Abdalkarem Alsharari

Background: The availability and access to COVID-19 vaccinations are critical to a successful pandemic response. More than 70% of the population reportedly needs to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity worldwide. However, the reluctance to get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines is holding up the process of vaccination and efforts to control the pandemic and its negative consequences for the global health system, society, and economy. Previous studies have shown low uptake of vaccination in some Middle Eastern countries due to negative attitudes toward vaccination, including concerns about safety and efficacy and doubts about the need for vaccination. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, attitudes, and factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers, academic staff, and students in Saudi Arabia after the vaccine was made widely available by the government. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence, attitudes, and association between demographic factors and uptake of the first or second dose of vaccination among Saudi Arabian health workers and students. Data were collected using an online questionnaire administered and distributed through the Qualtrics platform. Results: The study recruited 173 participants from different countries and from different Saudi regions, most of whom were faculty members (n = 83). Results indicated significant differences between regions; the mean attitude score for the Western region (M 3.23) was significantly higher than that for other regions (M 3.08, p = 0.030). There was also an association between education level and number of vaccine doses received. Thus, the participants with higher education were the most compliant with national vaccination requirements (p = 0.004). Although the three professional groups reported social media as the most frequently reported source of information (p = 0.021), administrators were more likely to receive information from the MOH than other professional groups. Similarly, faculty members were more likely to receive information from colleagues and professional journals than the other two professional groups. Conclusions: Government officials should build public confidence through vaccination campaigns and devise effective health education programs to increase vaccination uptake. Authorized institutions can effectively use social media platforms to encourage vaccination and promote awareness among all audiences.

Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in children and is associated with extreme postoperative discomfort due to peritoneal inflammation and infection. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of postoperative pain (POP) in children after laparoscopic appendectomy. Articles describing or evaluating the control of POP in children with LA were considered eligible. All available literature such as randomized controls, prospective controls, retrospective as well as clinical studies were considered. A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Clinical trials.gov, and Google scholar. The initial search took place on 23 April 2021, and was updated on 24 August 2021. There were no language or date restrictions. Each of the included articles was evaluated separately by two independent reviewers. Additional papers were found by searching the reference lists of eligible studies. Eighteen papers were considered. All papers, and many of them used different methods to treat POP in children undergoing LA, such as lidocaine infusion, different analgesic approaches, ultrasound-guided transverse abdominis blockade (UGTAP), ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum blockade (UGQLB), and comparison of open appendectomy (OA) with local anesthetics in relation to POP management in children. Laparoscopic appendectomy is the surgical procedure preferred by clinicians compared with open appendectomy in children. A multimodal analgesic approach is optimal and efficient surgical techniques such as UGBRSB, UGQLB, and UGTAP block might significantly impact POP in children except that there are contraindications. Dexmedetomidine proved to be an effective adjuvant that can enhance the effect of local anesthetics. The lack of a sufficient number of studies may be a factor affecting our confidence in the results of this study. Therefore, further evidence-based randomized control trials with a large sample size are needed to provide clarity.