males, 36 females). The mean age was 50 ± 20 years. The proportion of psoriatic patients having hypertension was found to be 48% (n = 39). Diabetes and dyslipidaemia were found among 65% (n = 53) and 62% (n = 50) of psoriatic patients, respectively. Body mass index screening showed 56 (69%) psoriatic patients to be either overweight or obese. Conclusion: Medical comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia were found in high proportions in patients with psoriasis. These findings indicate the necessity to closely control and monitor comorbid disorders among these patients.

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