The expression and report of pain is influenced by social environment and culture. Previous studies have suggested ethnically determined differences in report of pain threshold, intensity and affect. The influence of ethnic differences between White British and South Asians has remained unexplored. Twenty age-matched, male volunteers in each group underwent evaluation. Cold and warm perception and cold and heat threshold were assessed using an ascending method of limits. Magnitude estimation of pain unpleasantness and pain intensity were investigated with thermal stimuli of 46, 47, 48 and 49 degrees C. Subjects also completed a pain anxiety questionnaire. Data was analysed using t-test, Mann-Whitney and repeated measures analysis of variance as appropriate. There were no differences in cold and warm perception between the two groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups for heat pain threshold (P=0.006) and heat pain intensity demonstrated a significant effect for ethnicity (F=13.84, P=0.001). Although no group differences emerged for cold pain threshold and heat unpleasantness, South Asians demonstrated lower cold pain threshold and reported more unpleasantness at all temperatures but this was not statistically significant. Our study shows that ethnicity plays an important role in heat pain threshold and pain report, South Asian males demonstrated lower pain thresholds and higher pain report when compared with matched White British males. There were no differences in pain anxiety between the two groups and no correlations were identified between pain and pain anxiety Haemodynamic measures and anthropometry did not explain group differences.

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We explored medical student's views and perceptions of a series of debates conducted during problem-based learning (PBL) practiced as a part of the Spiral curriculum at the Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. A series of debates were employed during PBL sessions for second-year female medical students, over the period 2014-2016. Each cohort of students was randomly split into 10 small PBL groups and exposed to weekly PBL activity. Within each group, the students were divided into a proposition half and an opposition half. Students were given 1 wk for debate preparation. The students' responses were recorded on a formulated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, and results are presented as percentages. The usefulness of debate in alleviating potential difficulties in communicating with patients was agreed to by 69% ( = 126) of participants. That these sessions evoked critical thinking among students was reported by 78% ( = 142). This series of debates helped 61% ( = 111) of students to learn effectively about controversial issues. Seventy-one percent ( = 130) considered that debate promoted argument generation and interpretation skills. Enhanced ability to analyze and research evidence was reported by 59% ( = 108) of students. One hundred and thirteen students (62%) agreed that debate helped them to improve clinical decision-making, and 75% of students agreed that debates encouraged tolerance toward diverse viewpoints/convincing strategies. The majority of our medical students found debating enhanced analytic decision-making, communication, and critical thinking skills.

Background:The sequelae of COVID-19 pneumonia on pulmonary function and airways inflammation are still an area of active research.Objective: This research aimed to explore the long-term impact of COVID-19 pneumonia on the lung function after three months from recovery. Methods: Fifty subjects (age 18-60 years) were recruited and classified into two groups: the control group (30 subjects) and the post-COVID-19 pneumonia group (20 patients). Pulmonary function tests, spirometry, body plethysmography [lung volumes and airway resistance (R aw )], diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DL CO ), and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), were measured after at least 3 months post-recovery. Results: Significant reduction in total lung capacity (TLC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV 1 ), FEV 1 /FEV, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DL CO ) was observed in post-COVID-19 subjects compared to controls. Restrictive lung impairment was observed in 50% of post-COVID-19 cases (n = 10) compared to 20% in the control group (n = 6, P = 0.026). In addition, mild diffusion defect was detected in 35% (n = 7) of the post-COVID-19 group compared to 23.3% (n = 7) in the controls (P = 0.012). Conclusion: COVID-19 pneumonia has an impact on the lung functions in terms of restrictive lung impairment and mild diffusion defect after three months from recovery. Therefore, a long-term follow-up of the lung function in post-COVID-19 survivors is recommended.

Background:Biomedical publications from a country mirror the standard of Medical Education and practice in that country. It is important that the performance of the health profession is occasionally documented.Aims:This study aimed to analyze the quantity and quality of biomedical publications from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in international journals indexed in PubMed between 2008 and 2012.Materials and Methods:PubMed was searched for publications associated with KSA from 2008 to 2012. The search was limited to medical and biomedical subjects. Results were saved in a text file and later checked carefully to exclude false positive errors. The quality of the publication was assessed using Journal Citation Report 2012.Results:Biomedical research production in KSA in those 5 years showed a clear linear progression. Riyadh was the main hub of medical and biomedical research activity. Most of the publications (40.9%) originated from King Saud University (KSU). About half of the articles were published in journals with an Impact Factor (IF) of < 1, one-fourth in journals with no IF, and the remaining one-fourth in journals with a high IF (≥1).Conclusion:This study revealed that research activity in KSA is increasing. However, there is an increasing trend of publishing in local journals with a low IF. More effort is required to promote medical research in Saudi Arabia.