Assessment of Certain Biochemical Parameters among Petrol Station Workers in Sana’a City, Yemen

Objective: To assess hepatic and renal functions among petrol stations workers in Sana’a city, Yemen. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in Sana’a city, in the period from November 2017 to April 2018. Cases included 109 eligible petrol station workers exposed to petrol for at least six hours daily over a period of six months or more, while 109 apparently healthy office workers were recruited from the University of Science and Technology as controls. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire through face-to-face interview. Then, blood samples were collected from cases and controls and tested for albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea and creatinine in the Laboratory Department of the University of Science and Technology Hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 23.0. Results: The mean concentration of serum albumin among petrol station workers was significantly lower than the controls. In contrast, the mean level of serum ALP was significantly higher among the petrol station workers than the controls. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences in the mean levels of serum ALT and AST between the two groups. Although the mean concentrations of creatinine and urea were higher among the controls than the petrol station workers, the difference was only significantly higher for creatinine among office workers. Conclusions: Although no specific biochemical abnormalities exist in the hepatic and renal functions of petrol station workers in Sana’a city, these parameters may show evident effects with prolonged exposure to petrol components. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes, longer durations of exposure and regular follow-up are recommended to assess the impact of long-term exposure to petrol on hepatic and renal functions

Knowledge and Perceptions of Final-Year Medical Students in Yemeni Universities about Generic Medicines

Objective: To investigate the knowledge and perceptions of final-year medical students in the Yemeni universities about generic medicines.Methods: A two-month cross-sectional survey was conducted among final-year medical students in three Yemeni universities; Sana’a University, University of Science and Technology and Thamar University in 2013.Results: One hundred and sixty-five medical students out of 270 responded to the present study, with a response rate of 61.1%. More than 60% of medical students were not introduced to bioequivalence of generic medicines during their undergraduate study, and 80.0% of them had a low desire to inquire about it during their study. In addition, more than 60.0% of them were unaware of the similarity of generic medicines to their brand equivalents in dosage form and dose. More than three-quarters of the medical students incorrectly perceived that generic medicines are inferior in quality (80.0%), less effective (58.0%) and with more side-effects (47.8%) than their brand equivalents. The medical students in the present disagreed about the need for more information on the safety and efficacy of generic medicines.Conclusions: Yemeni students need to further enhance their awareness and expand their knowledge about the concepts and principles of bioavailability and bioequivalence of generic medicines if they are to contribute appropriately to generic medicine use

Prevalence of internet addiction and its associated factors among medical students, Yemen

Introduction Problematic Internet addiction becomes one of the major problems in today's world. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of Internet addiction and its associated factors among medical students of University of Sciences and Technology. Methods A cross sectional analytic study was carried out among 275 medical students of University of sciences and Technology, during a period of 7 months. The Internet addiction was measured by using structural questionnaire developed by Dr. Young. The sample was selected by stratified random sampling and analyzed by SPSS. Results were presented by tables and figures according to variables types. Results 275 medical students from 1st to 6th academic levels were participating in this study. Of them 138 (50.2%) were males. The mean age was 21.6 ±1.98 year. It was found that 224 (81.5%) of students were placed in the Internet addiction group. Generally, 68.7% of students had mild addiction, problematic addiction 12.8%; 12.4% moderate and 0.4% severe. The prevalence of problematic Internet addiction varied from 14.5% among males to 10.9% among females. Students who were non-Yemeni and married, had more than 10 friends, visited Internet outside college, spent online 4-6 hours and more per day and used high-speed Internet were more significantly Internet addicts. There were no significant associations between other variables and Internet addiction. Conclusions Internet usage causing significant problem was low among medical students but considerable proportion of medical students were Internet addicted that causes frequent problems

Knowledge and perception about pharmacovigilance among pharmacy students of universities in Sana'a Yemen

Introduction: Pharmacists in community or hospital setting play a key role in reporting Adverse Drug Reaction (ADRs) during practice. Under reporting is considered as a profession malpractice worldwide. Aim: To determine the level of knowledge and perception about phramacovigilance and ADRs reporting among final year pharmacy students of Universities in Sana'a Yemen. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted among 385 final year pharmacy students. One public and four private universities were selected randomly using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire contained data about student demographic data, knowledge and perception about the ADRs. The data was analysed by SPSS program and Chi-square tests were used to assess the significance of association. Results: The male students were more knowledgeable than female (p=0.035), as well as private university students had better ideas on how to report ADRs than public university students (p=0.009). Private university students reported that pharmacovigilance topic is well covered in their curriculum compared to public university students (p0.001). A significant difference was seen amongst the students of public and private universities when asked about reporting ADRs in future, former found more confident (p0.001). Furthermore, the private university students also had more command on the concept of post-marketing surveillance than public university students (p0.001). The private university students in Yemen were more known to causality assessment of ADRs as compared to the students of public universities (p0.001). The results of perception revealed regarding perception toward ADRs and pharmacovigilance. Female students (p0.018) and private universities students (p0.001) had positive perception than male and public university students respectively. Conclusion: The findings showed poor knowledge among students in Sana'a Universities and positive perception towards pharmacovigilance and ADRs reporting. A poor knowledge among the future pharmacists suggests need for educational interventions and improvement of strategies to ease the reporting mechanisms. Steps can be taken to improve pharmacovigilance tools and methods in Yemen as well as incorporating subjects of pharmacovigilance in the health faculty's curriculum in Yemen.Scopu

Patient Safety Culture in Emergency Departments of Yemeni Public Hospitals: A Survey Study

Introduction: Quality and safety is an important challenge in healthcare systems all over the world particularly in developing parts. Objective: This survey aimed to assess patient safety culture (PSC) in emergency departments (EDs) in Yemen and identify its associated factors. Methods: A questionnaire containing the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) was distributed to ED physicians, nurses, and clinical, and non-clinical staff at three public teaching general hospitals. The percentages of positive responses on the 12 patient safety dimensions and the summation of PSC and two outcomes (overall patient safety grade and adverse events reported in the past year) were assessed. Factors associated with PSC aggregate score were analyzed. Results: finally, out of 400 questionnaires, 250 (64%) were analyzed. In total, 207 (82.3%) participants were nurses and physicians; 140 (56.0%) were male; 134 (53.6%) were less than 30 years old; and 134 (53.6%) had a university degree. Participants provided the highest ratings for the “teamwork within units” PSC composite (67%). The lowest rating was for “non-punitive response to error” (21.3%). A total of 120 (48.1%) participants did not report any events in the past year and 99 (39.7%) gave their hospital an “excellent/very good” overall patient safety grade. There were significant differences between the hospitals’ EDs in the rating of “handoffs and transitions” (p=0.016), “teamwork within units” (p=0.018), and “frequency of adverse events reported” (p=0.016). Staff working in intensive care units (8.4%, n=21) had lower patient safety aggregate scores. Conclusions: PSC ratings appear to be low in Yemen. This study emphasizes the need to create and maintain a PSC in EDs through the implementation of quality improvement strategies and environment of transparency, open communications, and continuous learning