Diagnostic and therapeutic role of endoscopic ultrasound in liver diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In hepatology, the clinical use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has experienced a notable increase in recent times. These applications range from the diagnosis to the treatment of various liver diseases. Therefore, this systematic review summarizes the evidence for the diagnostic and therapeutic roles of EUS in liver diseases.

Screening for chitin degrading bacteria in the environment of Saudi Arabia and characterization of the most potent chitinase from Streptomyces variabilis Am1.

Forty-six promising chitinolytic isolates were recovered during a screening for chitinolytic bacteria in the environment of Saudi Arabia. The top three isolates belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Streptomyces variabilis Am1 was able to excrete the highest amount of chitinases, reaching the maximum at 84 h with 0.

Impact of noncommunicable diseases on direct medical costs and worker productivity, Saudi Arabia.

Background: The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has been increasing in Saudi Arabia.

Aims: Our objective was to estimate the effect of NCDs on direct medical costs and workforce productivity in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: To estimate direct medical costs, we estimated the unit cost of treating 10 NCDs, then multiplied the unit cost by disease prevalence and summed across diseases.

Degradation of 2,6-dicholorophenol by Trichoderma longibraciatum Isolated from an industrial Soil Sample in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

2,6-Dichlorophenol (2,6-DCP) is an aromatic compound with industrial importance in making insecticides, herbicides, and other organic compounds. However, it poses serious health and ecological problems. Microbial degradation of 2,6-DCP has been widely applied due to its effectiveness and eco-friendly characteristics.

COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: the national health response.

Background: With the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), most countries rushed to take early measures to control this disease.

Aims: This paper describes and evaluates the Saudi Arabian strategic preparedness and response plan on COVID-19 up to 31 December 2020.

Methods: Saudi Arabia adopted the World Health Organization's guidelines on response to COVID-19, which are based on nine pillars of public health preparedness and response.

Measuring the impact of suspending Umrah, a global mass gathering in Saudi Arabia on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the early days of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, Saudi Arabia started to implement several preventative measures starting with the imposition of travel restrictions to and from China. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and with the first confirmed case in Saudi Arabia in March 2019, more strict measures, such as international travel restriction, and suspension or cancellation of major events, social gatherings, prayers at mosques, and sports competitions, were employed. These non-pharmaceutical interventions aim to reduce the extent of the epidemic due to the implications of international travel and mass gatherings on the increase in the number of new cases locally and globally.

Insights into the ancestry evolution of the complex from analysis of .

Current evolutionary scenarios posit the emergence of from an environmental saprophyte through a cumulative process of genome adaptation. , a related bacillus, is being increasingly isolated from human clinical cases with tuberculosis-like symptoms in various parts of the world. To elucidate the evolutionary relationship between and other mycobacterial species, including members of the complex (MTBC), eight clinical isolates of were sequenced and analyzed.

The Incidence of Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring Among Women With Diabetes in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The risk of congenital anomalies is increased in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM). The most frequent cardiac anomalies in IDMs include ventricular septal defect, transposition of great arteries, and aortic stenosis.

Objective: Estimating the incidence of infants with congenital heart defects (CHD) whose mothers have diabetes in Saudi Arabia at a tertiary hospital in the National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) system.

Public Response, Anxiety and Behaviour during the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

This study aims to investigate public response attitude, anxiety, practices and trust in the authorities' mitigation plan during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. A national cross sectional phone survey was conducted among Saudi residents aged 16 years and above. A total of 90,421 (45.

Pattern of Respiratory Viruses among Pilgrims during 2019 Hajj Season Who Sought Healthcare Due to Severe Respiratory Symptoms.

The aim of our study was to define the spectrum of viral infections in pilgrims with acute respiratory tract illnesses presenting to healthcare facilities around the holy places in Makkah, Saudi Arabia during the 2019 Hajj pilgrimage. During the five days of Hajj, a total of 185 pilgrims were enrolled in the study. Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPSs) of 126/185 patients (68.

Ambient particulate matter burden of disease in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Background: Air pollution is one of the top 10 global health risk factors and has been associated with premature mortality, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, respiratory, and metabolic disease. Currently, there is a lack of health assessments on the public health impacts of air pollution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Aim: This study aims to assess the ambient particulate matter burden of disease in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The aim of this study is to describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of COVID-19 patients, and the risk factors associated with death in Saudi Arabia to serve as a reference to further understand this pandemic and to help in the future decisions and control of this global crisis.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 240,474 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected retrospectively through the Health Electronic Surveillance Network at the Ministry of Health.

Taxonomic Characterizations of Soil DW102 and Its Activity against Fungal Pathogens.

Background: spp. are soil bacteria that have commercial value from which numerous secondary metabolites such as antifungal compounds have been derived. There is growing concern that antifungal resistance is on the rise, and soil from various geographical places might produce novel antifungal molecules.

Risk factors for increased COVID-19 case-fatality in the United States: A county-level analysis during the first wave.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant morbidity and mortality across the US. In this ecological study, we identified county-level variables associated with the COVID-19 case-fatality rate (CFR) using publicly available datasets and a negative binomial generalized linear model. Variables associated with decreased CFR included a greater number of hospitals per 10,000 people, banning religious gatherings, a higher percentage of people living in mobile homes, and a higher percentage of uninsured people.

Assessment of 12 qualitative RT-PCR commercial kits for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the late months of 2019 had the officials to declare a public health emergency leading to a global response. Public measurements rely on an accurate diagnosis of individuals infected with the virus by using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The aim of our study is to relate the fundamental clinical and analytical performance of SARS-CoV-2 (RT-PCR) commercial kits.

The Effect of Incentive Management System on Turnover Rate, Job Satisfaction and Motivation of Medical Laboratory Technologists.

Objectives: We investigated factors affecting turnover and assessed satisfaction with an existing Incentive Management System and to which extent it motivates employees. We also provide recommendations to improve the Incentive Management System.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study utilizing a convenience sample from of a population of 250 Medical Laboratory Technologists.

Environmental Risk Factors and Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.

: Environmental health is a growing area of knowledge, continually increasing and updating the body of evidence linking the environment to human health. : This study summarizes the epidemiological evidence on environmental risk factors from meta-analyses through an umbrella review. : An umbrella review was conducted on meta-analyses of cohort, case-control, case-crossover, and time-series studies that evaluated the associations between environmental risk factors and health outcomes defined as incidence, prevalence, and mortality.

Seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among blood donors in the early months of the pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Serologic testing provides better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and its transmission. This study was an investigation of the prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among blood donors in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To estimate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among blood donors in Saudi Arabia during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline on the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and hypertension: a cross-sectional analysis of 10 799 individuals.

Objectives: To assess the effect of the 2017 American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) hypertension guideline on the prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) and hypertension and the initiation of antihypertensive treatment, as well as the level of adherence to the BP target in the Saudi population.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Participants: A total of 10 799 adults (≥18 years old), with three BP readings during 2017-2020 from the Saudi Biobank was used.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia: comparing case and control hospitals.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) stand at the frontline for fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This puts them at higher risk of acquiring the infection than other individuals in the community. Defining immunity status among health care workers is therefore of interest since it helps to mitigate the exposure risk.

Plants-Derived Biomolecules as Potent Antiviral Phytomedicines: New Insights on Ethnobotanical Evidences against Coronaviruses.

SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) is in focus over all known human diseases, because it is destroying the world economy and social life, with increased mortality rate each day. To date, there is no specific medicine or vaccine available against this pandemic disease. However, the presence of medicinal plants and their bioactive molecules with antiviral properties might also be a successful strategy in order to develop therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of pre-pregnancy care for women with diabetes for improving maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Background: Pre-gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risk of maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of pre-conception care (PCC) in improving maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Methods: Databases from MEDLINE, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, and Cochrane Library were searched, including the CENTRAL register of controlled trials, and CINHAL up until March 2019, without any language restrictions, for any pre-pregnancy care aiming at health promotion, glycemic control, and screening and treatment of diabetes complications in women with type I or type II pre-gestational diabetes.

Unusual presentation of melioidosis in a returning traveler.

Melioidosis is endemic in Southeast Asia and Australia and cases outside those regions are often travel related. We present a case of melioidosis in a man, with no known risk factors who had an unusual presentation with an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm by in Saudi Arabia, a country with no previous reported cases of this infection. It occurred after traveling to Thailand and he was treated successfully with medical therapy and surgical intervention.