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COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown, suspending all on-campus educational activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), compelling to continue the education online. We explored pharmacy students’ perspective on its impact on their learning. A Twitter chat was organized on three consecutive days, after final examinations, inviting all pharmacy students in KSA to participate. Day 1 chat included 11 questions regarding learning and assessment, Day 2 chat included six questions about online examinations and six questions about technology use, Day 3 chat included six questions related to lessons learnt from the learning experiences during the lockdown. The questions were validated and piloted before the chat. The responses were copied, reviewed to remove any confidential information, and thematically analyzed by two teams of research students independently. During the three-day chat, 790 responses were received in total. Thematic analysis generated 944 codes which were categorized into 43 subthemes. These subthemes were further categorized into six main themes: ‘facilitators for online education’, ‘barriers for online education’, ‘online versus onsite education’, ‘role of technology in online education’, ‘suggestions for improving online education’ and ‘long-term impact of online education during lockdown’. Participants highlighted several facilitators and barriers which affected their education during the lockdown, compared online education with onsite education, and provided suggestions for improving online education based on their learning experiences during the lockdown. As COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions are expected to last longer, pharmacy colleges and academic staff will find these findings useful to prepare for the coming years, ensuring pedagogical and accreditation standards.

Background Effective cancer management include comprehensive evaluation of treatment patterns to ensure optimal resource utilization. This is a single center study review anticancer drug utilization, with an emphasis on adherence to the World Health Organization Essential Medicines List (WHO EML) and regional prescribing trends amid increasing cancer incidence. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 512 adult patients with histologically confirmed malignant neoplasms that were managed with anti-cancer therapy at King Khaled Hospital, Najran, from 2014 to 2022. Data extraction included demographic characteristics, treatment regimens, and supportive medications, analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 21). Prescription quality was assessed against WHO EML criteria and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) standards. Results The study revealed slight male predominance (56.4%), with a mean age 55.2 ± 17.0 years. Gastrointestinal (29.7%) and breast cancers (25.8%) accounted for the majority of cases, and 46.7% of patients presented with metastatic disease. First-line regimens predominantly included doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (20.1%) and FOLFOX (13.5%). Notably, 86.7% of prescribed agents were listed on the WHO EML, surpassing the 85.3% benchmark, and 90.1% were generics. Supportive care commonly involved metoclopramide-based antiemetics (76.1%). Medication shortages occurred in 8.4% of cases, predominantly involving BCG. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate an optimal utilization of WHO Essential Medicines List, reflecting evidence-based, cost-effective prescribing practices that exceed international benchmarks. Despite the observed supply chain vulnerabilities, the study reinforces the relevance and applicability of the WHO model at the regional level.

Background In recent years, various advancements in anticancer therapy have led to the development of multiple regimens and protocols. This study endeavors to provide an extensive evaluation of anticancer therapy prescription patterns in correlation with patient outcomes. Methods From June 2014 to April 2022, we included adult cancer patients who received anticancer therapy in our cancer center. Collected data encompassed demographic characteristics of patients and cancer, chemotherapy protocols or agents, antiemetics, drug side effects, and the patient's last status. The prescribed drugs were assessed using the Essential Medicines List, while the prescription's rationality was determined using the World Health Organization indicators. Results The mean age was 55.16 ± 17.04 years, with 56.4% of the patients being males. Gastrointestinal (29.7%) and breast (25.8%) cancers were the most common malignancies. The main protocols included a combination of Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (20.1%) and folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin-based (FOLFOX) regimen (13.5%). The most frequently used drugs were doxorubicin (14.0%), cyclophosphamide (13.3%), and docetaxel (9.9%). The majority of patients also did not report any acute adverse events related to chemotherapy (81.1%). Antiemetics, mainly metoclopramide-based, were used in 76.07% of cases. Remarkably, 86.7% of anticancer agents were from the EML, and 90.1% were prescribed generically. Conclusion In this study, gastrointestinal cancers were the most prevalent cancers observed, with more preponderance among males. Most anticancer agents were taken from the essential drug list, with the majority being prescribed under generic names, indicating rational use.

It is difficult to maintain social distancing in highly populated areas where people live in proximity. This study aimed to qualitatively explore experiences of COVID-19 recovered patients residing in one such area. We employed semi-structured face-to-face interviews. An interview guide was developed, validated, piloted, and minor changes were made. People living in this area, above 18 years of age, and recovered from COVID-19 were approached for the interviews, 11 of them were recruited to be interviewed, and their verbal informed consent was audio recorded. The interviews were conducted in the Arabic language in a semi-private area of the community center, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed later. Thematic analysis generated 30 subthemes, which were categorized into seven overarching themes: information about COVID-19; life during COVID-19 illness; spreading of COVID-19; precautionary measures; interventions that helped in recovery; impact of COVID-19 on life; support received during COVID-19 illness. Experiences of people from the hotspot who had recovered from COVID-19 highlighted what life had been like in the hotspot under lockdown, especially with having been afflicted with the infection, factors that facilitated their recovery, and the way their lives were and have been affected due to COVID-19.