Budget Impact of Early Introduction of Amino Acid Formula in Managing Infants with Cow Milk Protein Allergy: Arabian Gulf Countries' Experience.

Objective: This study estimates the budgetary impact of the introduction of amino-acid formula (AAF) as first-line management in the elimination diet of infants with suspected cow milk protein allergy (CMPA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from a health-care payer's perspective.

Methods: A global decision tree model was adapted to compare estimated costs in current practice (extensively hydrolyzed formula [eHF] or soy formula [SF] with the proposed approach of early introduction of AAF as first-line treatment of CMPA in non-breast-fed infants). Model inputs were derived from explorative literature reviews and medical experts' opinions.

CTX-M-15 Positive and Outbreak in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a Maternity Hospital in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to retrospectively characterize and isolates obtained from neonates during a suspected NICU outbreak of infection in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia during a period of one month (April 2014).

Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility patterns, molecular characterization for antibiotic-resistant genes (TEM, SHV, and CTX-M), and genotyping by PFGE and MLST were performed.

Results: A total of 24 and 48 isolates were cultured from neonates that had been admitted to the NICU.

On the accuracy of ARIMA based prediction of COVID-19 spread.

COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, and has infected more than 4 million people worldwide with over 300,000 deaths by early May 2020. Many researchers around the world incorporated various prediction techniques such as Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model, Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered model, and Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average model (ARIMA) to forecast the spread of this pandemic. The ARIMA technique was not heavily used in forecasting COVID-19 by researchers due to the claim that it is not suitable for use in complex and dynamic contexts.

A study on the efficiency of the estimation models of COVID-19.

Today, the world is fighting against a dangerous epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. All have been impacted and countries are trying to recover from the social, economic, and health devastations of COVID-19. Recent epidemiology research has concentrated on using different prediction models to estimate the numbers of infected, recovered, and deceased cases around the world.

Evaluation of students' experience with Problem-based Learning (PBL) applied at the College of Medicine, Al-Jouf University, Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To evaluate the students' experience with problem-based learning.

Methods: This cross-sectional, qualitative study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Al Jouf University, Sakakah, Saudi Arabia, in October 2015, and comprised medical students of the 1st to 5th levels. Interviews were conducted using Students' Course Experience Questionnaire.

Increased atherogenic low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in untreated subclinical hypothyroidism.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of physiologic doses of levothyroxine replacement on the lipoprotein profile in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH).

Methods: In a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we enrolled 120 patients--mostly, but not exclusively, premenopausal women--with SCH. Patients were randomly assigned to either a levothyroxine-treated group (n = 60) or a placebo (control) group (n = 60).