Publications by authors named "Khizra Sultana"

Article Synopsis
  • Warfarin is a widely used anticoagulant requiring careful monitoring due to its narrow therapeutic index, influenced by genetic and individual factors.
  • This study utilized next-generation sequencing to analyze 786 patients, identifying 710 genetic variants linked to warfarin dosage.
  • Findings highlight novel, population-specific genetic variants associated with warfarin response, underscoring the need for tailored dosing algorithms rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
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Objective: To assess the attitudes of pediatricians working at the Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs (MNGHA) to report cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) and to determine the association between the demographic, cultural characteristics, and the attitude toward reporting.

Participants And Settings: The participants included all pediatricians, from consultants to residents, employed at the Pediatric Department of the King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital, Riyadh. Additional inclusion criteria were females and males, Saudis and non-Saudis, and age 20-60 years.

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Objective: To evaluate whether favipiravir reduces the time to viral clearance as documented by negative RT-PCR results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared to placebo.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blinded, multicentre, and placebo-controlled trial, adults with PCR-confirmed mild COVID-19 were recruited in an outpatient setting at seven medical facilities across Saudi Arabia. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either favipiravir 1800 mg by mouth twice daily on day 1 followed by 800 mg twice daily (n = 112) or a matching placebo (n = 119) for a total of 5 to 7 days.

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It is well-established that clinical pharmacist-managed anticoagulation services achieve superior anticoagulation control, with a positive impact. At King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the structure of anticoagulation management is a pharmacist-managed specialty service. With the current COVID-19 situation, measures were taken to assure the continuity of patient care by establishing tele-pharmacy anticoagulation clinics.

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Background: Frequently used models, such as the HAS-BLED, ATRIA, ORBIT, and GARFIELD-AF evaluate the risk of bleeding when using an anticoagulant, for example warfarin, in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Limited studies are available reporting a model with a good discriminative ability to predict the bleeding risk score when using direct oral anticoagulants.

Methods: Patient data were collected from King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Fahad Cardiac Center, and Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Riyadh, from outpatients, inpatients, or primary care clinics.

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Introduction: A novel coronavirus, designated SARS-CoV-2, caused an international outbreak of a respiratory illness, termed COVID-19 in December 2019. There is a lack of specific therapeutic agents based on evidence for this novel coronavirus infection; however, several medications have been evaluated as a potential therapy. Therapy is required to treat symptomatic patients and decrease the virus carriage duration to limit the communitytransmission.

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The study aimed to assess the mental health outcomes and associated factors among health care workers during COVID 19 in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of health care workers from tertiary care and ministry of health Centers across the Central, Eastern, and Western regions of Saudi Arabia. There were 1,130 participants in the survey, and we collected demographic and mental health measurements from the participants.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assesses the health-related quality of life of patients using oral anticoagulants by validating a translated Arabic version of the Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale (DASS) to measure satisfaction levels.
  • A total of 505 patients on anticoagulation therapy completed the DASS and a generic quality of life measure (EQ-5D-5L), with psychometric properties showing good reliability and validity for the Arabic version of DASS.
  • The findings indicate that the Arabic DASS effectively measures patient satisfaction with anticoagulant treatment and can be used by healthcare professionals to improve treatment adherence and patient outcomes.
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Warfarin is a frequently prescribed oral anticoagulant with a narrow therapeutic index, requiring careful dosing and monitoring. However, patients respond with significant inter-individual variability in terms of the dose and responsiveness of warfarin, attributed to genetic polymorphisms within the genes responsible for the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin. Extensive warfarin pharmacogenetic studies have been conducted, including studies resulting in genotype-guided dosing guidelines, but few large scale studies have been conducted with the Saudi population.

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Background: Novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were developed as alternatives to warfarin. However, the patients' preference regarding warfarin or the NOACs has not been established. Quality-of-life (QOL) surveys are a well-established method for determining the patients' preference for a treatment route.

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Objectives: To assess the proportion of critical errors committed while demonstrating the inhaler technique in hospitalized patients diagnosed with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 47 asthmatic and COPD patients using inhaler devices. The study took place at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between September and December 2013.

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Background: Little is known about the perceived attitude, barriers and facilitators of Saudi Pharmacists about practice based research. We aimed to measure the attitude, barriers, and facilitators of Saudi hospital pharmacists towards pharmacy practice research.

Method: A cross-sectional survey of hospital pharmacists (n = 216) working in King Abdulaziz Medical Cities in Central, Eastern and Western region hospitals was conducted during first week of September, 2013.

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