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Alkhudair N, Howaidi J, Alnuhait M, Alshamrani M, Khan M, Alharbi A, Alnajjar F, Bajnaid E, Almodaheem H, Alhowimel M, Alzahrani A, Khardaly A, Alnahedh M, Elsoudi H, Alabdulkareem H, Alrashidan A, Alzahrani M, Alrajhi A. Revitalizing oncology medications access in Saudi Arabia: Current challenges and recommendations by the Saudi Oncology Pharmacy Assembly. J Oncol Pharm Pract 2024:10781552241232697. [PMID: 38377985 DOI: 10.1177/10781552241232697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer care is posing immense challenges to healthcare systems globally. Advances in screening, monitoring, and treating cancer improved patient outcomes and survival rates yet amplified the disease burden. Multiple barriers might impede early access to innovative therapies. We thoroughly examined the current challenges in oncology medication access in Saudi Arabia and provided consensus recommendations to revitalize the process. METHODS A focus group discussion was conducted. Expert healthcare providers (pharmacists and physicians) were invited to participate based on prespecified criteria. The research team conducted a qualitative analysis of the discussion to identify themes and formulate recommendations. RESULTS Fourteen experts were equally distributed into two groups, limiting the number in each group to 7. Pharmacists were 12 (∼86%), and physicians were 2 (∼14%). Ten were practicing in governmental hospitals, four representing different sectors; regulatory bodies, including Ministry of Health, National Unified Procurement Company, and Saudi Food and Drug Authority. Five themes were identified: national cancer burden, local data availability, pharmacoeconomic evaluation, patients reported outcomes, administration, and procurement. Consensus recommendations were formulated to optimize the formulary management process, enabling informed decision-making and facilitating early medication access for cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS The formulary management process can be enhanced by addressing the national cancer burden, promoting local data availability, conducting pharmacoeconomic evaluations, focusing on patient outcomes, and improving administration and procurement procedures. Implementing these recommendations can improve access to oncology medications and improve patient care outcomes in Saudi Arabia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Alkhudair
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jude Howaidi
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Alnuhait
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Majed Alshamrani
- Pharmaceutical Care Services, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mansour Khan
- Pharmaceutical Care Services, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Atika Alharbi
- Pharmaceutical Care Services, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fouad Alnajjar
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eshtyag Bajnaid
- Pharmaceutical Care Services Administration, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hajer Almodaheem
- Deputyship of Therapeutic Affairs, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mansour Alhowimel
- Unified Procurement, National Unified Procurement Company, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ali Alzahrani
- Medical Oncology Department, Comprehensive Cancer Center, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amr Khardaly
- Deputyship of Therapeutic Affairs, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Alnahedh
- Pharmaceutical Care Division, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hamdi Elsoudi
- Clinical Pharmacy Department, Pharmaceutical Care Services Administration, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hana Alabdulkareem
- Drug Policy and Economic Center, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Doctoral School of Applied Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Óbuda University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ahmed Alrashidan
- Corporate pharmaceutical planning, logistic & contracts management, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Musa Alzahrani
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Alrajhi
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlFaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Alnuhait M, Alharbi A, Alanizi A, Alkhudair N, Alshamrani M, Bajnaid E, Alrajhi A, Alnajjar F, Khardaly A. Implementing Oncology Pharmacy Boot Camp for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Students at a Regional Conference in Saudi Arabia. Cureus 2023; 15:e34780. [PMID: 36909037 PMCID: PMC10005846 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.34780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Upon graduation, pharmacy students are expected to possess a diverse array of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. A subject-specific boot camp may support bridging the gap between the information and skills gained during clerkships, courses required for pharmacy school after graduation, and skills needed for the job market, as well as the gap between pharmacy school and residency. This research aimed to determine whether an integrated boot camp increased Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) student self-confidence and enhanced students' knowledge in oncology pharmacy. Method APPE students who attended the annual meeting of the Saudi Oncology Pharmacy Assembly (SOPA)/International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) Regional Conference 2021 were voluntarily enrolled in a three-hour oncology-focused boot camp consisting of interactive lectures. Pre- and post-intervention examinations were used to evaluate student learning outcomes and their experience feedback. Result Of 118 students who attended the boot camp, 80 students who met the criteria were included in the study. The pre- and post-intervention examinations were completed by the 80 APPE students. The pre-intervention test results (mean: 66%, standard deviation (SD): 16%) increased by 21.5% after the boot camp (mean: 87.5%, SD: 12%, p = 0.001). Students scored better on each of the 10 test questions, with nine questions demonstrating a statistically significant result. Conclusion The results of this research showed that interns who participated in an oncology boot camp had a higher level of knowledge and confidence in applying key oncology concepts. Interns were satisfied with the chance to engage in the activity, and they agreed to adding boot camps to future conferences would be valuable. This research shows that it is possible to hold a transitional boot camp during conferences to better prepare students for their fields of study and increase their participation in oncology conferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Alnuhait
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU
| | - Atika Alharbi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Jeddah, SAU
| | - Abdalrhman Alanizi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Care, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, SAU
| | - Nora Alkhudair
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAU
| | - Majed Alshamrani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Jeddah, SAU
| | - Eshtyag Bajnaid
- Department of Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, SAU
| | - Abdullah Alrajhi
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, SAU.,College of Pharmacy, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, SAU
| | - Fouad Alnajjar
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, SAU
| | - Amr Khardaly
- Deputyship of Therapeutic Affairs, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAU
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Muacevic A, Adler JR, Alrajhi A, Khan MF, Babkour A. Prevalence, Patterns, Prognosis, and Psychosocial Impact of Olfactory and Gustative Dysfunctions Among Saudi COVID-19 Patients. Cureus 2022; 14:e31743. [PMID: 36569668 PMCID: PMC9770517 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.31743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of olfactory and gustative dysfunctions (OGD) and analyze their pattern and psychosocial impact among COVID-19 patients. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted among 194 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital between 1 September 2020 and 30 September 2021. A questionnaire was translated and modified from another study to collect the baseline demographic data and medical history; characterization of smell and taste loss separately, including timing, level, practices or treatment used to restore, recovery, and symptom duration; and the psychological impact of OGD using six items to explore the multidimensional impact, such as daily activity, job performance, and social life. A four-point Likert-type agreement scale was used, and an impact score was calculated. Result As high as 97.4% and 94.8% of the participants declared having experienced a certain level of olfactory and gustative dysfunction, respectively. In the majority of these cases, the dysfunction occurred after the acute phase of the disease and persisted less than one month after onset. Social life (78.4%), job performance (64.4%), and daily life activities (42.8%) were the most frequently impacted dimensions, and 32% of the participants were deemed to have experienced a high psychosocial impact. Younger participants, females, and certain job categories were significantly more impacted than their counterparts. Conclusion OGDs are highly frequent in COVID-19 patients. They are described to be relatively severe and have frequent psychosocial impacts, notably in females and the younger age category. Further research is warranted to determine efficacious preventive and management strategies in order to prevent their long-term impact on wellbeing.
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Samer A, Almehmadi F, Krimly A, Alrajhi A. Tacrolimus-Induced Diffuse Coronary Artery Spasm. Cureus 2022; 14:e25748. [PMID: 35812568 PMCID: PMC9270072 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.25748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prinzmetal angina, also known as vasospastic angina, is defined as an intermittent focal or diffuse coronary artery narrowing, which is often associated with transient ST-segment elevation on an electrocardiogram. Also, it could be associated with an atherosclerotic lesion at the site of the spasm. Vasospastic angina might be induced by medications, most commonly with cocaine and other examples which include catecholamines such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, isoproterenol, dopamine, and dobutamine. Parasympathomimetic agents include acetylcholine, methacholine, and pilocarpine. It is rarely caused by tacrolimus. The clinical evaluation includes an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. The confirmed diagnosis is done by coronary angiography. Cardiac catheterization is indicated in such cases to rule out coronary artery disease.
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Alotaibi H, Motabi I, Butt A, AlShehry N, Marei M, Tailor I, Altaf S, Zaidi S, Alnoamani M, Alrajhi A, Albtoosh B, Alzahrani K, Alfayez M. Effectiveness of intravenous high-dose methotrexate for prevention of relapse in patients with DLBCL. J Clin Oncol 2021. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.e19562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
e19562 Background: Central nervous system (CNS) relapse develops in 2-10% of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and has an adverse prognosis. Tools like IPI and CNS-IPI scores identify patients at high risk of systemic or CNS relapse based on the presence of established risk factors ( Schmitz et al. JCO 2016). International guidelines propose prophylactic intravenous high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) for patients at high risk of CNS relapse; however, limited data is backing this approach. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of newly diagnosed DLBCL patients aged 18-75 years treated with curative intent at large academic medical centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 2015-2018. Patients who were planned for CNS HD-MTX after cycles 2, 4, and 6 of R-CHOP and received at least one HD-MTX cycle were included. Results: We identified 35 DLBCL patients who received at least one R-CHOP cycle with one cycle of HD-MTX. The median IPI and CNS-IPI score were 3, (range = 0-4) and 3, (range = 0-5), respectively. The median number of R-CHOP cycles received was 6 (range 3-6) and HD-MTX 3 (range 1-6). The overall response rate was 91%, with 3 (9%) primary refractory patients per interim evaluation on cycle 3 of R-CHOP. Achieving complete remission after six cycles of RCHOP was noted in 80%, with four additional patients showed residual disease at the end of treatment evaluation. The entire cohort's overall survival was not reached, and five years estimated survival is 75%. With a median follow-up duration of 37.3 months, none of the patients relapsed after achieving CR at the end of treatment evaluation. The risk of systemic or CNS relapse in our cohort was 0%. In restricting the analysis to CNS-IPI of ≥ 4, a total of 13 patients with a median follow-up of 42 months were included; four patients did not achieve CR by the end of treatment, while nine patients continue to be in CR without any evidence of relapsed disease. Conclusions: High-dose methotrexate with high-intensity chemoimmunotherapy (R-CHOP) seems to be associated with an improvement in the expected rate of CNS relapse. Our data set is small, and a more extensive study evaluating HD-MTX's effectiveness in high-risk DLBCL is warranted.[Table: see text]
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ahmad Butt
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Sayed Altaf
- King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Syed Zaidi
- King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Alotaibi F, Alharbi S, Alotaibi M, Al Mosallam M, Motawei M, Alrajhi A. Wheat omics: Classical breeding to new breeding technologies. Saudi J Biol Sci 2021; 28:1433-1444. [PMID: 33613071 PMCID: PMC7878716 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.11.083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Wheat is an important cereal crop, and its significance is more due to compete for dietary products in the world. Many constraints facing by the wheat crop due to environmental hazardous, biotic, abiotic stress and heavy matters factors, as a result, decrease the yield. Understanding the molecular mechanism related to these factors is significant to figure out genes regulate under specific conditions. Classical breeding using hybridization has been used to increase the yield but not prospered at the desired level. With the development of newly emerging technologies in biological sciences i.e., marker assisted breeding (MAB), QTLs mapping, mutation breeding, proteomics, metabolomics, next-generation sequencing (NGS), RNA_sequencing, transcriptomics, differential expression genes (DEGs), computational resources and genome editing techniques i.e. (CRISPR cas9; Cas13) advances in the field of omics. Application of new breeding technologies develops huge data; considerable development is needed in bioinformatics science to interpret the data. However, combined omics application to address physiological questions linked with genetics is still a challenge. Moreover, viroid discovery opens the new direction for research, economics, and target specification. Comparative genomics important to figure gene of interest processes are further discussed about considering the identification of genes, genomic loci, and biochemical pathways linked with stress resilience in wheat. Furthermore, this review extensively discussed the omics approaches and their effective use. Integrated plant omics technologies have been used viroid genomes associated with CRISPR and CRISPR-associated Cas13a proteins system used for engineering of viroid interference along with high-performance multidimensional phenotyping as a significant limiting factor for increasing stress resistance in wheat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahad Alotaibi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saif Alharbi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Majed Alotaibi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mobarak Al Mosallam
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Abdullah Alrajhi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Edathodu J, Alrajhi A, Halim M, Althawadi S. Multi-recipient donor-transmitted tuberculosis. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2010; 14:1493-1495. [PMID: 20937193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) rates among transplant recipients are 20-74 times higher than in the general population, and have a mortality rate of up to 30%. The majority are potentially preventable. Most cases are reactivated latent infection after immune suppression. Donor-transmitted TB is very rare. We report three cases of TB that were transmitted by organ transplantation from a single donor.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Edathodu
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Section of Microbiology, Department of Medicine, King Faisal Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Aljurf M, Gyger M, Alrajhi A, Sahovic E, Chaudhri N, Musa M, Ayoub O, Seth P, Aslam M, Al-Fiar F. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation patients. Bone Marrow Transplant 1999; 24:551-4. [PMID: 10482941 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1701930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients are prone to bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection can occur in these patients, but the incidence is lower than that of other infections. This report describes four patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection identified from 641 adult patients who received a BMT over a 12-year period (prevalence 0.6%). The pre-transplant diagnosis was AML in two patients and CML in the other two. Pre-transplant conditioning consisted of BU/CY in three patients and CY/TBI in one. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis was MTX/CsA in three patients and T cell depletion of the graft in one patient. Sites of infection were lung (two), spine (one) and central nervous system (one). Onset of infection ranged from 120 days to 20 months post BMT. Two patients had co-existing CMV infection. One patient had graft failure. The two patients who received anti-tuberculous (TB) therapy recovered from the infection. Although the incidence of tuberculosis in BMT patients is not as high as in patients with solid organ transplants, late diagnosis due to the slow growth of the bacterium can lead to delay in instituting anti-TB therapy. A high index of suspicion should be maintained, particularly in endemic areas.
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MESH Headings
- Abscess/diagnosis
- Abscess/drug therapy
- Abscess/etiology
- Adult
- Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use
- Bone Marrow Transplantation/adverse effects
- Encephalitis/etiology
- Fatal Outcome
- Female
- Graft Rejection
- Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease/etiology
- Humans
- Immunocompromised Host
- Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute/complications
- Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute/therapy
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/complications
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/therapy
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase/complications
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase/therapy
- Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Acute/complications
- Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Acute/therapy
- Male
- Multiple Organ Failure/etiology
- Prevalence
- Sepsis/etiology
- Transplantation Conditioning/adverse effects
- Transplantation, Homologous/adverse effects
- Tuberculosis/diagnosis
- Tuberculosis/drug therapy
- Tuberculosis/etiology
- Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/drug therapy
- Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/etiology
- Tuberculosis, Spinal/diagnosis
- Tuberculosis, Spinal/drug therapy
- Tuberculosis, Spinal/etiology
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Affiliation(s)
- M Aljurf
- Department of Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Sabeel A, Alrajhi A, Alfurayh O. Salmonella pericarditis and pericardial effusion in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus on haemodialysis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1997; 12:2177-8. [PMID: 9351089 DOI: 10.1093/ndt/12.10.2177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- A Sabeel
- Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Affiliation(s)
- A Alrajhi
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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