Cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi Arabian and 9 US medical schools

BACKGROUND: The implicit hidden curriculum strongly influences medical students\u27 perceptions of the importance of patient-centeredness. A new instrument, the Communication, Curriculum, and Culture Survey (C3), already used to assess this hard-to- access part of the curriculum in the US, has potential for use in cross-cultural comparisons. OBJECTIVE: To use the C3 to perform a pilot cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi medical school and 9 U.S. medical schools. DESIGN: Senior Saudi medical students completed the C3 and a second instrument, the Patient-Provider Orientation Scale (PPOS), which measured their attitudes toward patient-centered behavior. PARTICIPANTS: Senior Saudi medical students. RESULTS: 139/256 (54%) Saudis completed the C3; 122/256(48%) completed the PPOS. Means for 2 out of 3 of the C3\u27s domains (0-100 scale) were lower for the Saudis than those for the Americans (95% confidence intervals in parentheses): 47 (45, 50) vs. 55 (53, 58); 54 (50, 58) vs. 68 (67, 70); they overlapped in the third: 60 (57, 63) vs. 62 (60, 63). The mean Saudi PPOS score was 4.0 (3.9, 4.1); for the American medical schools, 4.8 (4.8-4.8) (1-6, least to most patient-centered). CONCLUSIONS: In this preliminary study the data suggest that the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum differs in Saudi and US medical schools in 2 out of 3 domains. Cross-cultural use of instruments such as the C3 can highlight such important differences and help educators evaluate their curriculum from an international, as well as a local perspective. Use of instruments across borders is a growing trend and an indicator of the increasing globalization of medical education

Tuberculous Peritonitis in Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) remains a major medical problem in many developing countries, wherein the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is still high. Since the clinical presentation may be insidious and variable, diagnosis of TBP may be delayed or missed, resulting in undue patient morbidity and mortality. Tests frequently associated with TB such as chest radiograph and Mantoux test are not usually sensitive enough for the diagnosis of TBP. The diagnosis becomes all the more difficult in the presence of chronic liver disease and/or renal failure, since the ascitic fluid may not be of the exudative type and lymphocytosis may not be the predominant cell picture. We present here three cases of TBP in diabetic Saudi patients on maintenance hemodialysis who also had associated chronic liver disease. All three patients responded satisfactorily to standard anti-tuberculous therapy. We stress that high index of suspicion is required to establish early diagnosis of TBP particularly in patients with chronic renal and/or liver disease. Laparoscopy with tissue biopsy for histology and, microbiological examination including culture are the most sensitive and specific diagnostic procedures

Tuberculous peritonitis associated with peritoneal dialysis

Even though rare, tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is a perilous condition. Physicians worry about continuing treatment of their patients, whether to continue this modality of dialysis or switch to hemodialysis. A retrospective cohort study of 89 patients undergoing CAPD over a 12-year period was carried out for any episode of peritonitis with the objectives to find out the incidence of TBP in these patients, evaluation of patients′ 3-year survival, possibility of retention of Tenckhoff catheter, and modality of dialysis post-infection. One hundred and three episodes of peritonitis occurred in our patients. Most of them were bacterial and occasionally fungal. We identified four cases of TBP, with one patient having concurrent bacterial infection in the peritoneal fluid. The clinical presentation was insidious with cloudy fluid in all cases. The diagnosis was established by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique in one case, by positive peritoneal fluid culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in two cases, and clinically in the fourth one that responded well to anti-tuberculous therapy. All four patients survived their mycobacterial infection. Removal of catheter was necessary in all four patients and all were converted to hemodialysis. Three patients remained on hemodialysis thereafter, and one patient had to be re-implanted with a new catheter and was restarted on CAPD. TBP in patients undergoing CAPD in Jeddah remains a real concern, especially with the evidence of high prevalence of tuberculosis and with the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis. We recommend early initiation of anti-tuberculous therapy and removal of the Tenckhoff catheter for better survival. Most of these patients probably will require conversion to hemodialysis, but in a selected few CAPD can be restarted

Health and Well-Being in Islamic SocietiesBackground, Research, and Applications /

X, 361 p. 2 illus.online resource