The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed an extraordinary demand on health systems and healthcare providers all over the world. The pandemic presented a number of unprecedented challenging ethical issues. Across the globe, hospitals are being challenged by a large number of patients presenting to the emergency room for treatment, creating scarcities of critical care resources, and uncovering the need for formal crisis standards of care. Difficult life and death decisions, which may create severe moral distress to the physicians, have to be made in emergency rooms and intensive care units. Other ethical issues, such as that related to conducting clinical trials during the pandemic, and the increase in domestic violence during the quarantine period, will be also discussed.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Globally, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most preponderant cancer in men. It contributes to the high mortality-to-incidence ratio reported in West Africa and Asia largely due to low screening. The mortality risk is determined or predicted based on the prevalence of high-risk or aggressive PCa using a scoring or grading system such as Gleason score (GS), Gleason grade (GG), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. In this review, peer-reviewed articles found on databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed Central and, EMBASE were selected based on adherence to clinical guidelines for the classification of PCa. In West Africa and Asia, the result revealed that the frequency of high-risk PCa was 42% and 51.2% based on GS, 48.8% and 25.3% based on GG pattern, and 87.5% and 44.3% based on PSA level >10 ng/mL, respectively. Data revealed a high prevalence of high-risk PCa both in West Africa and Asia when compared with developed countries. However, the prevalence of high-risk PCa is higher in West Africa than in Asia. Studies have shown that high-risk PCas are associated with germline mutations and such mutations are prevalent in blacks and Asians than in whites. Thus, testing for germline mutations in patients with GS of ≥ 7, GG ≥ 3, high prostate density, low prostate volume, and PSA levels of >4.0 ng/mL may identify those at risk of developing lethal PCa and could reduce the mortality rates in Asia and West Africa.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore research productivity and attitudes by Saudi interns. Materials and Methods: Interns from two hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were invited to participate in an online survey. Results: Fifty-seven interns responded to the survey. An accurate response rate is not possible because the invitation email reliably reached only a half of all 400 interns. Fifteen interns (26.3%) presented their research findings at a conference, and seven (12.3%) had managed to publish their findings. The main attractions to research were improving prospects of a successful residency/fellowship match (71.7%) and desire to learn more about the research subject (17%). Conclusion: Most interns in our sample expressed interest in being involved in research. The driving forces behind such eagerness, however, remain to be explicitly explored—although the majority of the sampled interns cited improved chances for a successful residency/fellowship match as the main reason.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Onychoptosis is the periodic shedding and falling of one or more nails, in whole or part. It can be seen after fever, trauma, adverse reaction to medications, and in systemic illnesses including syphilis (syphilitic onychia). We report a case of 38-year-old man presented with subacute bilateral retrobulbar optic neuritis. Physical examination revealed diffuse onychoptosis which lead into the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Symptoms significantly improved with appropriate treatment with intravenous penicillin G for 14 days.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Objectives: The objectives of this study were (1) to estimate the frequency of preoperative abnormal cervical cytology (CC), (2) to explore correlations between preoperative CC and specific clinicopathological prognostic factors (tumor stage, endometrioid grade, myometrial invasion, lymphovascular space involvement, cervical involvement, and recurrence), and (3) to examine the impact of preoperative CC on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in Saudi patients with endometrioid-type endometrial cancer (EC). Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. The study’s inclusion criteria included: (1) patients who underwent staging operation for EC from 2010–2014, (2) patients who had preoperative CC results within 3 months before staging operation, and (3) patients with final histopathological diagnosis of endometrioid-type EC. Results: Hundred and sixteen patients (n = 116) met the study’s inclusion criteria. CC results were abnormal in 46 patients (39.7%). Patients with abnormal CC had statistically significant higher rates of unfavorable Grades II–III tumor and cervical involvement than patients with normal CC (P = 0.004, chi-square test). There were no statistically significant differences (log-rank test) between patients with normal and abnormal CC with regard to DFS (P = 0.525) and OS (P = 0.166). Multivariate analyses of DFS and OS (Cox proportional hazards model) failed to show preoperative CC as a significant independent prognostic factor of DFS and OS (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The frequency of abnormal preoperative CC in patients with endometrioid-type EC is not uncommon. Abnormal CC correlates with poor prognostic factors, namely high tumor grade and cervical involvement. Preoperative CC is not a significant independent prognostic factor of survival.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Background: Children are most affected by migration and wars. The health of child asylum seekers is adversely affected due to poor nutrition, malnutrition, insufficient vaccinations, and a lack of preventive health-care services (PHCS). The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels of the refugee mothers of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and the importance of breastfeeding before and after implementation of an educational program. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 12 statements about the importance of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and breastfeeding was prepared and translated into Arabic. Refugee mothers were asked to complete the questionnaire before and after the education program. Results: Thirty-one (72.1%) of the 43 participating mothers had their children vaccinated regularly. Vitamin D supplementation was given to 58.1%, and 23.1% were started on iron supplementation. The rate of vitamin D supplementation was higher in the literate mothers (P = 0.010). The least correctly answered statement before the education program was related to iron supplementation (n = 24, 55.8%). The mean (standard deviation) number of correct answers given by the participating mothers to the 12 statements before the seminar was 9.16 (±2.05), this increased to 11.16 (±0.99) after the seminar. Conclusion: The results of this study show that refugee mothers’ knowledge levels about vitamin D and iron supplementation are quite low. Their knowledge levels can be increased in the short term by providing information in the mothers’ native languages.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common cancer in humans after basal cell carcinoma. Marjolin’s ulcer is a form of cutaneous malignancy, and mostly represents cSCC, arising from chronic burns and wounds. We describe an interesting case of giant-neglected facial Marjolin’s ulcer identified as cSCC associated with perioperative blood loss anemia. We also highlight its staging workup and the treatment options provided.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]

Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is one of the most common causes of thyrotoxicosis. Thyroid scans with radioiodine or technetium-99m pertechnetate (99mTc) are often performed in the workup of patients with thyrotoxicosis, particularly to differentiate between SAT and Graves’s disease. Although very helpful, thyroid scans are prone to pitfalls that may occasionally lead to misdiagnosis. These pitfalls are largely related to physiologic uptake of radioiodine or 99mTc in non-thyroidal tissue, such as salivary gland and stomach that may result in false-positive findings. We present herein a very rare case of SAT misdiagnosed as an autonomous thyroid adenoma most likely due to focal 99mTc uptake in the esophagus. This case may have implications for the management of patients with suspected SAT, who undergo a radioiodine or 99mTc thyroid scan.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]