30-day mortality rate following hip fractures in elderly patients admitted to a tertiary care center

BackgroundThe incidence of hip fractures in elderly people is steadily rising. Hip fractures sometimes cause mortality especially within 30-days of the injury/incidence. Mortality varies according to the regions or institutes and its determination is clinically or socially important.AimsWe attempted this cross-sectional study to determine the 30-day mortality rate and its associated factors in elderly patients (>65) admitted to a tertiary center of Saudi Arabia for hip fractures.Methods A non-probability consecutive sampling technique was used and determined the 30-day mortality rate and its associated factors on 130 patients.Results A 30-days mortality rate of 15.4 per cent (n=20). Patients (n=130) backgrounds were as follows. Male: female; 57.7 per cent (n=75) and 42.3 per cent (n=55) respectively, with age of 79.6 (SD: 8.5; range 65–88). Comorbidities were present: diabetes mellitus70 per cent (n=91), hypertension 81.5 per cent (n=106), and dyslipidaemia (n=43).ConclusionMortality was 15.4 per cent. Male gender, dementia, and place of fall influenced the 30-days mortality rate. Fracture-type, medical comorbidities, and the causes of fall did not affect the mortality

A Questionnaire-Based Survey to Assess the Level of Knowledge and Awareness about Drug–Food Interactions among General Public in Western Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Various drug–food interactions exist that may hinder treatment and can sometimes be lethal. Our aim was to assess the level of public knowledge and awareness in Jeddah city, Western Saudi Arabia, about drug–food interactions, along with the effects of demographics on their knowledge. Methods: A survey questionnaire was administered in this cross-sectional study to participants spread across multiple locations in Jeddah, including in malls and public gatherings. Participants included both males and females. Sample size was calculated through Raosoft® software. Data analysis was executed using IBM Statistic SPSS and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 410 people participated in the study and only 92.68% (380) of responses were enrolled in the study; 7.32% (30) were not enrolled due to the exclusion criteria. Surprisingly, only six out of eighteen questions regarding drug–food interactions in the administered questionnaire were correctly answered by 380 participants. Data indicated that the participants had a poor to intermediate level of both knowledge and awareness with respect to drug–food interactions. Furthermore, participants showed moderate to strong awareness of the effects of alcohol and tea generally, and their interaction with medication. Conclusion: Participants in our study showed inadequate knowledge of basic and fundamental information about drug–food interactions, which highlights the dire need to increase awareness