Purpose: Dietary supplements (DSs) are popular in many countries, and their use among individuals is increasing worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and use of DSs among pharmacy students in King Saud University College of Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design targeting male senior pharmacy students in their fourth and fifth years of Bachelor and Doctor of Pharmacy courses. The data were collected between August and October 2019 using paper-based questionnaires. Results: A total of 46.8% of the students used DSs. Of all students surveyed, 19% used branded supplements whereas 9.7% used generic or local supplements and 12.3% used both generic and branded supplements. Furthermore, 8.2% students suffered from side effects, including 5.6% who suffered from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and 2.6% who suffered from headache, confusion, and disorientation. Approximately 24.6% of students used fiber DSs whereas 19% and 16.4% used DSs for protein and glucosamine/omega 3 fatty acids, respectively. Conclusion: The study findings indicated that the prevalence of DS use is increasing. However, approximately half of the respondents encourage the use of DSs only with a doctor’s recommendation. Educating about the safe use of DSs is warranted.

Purpose. The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence and practice of unused and expired medicine among Saudi adults. Subjects and Methods. The study used cross‐sectional web‐based design to collect the data, over a period of 4 months among people who are living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results. A total of 337 questionnaires were obtained during the study period. The majority of respondents were university graduates n = 251 (74.7%). The prevalence of unused medicine was n = 301 (89.3%). The most commonly used drugs were nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs n = 272 (80.7%) and antibiotics n = 164 (48.7%). Of the participants, 186 (55.2%) checked the expiry date of the medicine before they purchase. Most of them n = 305 (90.5%) obtained medicine through prescription. About n = 219 (65%) of them keep the medicine until it expired; 48.1% throw away in the household garbage while only 18 (5.4%) of the respondents said to give it back to the medical store. Conclusion. The study revealed a high prevalence of unused medications among Saudi community. However, the disposable practice among the Saudi community was inadequate. Increasing awareness through education programs about proper disposable guidelines is necessary for controlling the medication wastage.

Background and Objective. Anxiety is an emotional and behavioral disorder that may disturb the student’s quality of learning and its outcome. This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence and associated factors among pharmacy students at a university in Saudi Arabia. Methods. We used a cross‐sectional design, and data collection was carried out over a period of two months from September 2018 to November 2018 using paper‐based self‐administered questionnaires. The General Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7) scale was used to measure and classify anxiety among the study participants. Results. The prevalence of anxiety among pharmacy students was 49% (83 students); 44 students (25.9%) had mild anxiety, while 24 (14.1%) students had moderate anxiety, and 15 (8.8%) severe anxiety. There were statistically significant differences in anxiety scores according to faculty type (p = 0.2) and nutritional status (p = 0.4). Conclusion. The findings of this study revealed that half of the pharmacy students suffered from anxiety incidence during their studies at the university. However, the majority of them are experiencing mild to moderate. This may have a significant impact on academic performance and necessitates special attention.

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is one of the most rapidly increasing cancer types. Early detection and diagnosis of melanoma can significantly reduce the impact of the disease on patient outcomes. However, traditional diagnostic approaches often only detect melanoma in the later stages, which limits the efficacy of treatment. In this context, a smart deep learning-based model for early detection and diagnosis of melanoma is proposed. The model consists of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a visualization network. The CNN extract morphological features from dermoscopy images of moles, while the visualization network provides pixel-level accuracy and sensitivity for detection of potential malignancy. The model is trained and validated on clinical datasets. The model has achieved superior results than existing methods, providing a viable solution for early detection and diagnosis of melanoma. The model showed great potential in aiding dermatologists in the early detection and diagnosis of melanoma, leading to better patient outcomes and reduced mortality rates. The use of deep learning technology allowed for efficient processing of large amounts of data, leading to fast and accurate diagnoses. Additionally, the model was able to learn and improve over time, making it a valuable tool in detecting and diagnosing melanoma.

Background and objectives. Lack of knowledge and awareness about the disease is generally associated with wicked health outcomes. Diabetes is a chronic endocrine disease, affecting people of both genders and across all age groups, and is currently considered a major public health challenge globally. This study aims to assess the public’s knowledge, awareness, and associated demographic factors among general community. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out for over 4 months from May to August 2020 using a self-administered, anonymous online questionnaire. All adults of both genders were invited to participate in the study. Individuals who are able to read and understand the English language were included in the study. Data were descriptively analyzed using a statistical package for social science version 26 (SPSS). Results. A total of 427 subjects responded to the questionnaires. More than half of them were male 253 (59.3%), while 174 (40.7%) were female, approximately 49% had a university degree, and 196 (45.9%) were postgraduates. The mean age of the participants was 25.7 ± 6.2 (mean ± SD). Most of them were single 230 (53.9%). The majority of the respondents 367 (85.9%) had heard of hyperglycemia, while a comparable number of 366 (85.7%) were aware of it being a lifelong disease. About 305 (71.4%) of participants knew that genetic factors were associated with hyperglycemia, and more than half of 250 (58.5%) knew that diabetes causes foot problems. There was a significant association between the cause of diabetes with income and educational status ( < 0.05) and diabetic complications with age, education, and family income ( < 0.05). Conclusion. In conclusion, there is a need for greater awareness and additional education regarding hyperglycemia among the general community in the state of Telangana, India, to reduce the incidence of diabetes and associated risk factors. Public health campaigns that encourage healthier lifestyles might help achieve this aim.

Antiepileptic drugs (AED) are progressively utilized for off-label conditions other than epilepsy, like bipolar disorder and migraine. The objective of this study was to evaluate current prescribing patterns and utilization of AED in pediatric, neurosurgery, and psychiatry wards and to compare them to the standard treatment guidelines. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Ayyub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad from December 1st, 2018 to April 2019. Data on demographic and clinical characteristics, utilization patterns of AED, adherence to standard treatment guidelines, and frequency of potential drug–drug interactions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Among 410 patients, 54.3% (n = 223) were male, 45.6%(n = 187) were female, and 63.7% (n = 261) were from the 1 to 18 years’ age group. The majority 47.3% (n = 194) were from the pediatric ward followed by neurosurgery 28.7%(n = 118). Among the studied patients, 96.1% of them had comorbid conditions other than epilepsy alone. With regards to types of seizures unclassified seizures were the most common seizure type (59.8%; n = 245) followed by generalized tonic clonic seizures 23.4% (n = 96). In this study, the most frequently utilized AED was sodium valproate 59.0% (n = 242) followed by antiepileptic first-generation medicines were commonly used (76.3%). Although a total of 77.6% of the patients showed nonadherence to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and 87.6% of them showed drug interactions. Findings from this study showed prescription patterns and utilization of AED in patients with epilepsy and non-epilepsy disorders which may help healthcare providers in making accurate clinical decisions.