BACKGROUND: Low Back Pain (LBP) is the commonest musculoskeletal disorder and an important occupational hazard among healthcare workers (HCWs) that peaks among Operating Room (OR) staff. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors of low back pain among operating room (OR) staff in a tertiary healthcare center in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A 39-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all available OR staff. Data about personal, sociodemographic, general risk factors OR specific risky activities, and LBP characteristics were obtained. Descriptive, crosstabs, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression tests were employed. RESULTS: Out of the 143 distributed questionnaires, 84 % were received. LBP prevalence was 74.2 %. No statistically significant associations were detected between LBP and any of the general risk factors (p >0.05). However, most of the OR risky activities were significantly associated with the occurrence of LBP (p <0.05) e.g. lifting objects above the waist, rotating torso while bearing weight, transferring patients onto bed or chair, pulling a patient up the bed, and repositioning a patient in bed. These significant associations were preserved after adjustment for gender, perceived stress at work, educational level, and receiving education about LBP. Rest and analgesics were reported to be the most common relievers. CONCLUSIONS: LBP is a common health issue among KAMC OR staff. OR risky activities were found to contribute to this problem. We suggest designing educational interventional programs to teach OR staff the best way to prevent this problem.
Analgesics ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Humans ; Lifting ; Logistic Models ; Low Back Pain* ; Musculoskeletal Pain ; Operating Rooms ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors* ; Saudi Arabia* ; Tertiary Care Centers* ; Tertiary Healthcare* ; Torso

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-transmissible hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major problem worldwide. Recently, confirmatory nucleic acid tests (NATs) for HBV DNA have been employed in several countries. We assessed the prevalence and yearly trends of HBV infection in blood donors in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, screening for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody against HBV core antigen (anti-HBc), and HBV DNA. METHODS: Between 2011 and 2015, a total of 22,842 donors were screenedfor HBsAg, anti-HBc, and HBV DNA using the HBsAg Qualitative II kit (Abbott, Ireland Diagnostics Division, Sligo, Ireland), ARCHITECT Anti-hepatitis B core antigen antibody (HBc) II Assay kit (Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden, Germany), and NAT Procleix Ultrio Elite Assay kit (Grifols Diagnostic Solutions Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA), respectively. RESULTS: A total of 739 (3.24%) donors were HbsAg(+), anti-HBc(+), or HBV DNA(+); 63 (0.28%) were HbsAg(+), anti-HBc(+), and HBV DNA(+). Twelve (0.05%) were anti-HBc(+) and HBV DNA(+) but HBsAg(−); they were considered to have occult infection. Further, 664 (2.91%) were HBsAg(−) but anti-HBc(+), indicating chronic or resolving infection. HBV prevalence increased significantly from 2011 to 2012, increased marginally till 2013, and showed a decreasing trend from 2013 (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The five-year prevalence of HBV infection among blood donors in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (3.24%) is lower than that reported for other regions in the country. The occult HBV infection rate of 0.05% emphasizes the importance of NATs in isolating potential infectious blood units.
Antigens, Surface ; Blood Donors* ; DNA ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Ireland ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence* ; Retrospective Studies* ; Saudi Arabia* ; Tissue Donors

Background: In patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE), the literature suggests the overuse of computerized tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and underuse of clinical decision rules before imaging request. This study determined the potential for avoidable CTPA using the modified Wells score (mWS) and D-dimer assay in patients with suspected PE. Methods: This hospital-based retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 661 consecutive patients with suspected PE who underwent CTPA in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital for the use of a clinical prediction rule (mWS) and D-dimer assay. The score was calculated retrospectively from the available data in the files of patients who did not have a documented clinical prediction rule. Overuse (avoidable) CTPA was defined as D-dimer negativity and PE unlikely for this study. Results: Of 661 patients’ data examined, clinical prediction rules were documented in 15 (2.3%).In total, 422 patients (63.8%) had required information on modified Wells criteria and D-dimer assays and were included for further analysis. PE on CTPA was present in 22 (5.21%) of PE unlikely (mWS ≤4) and 1 (0.24%) of D-dimer negative patients. Thirty patients (7.11%) met the avoidable CTPA (DD negative+PE unlikely) criteria, and it was significantly associated with dyspnea. The value of sensitivity of avoidable CTPA was 100%, whereas the positive predictive value was 90.3%. Conclusion Underutilization of clinical prediction rules before prescribing CTPA is common in emergency departments. Therefore, a mandatory policy should be implemented regarding the evaluation of avoidable CTPA imaging to reduce CTPA overuse.

Surgical management of femoral shaft fractures with intramedullary nails has become the standard of care, with multiple options for entry point described, including piriformis entry, trochanter entry and retrograde femoral nails. Our present review describes the surgical anatomy of the proximal and distal femur and its relation to different entry points for intramedullary femoral nails. In addition, we reviewed relative indications for each technique, difficulties associated and possible complications.
Humans ; Femoral Fractures/surgery* ; Bone Nails ; Femur/surgery* ; Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary/methods* ; Lower Extremity

Background: The World Health Organization recommends that mothers avoid early complementary feeding of infants before the age of 6 months, to promote maximum growth and health. However, this practice is still high among Saudi mothers. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards early complementary feeding among Saudi mothers in Riyadh. Methods: A crosssectional study was conducted in Riyadh city among 771 mothers of children, aged 6-24 months. Data was collected through an online questionnaire that assessed KAP aspect regarding early complementary feeding among mothers. Results: More than one-third of mothers (37.4%) had introduced early complementary feeding, out of which 83.3% later stated that the main reason for this was because they thought that the baby was old enough to receive complementary foods. The two most common types of complementary foods given to the baby before 6 months were liquids (83.0%) and mashed foods (72.9%). The mothers who introduced complementary feeding before 6 months of age compared to those who initiated complementary feeding after 6 months were observed to have a higher percentage of medium knowledge and neutral attitude (76.0% versus 54.4% and 55.2% versus 62.5%, (p<0.05), respectively). Mothers’ knowledge and attitude significantly influenced their practices in relation to early complementary feeding (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that the appropriate knowledge and attitude are important to promote the introduction of complementary feeding at 6 months in the population that was studied. Thus, education on complementary feeding should be promoted.