Tayba Abdulrahman Mugibel

Background: Prostate cancer consists the second most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men and a global threatening health condition with severe following outcomes. Screening via the digital rectal examination (DRE), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, or both is widely used in clinical practice and supported as early detection tools. Although neither of the two tests, PSA and DRE, are appropriate to be used alone for screening of prostate cancer. This meta-analysis aims to find out the role of these techniques used in conjunction in a primary healthcare setting to diagnose prostate cancer(PC).Methods: This meta-analysis was conducted according to (PRISMA) guideline. A comprehensive literature search was performed to PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar from November 2022 to April 2023. Diagnostic studies were retrieved with no restrictions on publication date, country, patient's age or clinical setting. The selection of studies proceeded based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria without restrictions to particular study designs, language or publication dates and followed by data extraction and statistical analysis. The gold standard reference in the included studies was biopsy for prostate carcinoma.Results: Twelve studies with 175379 patients who underwent DRE Vs Biopsy and fifteen studies with 22006 patients who measured PSA cutoff 4 ng/ml VS biopsy were included in our meta-analysis. Overall, the overall sensitivity, specificity, and PPV of DRE was 57.8% (95% CI 52 -63.6 %), 44.7% (95% CI 37.6 - 51.7%), and 29.8% (95% CI 24.1 - 35.5%) respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of DRE was 48.5% with a Younden index of 2.5%. Also, the sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for PSA cutoff level of more than 4 ng/mL were found to be 57.7 % (95% CI 51.2 - 64.2%) ,82.3% (95% CI 79.7 - 85%), and 67.6% (95% CI 62.7 - 72.6%) respectively. In addition, the diagnostic accuracy of the PSA cutoff level of more than 4 ng/mL was 72.7% with a Younden index of 0.4. Conclusion: The use of DRE and PSA has high diagnostic accuracy in PC, although the lone application of each one is not statistically strong and diagnostically accurate. Their contribution could form an optimistic clue in future updates considering this condition.

Background: Pneumonia is a ubiquitous health condition with severe outcomes. The advancement of ultrasonography techniques allows its application in evaluating pulmonary diseases, providing safer and accessible bedside therapeutic decisions compared to chest X-ray and chest computed tomography (CT) scan. Because of its aforementioned benefits, we aimed to confirm the diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound (LUS) for pneumonia in adults. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed of Medline, Cochrane and Crossref, independently by two authors. The selection of studies proceeded based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria without restrictions to particular study designs, language or publication dates and was followed by data extraction. The gold standard reference in the included studies was chest X-ray/CT scan or both. Results: Twenty-nine (29) studies containing 6702 participants were included in our meta-analysis. Pooled sensitivity, specificity and PPV were 92% (95% CI: 91–93%), 94% (95% CI: 94 to 95%) and 93% (95% CI: 89 to 96%), respectively. Pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios were 16 (95% CI: 14 to 19) and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.07 to 0.09). The area under the ROC curve of LUS was 0. 9712. Conclusions: LUS has high diagnostic accuracy in adult pneumonia. Its contribution could form an optimistic clue in future updates considering this condition.

Background: Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, an Orthopox virus. The 2022 monkeypox outbreak provoked fear among the public. Public awareness about the disease could be an important factor in its control. The authors conducted this study to assess the perception and prediction of monkeypox among the Middle East public. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2022. Data were conveniently collected from eight Middle Eastern countries using an online self-administered questionnaire distributed through educational and social media platforms. Statistical analysis was conducted using R software. Results: Approximately 11 016 individuals participated in this study. The participants’ overall knowledge score indicated poor knowledge about monkeypox. Most of the participants knew the causative organism (66.7%). However, numerous participants were not aware of the disease mode of transmission, symptoms, complications, and vaccination. Participants’ awareness was mostly gained from social media (61.8%). The majority predicted acquiring monkeypox when protective measures are not taken (72.7%), progression to a pandemic with economic consequences (50.8 and 52%, respectively), and the ability of the Ministry of Health to control the epidemic (51.5%). Conclusion: In the Middle East, public knowledge about monkeypox is poor. Raising awareness about monkeypox would be of benefit in controlling the epidemic. This study constitutes evidence upon which health education programs could be designed.

Numerous measures have been taken to slow the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rapid spread. Such population control techniques may have a substantial impact on people’s attitudes, knowledge, and perception of COVID-19. This web-based cross-sectional survey aimed to assess Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 among Hadhramout University Medical Students in Yemen from 15 June to 26 June 2020. This survey was performed using social media via the Google Platform among 422 Hadhramout University Medical students. After consenting, participants completed an online survey assessing sociodemographic data, 21 knowledge items, 15 attitudes items, and 5 perception items towards COVID-19. Of the total 422 participants, 389 (92.18%) were surveyed online, and 256 (65.8%) were females, and 133 (34.2%) were males aged 19-24 years (88.7%), studying medicine (58.9%), and living in urban areas (80.7%). The survey revealed that 64.0% of participants had good knowledge about the disease and 52.7% had positive attitudes towards protective measures against the virus. The majority of participants (98.2%) thought that the virus was transmitted through nasal droplets, and 59.6% agreed that the disease is dangerous. The majority of participants agreed that fever (99.2%), dry cough (97.9%), and difficulty breathing (99.5%) are the most common symptoms of the disease. The survey also showed high knowledge levels about preventive measures against the virus spreading, such as regular proper hand hygiene (99.7%), maintaining an appropriate distance (99.2%), avoiding touching eyes and nose (98.7%), and wearing facemasks in public places (97.4%). Moreover, 69.7% of participants agreed to be isolated at home if they got an infected person, 64.3% implemented washing hands with soap and water, 41.9% agreed to be separated at the hospital until they proved free from the disease, 46.0% agreed to inform the health authorities if they had any symptoms associated with the disease. By using sample T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA), mean knowledge score about COVID-19 was significantly higher in males than in females (p = 0.029). Additionally, medicine students had significantly higher mean knowledge score than students of medical laboratory (p < 0.001) and nursing (p = 0.008). In general, our research revealed that participants had favorable opinions regarding the disease’s preventative measures and a good awareness of it. However, more educational initiatives and campaigns that take into account KAP modifying elements are needed.