Retrospective Evaluation of the Impact of Dose Escalation Using Pre-operative Simultaneous Integrated Boost Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy on the Outcome of Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Evaluating the outcome of pre-operative simultaneous integrated boost volumetric modulated arc therapy (SIB-VMAT) concomitant with capecitabine in patients diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the period January 2013-December 2019.

Results: A total of 134 patients were enrolled. The median age at diagnosis was 59 years.

Cross-sectional study to evaluate burnout among pharmacy staff in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed healthcare workers, including pharmacists, at an increased risk of infection and has increased their workload, which could lead to burnout. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure the levels of burnout among hospital and community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the risk factors associated with burnout.

Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, an online survey was distributed among community and hospital (inpatient, outpatient, clinical, and administration) pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.

Digitalization of learning in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 outbreak: A survey.

Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in China in late December 2019, more than 217 countries became almost immediately infected in the resulting pandemic. Consequently, many of them decided to close their educational institutions as a way of preventing the spread of this virus. For many of them, though, the closure made them unable to deliver learning materials to students owing to their inability to provide the right technology for the purpose.

Calibration of MTT assay in proton beams using radiochromic films.

Purpose: This study provides methodology of calibrating as well as controlling the output for an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) colorimetric assay irradiated in a low energy proton beam using EBT3-model GAFCHROMIC film, without correcting for quenching effect.

Methods: A calibrated Markus ionization chamber was used to measure the depth dose and beam output for 26.5 MeV protons produced by a CS30 cyclotron.