Saudi Med J
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To monitor blood culture contamination (BCC) rates in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Blood cultures submitted to the Microbiology Laboratory of King Fahad Hospital, Madina, Saudi Arabia between January and December 2017 were analyzed prospectively. Positive blood cultures were either designated as true bacteremia with confirmed bloodstream infection or BCC. ⋯ Among 5,536 blood cultures from 2201 patients, 364 (6.6%) mirrored BCC. There was an upward trend in contamination rates in specific months. With respect to total blood cultures from respective units over a one-year period, medical ward contributed to the highest contamination rate (10.3%). Blood culture contamination rate in the wards ranged from 4.5-10.3%, with a higher contamination rate in elderly, aged 60-80 years. Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) was the most frequent contaminant (44.5%). Conclusion: The escalated contamination rates in September to October may be attributed to difficulty in sampling blood by the less competent nurses during annual pilgrimage season. High influx of patients and shortage of trained nurses may have resulted in increased incidence in December-January and March-April. The prevalence of skin-resident S. epidermidis may be due to improper aseptic conditions. Ours is the first report on evaluation of BCC rates in Madina and call for renewed efforts in this direction.
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To investigate whether confusion, respiratory rate, shock index-age ≥65 years (CRSI-65) score, consisting of basic physiological parameters, can be used for severity prediction in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. ⋯ Similar to the CURB-65 score, the CRSI-65 score appears to be useful in predicting 4-week mortality. The evaluation of CRSI-65 score can be used in emergency department triage, primary care, and non-hospital settings.
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[No Abstract Available].
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Comparative Study
A descriptive online survey about the knowledge of palliative care residents of Saudi Arabia has compared to the general worldwide population.
To assess communities' basic knowledge of palliative care by developing a questionnaire. ⋯ The research showed that there is a lack of knowledge about palliative-care among the population of Saudi Arabia. Data shows that there should be more efforts toward providing the community with better knowledge about palliative care.
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Human beings encountered malnutrition during the twentieth century and obesity in the very next century. This is how the future will look when the present becomes a slice of history. Obesity is threatening the healthy being of many youngsters throughout the world. ⋯ Despite the high rise of obesity prevalence in Saudi Arabia, there is scant research on these topics. The purpose of this review is to present a comprehensive assessment of these 2-obesity associated parental variables. The composed literature could provide an insight to the dominant surge of obesity in the Arab nations and stimulate research on current parenting practices in the Kingdom.