Perceptions of postoutbreak management by management and healthcare workers of a Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in a tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study.

Objectives: This study examines perceptions of the operational and organisational management of a major outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) caused by a novel coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Perspectives were sought from key decision-makers and clinical staff about the factors perceived to promote and inhibit effective and rapid control of the outbreak.

Setting: A large teaching tertiary healthcare centre in KSA; the outbreak lasted 6 weeks from June 2015.

Biomarkers of oxidative stress in women with pre-eclampsia.

Aim: The potential role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia has been reported in the literature. There are only a few studies that have investigated changes in malondialdehyde (MDA), vitamin E and total blood glutathione together in pre-eclampsia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the levels of MDA, vitamin E and total glutathione as putative circulatory markers of oxidative stress for the early detection of pre-eclampsia.

Factors contributing to intra-uterine fetal death.

Purpose: We aimed in this research to explore factors contributing to the occurrence of intra-uterine fetal death (IUFD).

Methods: The study was conducted between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2009 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients who were diagnosed to have IUFD at ≥24 weeks of gestation and those whose dead fetuses were found to weigh ≥500 g after delivery were eligible to be included.

Value of subspecialty experience in internal medicine undergraduate training.

We aimed from our study to assess how students and clinical supervisors perceive students' achievement in the internal medicine subspecialty clinical attachments in comparison with the general attachments. We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing students' self-assessment ratings during the Medicine Block general and subspecialties clinical attachments at our college of medicine during the period between February 2007 and June 2009. We assessed the level of agreement between students' self-assessment in the different subspecialties with their self-assessment in the general attachments.

Antibiotic use and risk of gynecological cancer.

Objectives: Several studies addressed the association between antibiotic use and breast cancer risk. The objective of this study was to assess the association between antibiotic use and risk of cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancer.

Study Design: We carried out a population-based case-control study using data from Saskatchewan Health administrative databases (Canada) between the years 1981 and 2000.

Exploring factors affecting undergraduate medical students' study strategies in the clinical years: a qualitative study.

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of clinical supervision, and assessment characteristics on the study strategies used by undergraduate medical students during their clinical rotations. We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period from November 2007 to December 2008. We conducted semi-structured focus groups interviews with students and conducted individual interviews with teachers and students to explore students' and clinical teachers' perceptions and interpretations of factors influencing students' study strategies.

Obstetric medical emergency teams are a step forward in maternal safety!

Background And Aim: The medical emergency team (MET) system was introduced successfully worldwide. With the exception of a few research publications, most of the described teams are based on patients' medical rather than obstetric management. The objective of this study was to review literature on the outcome of obstetric MET implementation.

Iron status parameters in preeclamptic women.

Background: Evidence of increased oxidative stress due to endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia has been well established. Increase in the oxidative stress is catalyzed in the presence of free transitional metals. Therefore, the relationship of iron status with preeclampsia was under investigation.

Role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The cause and the pathogenesis of the pregnancy-induced syndrome, preeclampsia, is still poorly understood. Published evidence of altered biomarkers for the endothelial dysfunction suggests that the initiating event in preeclampsia is the reduced placental perfusion, which leads to widespread dysfunction of the maternal vascular endothelium.

Visual estimation versus gravimetric measurement of postpartum blood loss: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: One of the major problems in international literature is how to measure postpartum blood loss with accuracy. We aimed in this research to assess the accuracy of visual estimation of postpartum blood loss (by each of two main health-care providers) compared with the gravimetric calculation method.

Methods: We carried out a prospective cohort study at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 1 November 2009 and 31 December 2009.

Redesigning an educational assessment program.

Changing educational assessment program represent a challenge to any organization. This change usually aims to achieve reliable and valid tests and assessment program that make a shift from individual assessment method to an integral program intertwined with the educational curriculum. This paper examines critically the recent developments in the assessment theory and practice, and establishes practical advices for redesigning educational assessment programs.

The significance of documenting clinical appearance of the uterine cervix in the cervical cytology form.

Objective: To determine whether or not the Pap smear taker is reporting the clinical appearance of the cervix on the cytology request form, and if cytologist / smear taker are giving any importance to this information prior to issuing advice on subsequent follow-up. Finally, to evaluate the clinicians' response to normal Pap smear report in the absence of the clinical comment on the cervix.

Methods: A retrospective study, for a total of 1196 random smear results performed between 1999 and 2000 at King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its relevant charts were evaluated.