Curriculum development for the Saudi sleep medicine fellowship program.

Objectives: Given the rapid global development of sleep medicine, well-qualified sleep medicine physicians are necessary to meet the demand. Although sleep medicine was accredited as an independent specialty in KSA in 2012, national data suggest that the number of trained and accredited sleep medicine specialists remains comparatively low. A structured sleep medicine fellowship programme was established in KSA in 2009.

Sleep quality and insomnia during the COVID-19 lockdown among the Saudi public: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To measure the Saudi population's sleep quality during the lockdown of COVID-19.

Methods: An internet-based questionnaire that was performed during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic among the Saudi population over 2 weeks from April 1 to April 15, 2020. We used the instant messaging application WhatsApp and Twitter to reach the targeted population.

Histopathology of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronovirus (MERS-CoV) infection - clinicopathological and ultrastructural study.

Aims: The pathogenesis, viral localization and histopathological features of Middle East respiratory syndrome - coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in humans are not described sufficiently. The aims of this study were to explore and define the spectrum of histological and ultrastructural pathological changes affecting various organs in a patient with MERS-CoV infection and represent a base of MERS-CoV histopathology.

Methods And Results: We analysed the post-mortem histopathological findings and investigated localisation of viral particles in the pulmonary and extrapulmonary tissue by transmission electron microscopic examination in a 33-year-old male patient of T cell lymphoma, who acquired MERS-CoV infection.

The Saudi Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of COPD.

The Saudi Thoracic Society (STS) launched the Saudi Initiative for Chronic Airway Diseases (SICAD) to develop a guideline for the diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This guideline is primarily aimed for internists and general practitioners. Though there is scanty epidemiological data related to COPD, the SICAD panel believes that COPD prevalence is increasing in Saudi Arabia due to increasing prevalence of tobacco smoking among men and women.

Solitary pulmonary nodule: A diagnostic algorithm in the light of current imaging technique.

The solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is frequently seen on chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT). The finding of a SPN usually provokes a flurry of clinical and imaging activity as an SPN in at-risk population is an alert signal of possible lung cancer. The frequency of malignant nodules in a given population is variable and depends on the endemicity of granulomatous disease.

Physicians' attitudes toward reporting medical errors-an observational study at a general hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: : Accurate medical error reporting is crucial for reducing the occurrence of such errors and their adverse consequences. This study aims to investigate the views of physicians about medical error reporting in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: : This is a cross-sectional self-administrated survey study.

The calcified lung nodule: What does it mean?

The aim of this review is to present a pictorial essay emphasizing the various patterns of calcification in pulmonary nodules (PN) to aid diagnosis and to discuss the differential diagnosis and the pathogenesis where it is known. The imaging evaluation of PN is based on clinical history, size, distribution and the gross appearance of the nodule as well as feasibility of obtaining a tissue diagnosis. Imaging is instrumental in the management of PN and one should strive not only to identify small malignant tumors with high survival rates but to spare patients with benign PN from undergoing unnecessary surgery.

Insomnia in chronic renal patients on dialysis in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Studies have shown that insomnia is a common sleep disorder among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of insomnia in Saudi patients with ESRD who are on maintenance dialysis.

Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out over a period of five months in two hemodialysis centers in Saudi Arabia.

Factors associated with decision-making about end-of-life care by hemodialysis patients.

The current cross sectional study is based on a questionnaire database on patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to determine their preferences about end-of-life care and differences of certainty regarding the application of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and life sustaining measures in case of cardiac arrest. The study was performed on 100 patients on hemodialysis for at least 2 years and not on the transplant list in two tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia; King Fahad National Guard in Riyadh and King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah in March 2007. More than two thirds of the surveyed patients were willing to make decisive decisions.

Saudi guidelines for testing and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a common disease in Saudi Arabia. As most cases of tuberculosis are due to reactivation of latent infection, identification of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) who are at increased risk of progression to active disease, is a key element of tuberculosis control programs. Whereas general screening of individuals for LTBI is not cost-effective, targeted testing of individuals at high risk of disease progression is the right approach.

The Saudi Initiative for Asthma.

The Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA) provides up-to-date guidelines for healthcare workers managing patients with asthma. SINA was developed by a panel of Saudi experts with respectable academic backgrounds and long-standing experience in the field. SINA is founded on the latest available evidence, local literature, and knowledge of the current setting in Saudi Arabia.

Restless legs syndrome in patients on dialysis.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is an extremely distressing problem experienced by patients on dialysis; the prevalence appears to be greater than in the general population, with a wide variation from 6.6% to 80%. The diagnosis of RLS is a clinical one, and its definition has been clarified and standardized by internationally recognized diagnostic criteria, published in 1995 by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG).

Levels of acceptance of Asthma Control Test questionnaire among Saudi patients attending 5 tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To explore the levels of acceptance of asthma control test (ACT) among Saudi patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 5 hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely; Security Forces Hospital, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, King Khalid University Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, and Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, from the first of September to the 30th of November 2006. Patients attending the pulmonary clinic were asked to answer the ACT.

Advance care planning preferences among dialysis patients and factors influencing their decisions.

To determine the resuscitation preferences of hemodialysis (HD) Saudi patients, we con-ducted a cross-sectional, observational descriptive questionnaire study in two major tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia from March to December 2007. We enrolled all the patients on HD for two years or more, and excluded the patients who were transplant candidates, confused, or demented. The questionnaire was com-posed of 4 sections.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman's Disease) as cause of isolated hilar lymphadenopathy and complete remission after high dose steroid.

Rosai-Dorfman's Disease, also known as sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML), is a rare histiocytic proliferative disorder and a distinct clinico-pathological feature of unknown origin. Painless cervical lymphadenopathy is the most common clinical presentation. Different treatment modalities have been tried with variable responses, however, there is no consensus on the best modality of treatment.

Asthma control assessment using asthma control test among patients attending 5 tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: Evaluation of asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT).

Methods: The ACT was used to assess asthma control among patients with bronchial asthma visiting pulmonary clinics in 5 major tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each hospital had a target of 300 patients to recruit over the period of the study from the 1st September to 30th November 2006.

Prevalence of symptoms and risk of sleep apnea in middle-aged Saudi males in primary care.

Objective: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea OSA has not been assessed in Saudi Arabia. We aimed to assess the prevalence of individuals who were at risk of OSA in a sample of middle-aged Saudi males, using the Berlin questionnaire at primary care settings.

Methods: The study was conducted at King Khalid University and King Fahd National Guard primary health care clinics in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between December 2005 and March 2006.

Perception of the role of inhaled corticosteroids and factors affecting compliance among asthmatic adult patients.

Objective: To examine the patient characteristics linked with reduced adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) use.

Methods: A prospective study of adult asthmatic patients who were prescribed with ICS and are under regular follow-up at the pulmonary outpatient clinics between June 1st, and December 31st, 2001, at King Fahad National Guard Hospital in Riyadh. All patients underwent structured interviews with an investigator.

Implementation of the national asthma management guidelines in the emergency department.

Objective: The national protocol for asthma management was released in 1995. There has been no national investigation to compare the actual care delivered at the Emergency Department to those recommended by these guidelines: To compare the documented management of acute bronchial asthma at the Emergency Room (ER) with the Saudi National Guidelines

Methods: Retrospective analyses of a total of 150 ER records, of patients with a diagnosis of asthma over a one year period (January through to December 2000), at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Documentation of the history, indices of severity, treatment given, pre-discharge assessment and prescriptions were compared to the nationally recommended management.

A fatal complication of bronchiectasis. Brain abscess with intraventricular rupture.

The classic clinical manifestations of bronchiectasis are cough and daily production of purulent sputum for months to years. The most common complications are hemoptysis and respiratory failure. Brain abscess has become rare in the recent antibiotic era.