Stigma for mental illness among primary health care physicians and nurses in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT: People who experience any type of mental disorder not only face difficulties with their health challenge they also suffered from negative responses that come from their social environment in many forms such as discrimination, denial or social rejection and this leads to stigma. Mental illness stigmatization within the healthcare professional has an impact on the delivery and provision of care services to the patients and is an obstacle to health seeking and maintaining good health management. This study aims to explore stigma for mental disorder in primary health care physicians and nurses because they are the first contact when a patient needs help. The study took place in Dammam Primary Health Centres and recruited physicians and nurses who completed the Opening Mind Scale for Health Care Providers as a tool of measuring levels of stigma. The results of the questionnaire were compared between both groups and correlated with their sociodemographic data. Result prove the existence of stigma in primary health physician and nurses the mean score is 55.13 out of 100. with Saudi staff having more stigma than non- Saudi , another factor that associated with more stigma is gender as female express more stigma than male . At the end of the study stigma in physicians and nurses was almost equal. This needs to be considered in future planning to minimize negative perception of people with a mental illness by initiating anti-stigmatization program for health care provider as a means of primary prevention and health promotion

The impact of <em>CYP2C9</em>, <em>VKORC1</em>, and <em>CYP4F2</em> polymorphisms on warfarin dose requirement in Saudi patients

Copyright \ua9 2025 Jokhab, AlRasheed, Bakheet, AlMomen, AlAboud and Kamali. Background: Limited data are available on factors that affect warfarin dose requirement in Saudi patients. Saudis are among the underrepresented ethnic groups in warfarin pharmacogenetics research. The present study investigated the frequency of CYP2C9*2 and*3, CYP4F2 (G1347A) and VKORC1 –1639G&gt;A genotypes and their impact on warfarin dose requirement in a cohort of Saudi patients requiring anticoagulation therapy. Methods: 193 patients on chronic warfarin therapy and with stable anticoagulation took part in the study. Genotyping for VKORC1 1639G&gt;A, CYP4F2 G1347A, CYP2C9*2 430C&gt;T and CYP2C9*3 1075A&gt;C were performed using TaqMan genotyping assays. Analysis of variance was carried out to determine the association between CYP2C9, CYP4F2, and VKORC1 genotype and warfarin dose requirement in two groups based on target INR range. Backward linear regression analysis identified genetic and clinical factors influencing doe requirements. Results: Patients with CYP2C9 and VKORC1 polymorphisms required significantly lower warfarin doses compared to wild-type patients. Carriers of two mutant alleles required lower doses than those with one mutant allele. In contrast, CYP4F2 polymorphisms did not influence warfarin dose. Age and genetic variants in CYP2C9 and VKORC1 were negatively correlated with dose requirements, while body surface area (BSA) was positively correlated. Conclusion: Saudi patients with polymorphisms in CYP2C9 and VKORC1 required lower warfarin doses than those with the wild-type allele. CYP4F2 polymorphism had no effect on warfarin dose requirement. Integrating patient clinical factors, including age and BSA, and genetic polymorphisms in CYP2C9 and VKORC1 provides the best estimation of factors contributing to warfarin dose in the Saudi patient population

Fibrinogen concentrate for treatment of bleeding and surgical prophylaxis in congenital fibrinogen deficiency patients

Background: Congenital fibrinogen deficiency is an ultra-rare disorder in which patients can experience severe and/or frequent bleeding episodes (BEs). Here, we present the largest prospective study to date on the treatment of this disorder. Methods: Hemostatic efficacy of human fibrinogen concentrate (HFC; FIBRYGA\uae, Octapharma AG) for treatment of bleeding or surgical prophylaxis was assessed by investigators and adjudicated by an independent data monitoring and endpoint adjudication committee (IDMEAC) according to a four-point scale, using objective criteria. Thromboelastometry maximum clot firmness (MCF) was also determined. Results: Twenty-five afibrinogenemia patients were treated with HFC: 24 for on-demand treatment of 89 BEs, and nine as prophylaxis for 12 surgeries. For BEs, treatment success (rating of excellent or good) evaluated by investigators was 96.6% (90% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-0.99; two missing ratings, classified as failures) and by the IDMEAC was 98.9% (90% CI, 0.95-0.999). Mean&nbsp;\ub1&nbsp;standard deviation (SD) increase in MCF was 5.8&nbsp;\ub1&nbsp;2.5&nbsp;mm one hour after the first HFC infusion (mean&nbsp;\ub1&nbsp;SD dose, 61.88&nbsp;\ub1&nbsp;11.73&nbsp;mg/kg). For the 12 surgeries (median [range] HFC dose/surgery, 85.80&nbsp;mg/kg [34.09-225.36]), intraoperative and postoperative treatment success were both rated 100% (90% CI, 0.82-1.00) by investigators and the IDMEAC. Three adverse events were possibly treatment related, including a moderate case of thrombosis. There were no deaths, no severe allergic or hypersensitivity reactions, and no clinical evidence of neutralizing antifibrinogen antibodies. Conclusions: Human fibrinogen concentrate was efficacious for on-demand treatment of bleeding and as surgical prophylaxis, with a favorable safety profile, in patients with congenital afibrinogenemia