Background‎ The reckless use of over-‎the-‎counter (OTC) cosmeceuticals among females is alarming due to possible health hazards, ranging from allergy to fatal anaphylaxis and toxicity. Methods‎ In the current study, we investigated the prevalence of cosmeceutical use among female students at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) and tested the effect of a pilot health education program in improving their knowledge. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed with 515 participants. Results‎ A significantly higher percent (81%) of participants used OTC cosmeceuticals than did not use them. The selection of OTC ‎‎cosmeceuticals was not affected by socioeconomic ‎status, chronic illness, cosmeceutical cost, or possible cosmeceutical side effects. Students from non-health colleges demonstrated poorer knowledge scores for the hazards of cosmeceuticals, which directed our attention to the importance of health education in this field. Therefore, a pilot interventional health education program was conducted with 54 participants to compare their ‎‎knowledge before and after the‎ intervention. At the end of the program, a higher‎ percentage of participants had improved their knowledge and realized the need to ‎consult a physician before using ‎OTC ‎‎cosmeceuticals. Conclusion The health education program had a significant impact on knowledge ‎concerning the use of cosmeceuticals, and it is recommended that such programs be included in ‎undergraduate extracurricular activity, especially for female students.‎.

BACKGROUND A stoma requires a patient's lifestyle modifications and mental adjustment. It may hinder certain Islamic rituals that new appliances might overcome. The study aimed at measuring the quality of life in the modern era of stoma care in patients with unique sociocultural characteristics. METHODS Patients with an intestinal stoma for > 3 weeks were included. A modified City of Hope QoL ostomy questionnaire was used with dichotomous scoring on a 0 to 10 scale; rated 0-3 as severe, 4-6 as moderate, and 7-10 as severe. Data were analyzed by student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, Spearman’s correlation, and multivariate linear regression. RESULTS The response rate was 46%, with 108 patients responding. The mean age was 40.8 years, and the male-to-female ratio 1.2:1. QoL score and that in physical and spiritual domains were 6. In the social domain, it was 7, and in the psychological, 5. The impact was severe in 2%, moderate in 61%, and minimal in 37%. Younger patients, women, and those with benign diseases or without a job had lower scores. 90% of the patients had difficulty performing religious activities, resulting in a lower score. Regression analysis showed dietary and religious factors, leak, foul odor, constipation/diarrhea, poor stoma site, depression, anxiety, and concerns for disease, future, or pouch problems as the significant quality of life predictors. CONCLUSION Stoma patients had multiple impediments to their life quality despite advances in stoma care. Among these, physical and religious issues were significant, but psychological factors were the leading ones. The findings indicate adopting a holistic approach to managing stoma patients to let them have fulfilling lives.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mesenchymal tumors that originate in the gastrointestinal tract. We present the case of a 30-year-old man who presented with progressive abdominal distension of one-years’ duration. A physical examination revealed a distended, tense, non-tender abdomen, and initial imaging investigations revealed a huge cystic, septate abdominal mass. A provisional diagnosis was made of a huge retroperitoneal, malignant, cystic mass. However, aspiration cytology showed signs suggestive of a benign cyst. Cystic tumor excision performed with control of drain site to prevent leakeage throughout the procedure. The tumor extending into the pelvis, measuring approximately 17 x 31 x 42 cm in diameter and weighing 3.78 kg. The tumor was resected, and a histopathological examination showed findings consistent with a GIST of mixed spindle and epithelioid type. Further evaluations revealed that the tumor was positive for CD 117 and CD 34, prompting the oncology team to start the patient on oral imatinib 400 mg once daily. No evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis was noted on an abdominal computed tomography scan performed during the follow-up visit up to October 2020 last follow-up. The clinical presentation of GISTs is often complex, making its diagnosis challenging, especially in patients who present with non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms. The successful management of these tumors requires a multidisciplinary approach, and regular follow-ups.

Background: A stoma poses numerous physical, social, and psychological challenges and interferes with some religious practices, thus potentially negatively affecting the quality of life. In the contemporary era of stoma care, the study sought to assess this impact in a population with distinctive sociocultural characteristics. Methods: A modified City of Hope Quality of Life ostomy questionnaire was used to survey patients with intestinal stomas. The scoring was dichotomous on a 0 to 10 scale, where 0–3 indicated severe impact, 4–6 moderate, and 7–10 minimum. Statistical analysis involved Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, Spearman’s correlation, and multivariate linear regression. Results: There were 108 patients, with 59 males and 49 females. The mean age was 40.8 years. The overall quality of life score was 6, for the social domain 7, the physical domain 6, the psychological domain 5, and the spiritual domain 6. The stoma’s impact on the quality of life was severe in 2%, moderate in 61%, and minimal in 37% of patients. Young patients, women, and those with benign diseases or without a job had low scores. Furthermore, 90% of patients had difficulty performing religious activities. For the regression analysis, life quality predictors were dietary, religious, pouch and stoma site issues, leak, odor, diarrhea or constipation, depression, anxiety, and future and disease concerns. Conclusions: Despite advances in stoma care, stoma patients had multiple impediments to their life quality. These were mainly psychological, but the physical and religious ones were also significant. A holistic approach to managing stoma patients is thus needed to help them have fulfilling lives.

Labyrinthitis is a known inflammation of the membranous structure of the inner ear. Affected patients usually present with nausea and vomiting, vertigo, hearing loss/impairment, and tinnitus. Many etiologies have been proposed to lead to the development of labyrinthitis, including bacterial, viral, systemic, and iatrogenic causes and the most commonly reported causes include viral and bacterial infections. Not many investigations have elaborated on the viral and bacterial etiologies, and the evidence seems to be scattered across the different studies. In the present study, we have reviewed the literature to discuss the current evidence regarding the viral and bacterial causes of labyrinthitis. Many viruses and bacteria were reported in the literature to cause the condition. However, the most common pathogen includes cytomegalovirus and maternal rubella infections, leading to congenital hearing loss. Other viruses as measles and mumps might also lead to developing post-natal labyrinthitis. Studies also indicates that COVID-19 can be a recent cause of the disease. However, evidence regarding this information, similar to the case with other viral and bacterial etiologies, still needs further validation and reporting before making solid conclusions. Accordingly, we encourage researchers to furtherly report about similar cases and conduct epidemiological investigations to better understand the etiology of the disease.