INTRODUCTION The circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown offered an opportunity to develop remote educational strategies in medical education. OBJECTIVES To assess medical students’ experiences with online e-learning (OeL) satisfaction, intellectual environment, and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire (21 items) was used to evaluate OeL in three domains of satisfaction (nine items), intellectual environment (seven items), and communication (five items). Students from years one to six were invited to fill out the questionnaire form with five-point Likert scale responses. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent t-test were used to evaluate the association between variables. RESULTS Out of 237 participants, 96.6% (158 male and 71 female) responded to the questionnaire. Most students (86.5%) preferred the blackboard for their e-learning. The mean total scores were 30.18 ± 6.9 out of 45 for satisfaction, 19.67 ± 5.4 out of 25 for communication 25.43 ± 5.1 out of 35 for the intellectual environment. Over 50% of the students rated moderate scores on satisfaction and intellectual environment domains. About 85% of the students rated moderate scores in the communication domain. Male students rated higher significant scores than female students for satisfaction (31.3 ± 6.3 vs 27.6 ± 7; P < .001) and intellectual environment (26.3 ± 4.32 vs 3.5 ± 6.1; P < .001). There were no significant differences in students’ responses to the tested domains related to GPA level. Significantly higher levels of scores for satisfaction (33.3 ± 5.6 vs 28.8 ± 6.9; P < .001) and communication (21.2 ± 4.5 vs 18.9 ± 5.7; P = .019) were obtained by clerkship students than pre-clerkship. CONCLUSIONS Medical students’ experiences with e-learning are encouraging, which might be more effective with continuous training programs for students and tutors. Although OeL is an acceptable methodology, further studies are needed to analyze its impact on the target learning outcomes and students’ academic achievement.

The intragastric balloon (IGB) is a relatively recent non-surgical weight loss technique that is now widely used in the world to treat obesity. However, IGB causes a wide range of adverse effects that range from minor ones, such as nausea, stomach pain and gastroesophageal reflux, to serious ones, such as ulceration, perforation, intestinal blockage and compression of adjusting structures. A 22-year-old Saudi woman presented to the emergency department (ED) with a history of upper abdominal pain that started 1 day before admission. The patient’s surgical background was unremarkable, and no other obvious pancreatitis risk factors were present. The patient underwent a minimally invasive treatment after being diagnosed with obesity (class 1), in which an IGB was inserted one and a half months prior to her ED presentation. She consequently began to lose weight (around 3 kg). The hypothesis states that pancreatitis following IGB insertion can be caused either by stomach distention and pancreatic compression at the tail or body or by ampulla obstruction due to balloon catheter migration at the duodenum. Heavy meal consumption, which may cause an increase in pancreatic compression, is another potential cause of pancreatitis in such patients. We believe that the IGB-induced compression of the pancreas at its tail or body was the likely cause of pancreatitis in our case. This case was reported because it is the first one from our city as far as we know. A few cases from Saudi Arabia have also been reported, and reporting them will help to improve doctors’ awareness of this complication, which can cause pancreatitis symptoms to be mistaken for something else because of the balloon-related effects on gastric distention.

Background Musculoskeletal disorders are common health problems worldwide. Several factors cause these symptoms, including ergonomics and other individual considerations. Computer users are prone to repetitive strain injuries that increase the risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS). Radiologists are susceptible to developing MSS because they work long hours analysing medical images on computers in an increasingly digitalised field. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of MSS among Saudi radiologists and the associated risk factors. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on November 12, 2021, on 814 Saudi radiologists from various regions in Saudi Arabia. It comprised a Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire examination of MSS. The study's primary outcome was the presence of musculoskeletal complaints in any body region that limited participation in routine activities over the previous 12 months. The results were descriptively examined using binary logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds ratio of participants who had disabling musculoskeletal complaints in the previous 12 months. All university, public, and private radiologists received an online survey containing questions about work surroundings, workload (e.g., spent at a computer workstation), and demographic characteristics. Results The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among the radiologists was 87.7%. Most of the participants (82%) were younger than 40 years of age. Radiography and computed tomography were the most common imaging modalities that caused MSS (53.4% and 26.8%, respectively). The most common symptoms were neck pain (59.3%) and lower back pain (57.1%). After adjustment, age, years of experience, and part-time employment were significantly associated with increased MSS (OR = .219, 95% CI = .057–.836; OR = .235, 95% CI = 087–.634; and OR = 2.673, 95% CI = 1.434–4.981, respectively). Females were more likely to report MSS than males (OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.327–3.377). Conclusions MSS are common among Saudi radiologists, with neck pain and lower back pain being the most frequently reported symptoms. Gender, age, years of experience, type of imaging modality, and employment status were the most common associated risk factors for developing MSS. These findings are vital for the development of interventional plans to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in clinical radiologists.