Aim: Methotrexate (MTX) is the anchor drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MTX is associated with adverse events that limit its use. The MTX intolerance severity score (MISS) was developed to identify symptoms related to MTX use in juvenile idiopathic arthritis and RA patients. The aim of this study is to translate and validate the MISS in the Arabic language.Methods: Forward and backward translation of the MISS were performed by two fluent Arabic translators and reviewed by three rheumatologists. Consecutive patients with RA who used MTX for ≥3 months were recruited from two tertiary care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A test was considered positive if the patient scored ≥6 points. The internal consistency and stability of the items were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and the test-retest method.Results: A total of 185 patients were recruited. Of those patients, 158 (85.4%) were female. The mean (±SD) age and disease duration were 49.7 (±12.67) and 8.67 (±7.1) years, respectively. The mean Disease Activity Score of 28 joints was 3.2 (±1.3).Fifty-five (30%) patients were illiterate. Seventy-three (39.5%) patients had a positive MISS. Of those patients, 55 (75.3%) and 18 (24.7%) were using the oral and subcutaneous forms of MTX, respectively. The Arabic MISS had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.792) and a factorable study size for test-retest and factor analysis (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = 0.745). Conclusion:The Arabic MISS showed validity and good reliability in detecting MTX intolerance in RA patients. MTX intolerance is prevalent among RA patients. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings. K E Y W O R D Scross-cultural validation studies, methotrexate, methotrexate intolerance severity score, rheumatoid arthritis | 1573 ALBAQAMI et AL.
Background: Trust is pivotal for a productive relationship between patients and healthcare providers and is positively correlated with multiple clinical and humanistic outcomes. However, the impact of trust in healthcare providers on different domains of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among diabetic patients has not been studied in detail. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the association between the physical, mental or psychological, social, and environmental domains of HRQoL with the patients' trust in their primary care physicians while controlling for several sociodemographic and clinical factors. The study was conducted among a sample of diabetic patients. Patients and Methods: This study had a prospective questionnaire-based, multi-center, crosssectional design. The patients were recruited from three public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Patients' experiences and trust in their primary care physicians were assessed using the Health Care Relationship Trust (HCR-Trust) scale. HRQoL was assessed using the Arabic version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Multiple linear regression was conducted to assess the relationship between HCR-Trust and the WHOQOL-BREF physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains controlling for age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, health literacy, sex, education, annual income, nationality, and illness duration. Results: Three hundred and sixty-four patients participated in the study. The scores in all four domains of WHOQOL-BREF were positively associated with HCR-Trust scores of the diabetic patients. Additionally, the scores in the physical (β = −10.26; 95% CI: −13.77 to −6.74; P < 0.0001) and psychological (β = −3.91; 95% CI: −7.44 to −0.38; P < 0.0001) domains were negatively associated with female gender. Furthermore, the physical domain score was negatively associated with the duration of illness (β = −0.26; 95% CI: −0.506 to −0.02; P = 0.032). The environmental domain score was positively associated with annual income (β = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.05 to 3.56; P = 0.030). Other patient characteristics, such as age and education, were not associated with the scores of any of the WHOQOL-BREF domains. Conclusion: Patient trust in healthcare providers is positively associated with different domains of HRQoL. Therefore, building and maintaining trust with patients is important to achieve favorable treatment outcomes.
Discharge counseling by pharmacists reduces adverse medication events, emergency department visits, and readmissions. Studies indicate that pharmacy students in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) can deliver effective medication-related activities. An open label randomized controlled trial was conducted in adults discharged on warfarin, insulin, or both. Pharmacy students performed medication reconciliation, structured medication counseling, and follow-up calls 72-hours post-discharge. The usual care arm received traditional education. The primary outcome was the 30-day readmission rate post-discharge. Ninety-eight patients on high-risk medications were randomized to intervention (n = 51) or usual care (n = 47). The 30-day hospital readmission rate was lower in the intervention group (8/51, 15% vs. 11/47, 23%); (p = 0.48). There was no statistical difference in the time to first unplanned health care use (hazard ratio = 0.49 (95 %CI, 0.19–1.24), or the time-to-first clinic visit post-discharge (p = 0.94) between the two arms. Students identified 26 drug-related problems during reconciliation. Patients in the intervention arm reported high satisfaction with the service (mean 3.94; SD 0.11). Involving APPE students in the transition of care activities presents an excellent opportunity to minimize pharmacists' workload while maintaining patient care services.
Background: There is a growing recognition of the importance of teaching patient safety to medical students to improve healthcare and minimize patients' harm; however, few studies evaluated the attitudes of pharmacy students toward patient safety. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes toward patient safety among pharmacy students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacy students from four different universities using a self-administered questionnaire. The Attitudes to Patient Safety Questionnaire III (APSQ-III) was used to measure the attitude toward patient safety. The data were presented using descriptive statistics, such as percentages and means, and compared across gender using Student's t-test. Results: All of the students who agreed to participate and signed the consent form have completed the questionnaire. Of the 347 pharmacy students who participated in the study; 63% were enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy Program and 37% were enrolled in the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences program. Only 46% of the participants received courses for patient safety mainly in the fourth year of their pharmacy program, and around 93% were interested to learn more about patient safety. A more positive attitude toward patient safety was reported in the domain of 'confidence to report errors', 'working hours as error cause', 'patient involvement in reducing error', and 'team functioning'. However, most negative attitudes were reported in the domains of 'Error inevitability' and 'Disclosure responsibility'. Gender differences were noticed in the attitude toward patient safety; female students had more positive attitudes in most domains of patient safety. Conclusions: Around one-half of the surveyed pharmacy students did not receive any courses on patient safety. Our findings emphasize the need for including patient safety courses in the curricula of the different pharmacy programs given the patient safety training importance in improving the quality of patient care.
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