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Papers by Dalia al-Abdulrazzaq

BMC Endocrine Disorders, 2015

Recombinant Growth hormone (rGH) therapy is approved in many countries for treatment of short sta... more Recombinant Growth hormone (rGH) therapy is approved in many countries for treatment of short stature in a number of childhood diagnoses. Despite the increasing body of international literature on rGH use, there is paucity of data on rGH use in Kuwait and the broader Middle-East which share unique ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds. This study aimed to describe the pattern of use and treatment outcomes of rGH therapy in Kuwait. This is a cross-sectional retrospective review of children treated with rGH in the Department of Pediatrics, in a major hospital in Kuwait between December 2013 and December 2014. Data were extracted using standard data extraction form and the response to rGH therapy was defined as a gain of ≥ 0.3 standard deviation score (SDS) of height per year. A total of 60 children were treated with rGH in the center. Their Median (Interquartile) age at rGH initiation was 9.0 (6.2, 10.7) years. The most common indications for rGH therapy were Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) 23 (38.3 %), Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS) 12 (20.0 %) and Small for Gestational Age (SGA) 9 (15.0 %). After excluding patients with TS, no significant differences were found in gender of those who received rGH therapy in all indications combined or in each group (p ≥ 0.40). At 1-year follow-up, children in all groups had median height SDS change of ≥ 0.3 SDS except for children with ISS. Age at rGH initiation was negatively associated with 1-year treatment response, Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.56 (95 % CI: 0.04-1.49); p = 0.011). GHD is the most common indication of rGH therapy. All indications except for ISS showed significant 1-year treatment response to therapy. Treatment outcomes in patients with ISS should be further investigated in Kuwait. Younger age at initiation of rGH therapy was independently associated with significant response to therapy suggesting the importance of identifying children with short stature and prompt initiation of rGH therapy.

Oman Medical Journal, 2015

Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 2015

Educational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the e... more Educational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the educational environment of the undergraduate curriculum of Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University (FOMKU). A cross-sectional study was carried out during April 2014. The validated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was e-mailed to 607 students. Mean scores of the main domains of the questionnaire, and for each item, were calculated, and their association with the students' background information was measured using Student's t-test (P-value of ≤0.05 was considered as the cut-off level of significance). Of 607 students, 117 (19.3%) completed the questionnaire. The total mean score for DREEM was 108.7/200 (54.3%). The mean score for students' perception of teaching, perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere, and social self-perception were 25.2/48 (52.5%), 24.6/44 (55.9%), 18.4/32 (57.5%), 26.2/48 (54.5%), and 14.3/28 (51.0%), respectively. The highest mean score for an item of DREEM questionnaire was for "my accommodation is pleasant" (3.48±0.75), while the lowest was for "there is a good support system for students who get stressed" (0.88±0.86). The total mean score was not significantly different between the two phases of the curriculum, or among males and females; however, few significant differences among the main domains and items were noted. Based on the learners' perspectives, the educational environment of FOMKU, was suboptimal. Medical educators in Kuwait should improve this environment in order to advance the quality of the delivered curriculum.

BMC Medical Education, 2014

Background: Professionalism is a core competency in the medical profession worldwide. Numerous st... more Background: Professionalism is a core competency in the medical profession worldwide. Numerous studies investigate how this competency is taught and learned. However, there are few reports on the students' views and experiences with professionalism especially in the Arab world. Our aim was to explore the experiences and views of Kuwait final-year medical students on professionalism.

Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology, 2014

BMC Endocrine Disorders, 2015

Recombinant Growth hormone (rGH) therapy is approved in many countries for treatment of short sta... more Recombinant Growth hormone (rGH) therapy is approved in many countries for treatment of short stature in a number of childhood diagnoses. Despite the increasing body of international literature on rGH use, there is paucity of data on rGH use in Kuwait and the broader Middle-East which share unique ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds. This study aimed to describe the pattern of use and treatment outcomes of rGH therapy in Kuwait. This is a cross-sectional retrospective review of children treated with rGH in the Department of Pediatrics, in a major hospital in Kuwait between December 2013 and December 2014. Data were extracted using standard data extraction form and the response to rGH therapy was defined as a gain of ≥ 0.3 standard deviation score (SDS) of height per year. A total of 60 children were treated with rGH in the center. Their Median (Interquartile) age at rGH initiation was 9.0 (6.2, 10.7) years. The most common indications for rGH therapy were Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) 23 (38.3 %), Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS) 12 (20.0 %) and Small for Gestational Age (SGA) 9 (15.0 %). After excluding patients with TS, no significant differences were found in gender of those who received rGH therapy in all indications combined or in each group (p ≥ 0.40). At 1-year follow-up, children in all groups had median height SDS change of ≥ 0.3 SDS except for children with ISS. Age at rGH initiation was negatively associated with 1-year treatment response, Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.56 (95 % CI: 0.04-1.49); p = 0.011). GHD is the most common indication of rGH therapy. All indications except for ISS showed significant 1-year treatment response to therapy. Treatment outcomes in patients with ISS should be further investigated in Kuwait. Younger age at initiation of rGH therapy was independently associated with significant response to therapy suggesting the importance of identifying children with short stature and prompt initiation of rGH therapy.

Oman Medical Journal, 2015

Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 2015

Educational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the e... more Educational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the educational environment of the undergraduate curriculum of Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University (FOMKU). A cross-sectional study was carried out during April 2014. The validated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was e-mailed to 607 students. Mean scores of the main domains of the questionnaire, and for each item, were calculated, and their association with the students' background information was measured using Student's t-test (P-value of ≤0.05 was considered as the cut-off level of significance). Of 607 students, 117 (19.3%) completed the questionnaire. The total mean score for DREEM was 108.7/200 (54.3%). The mean score for students' perception of teaching, perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere, and social self-perception were 25.2/48 (52.5%), 24.6/44 (55.9%), 18.4/32 (57.5%), 26.2/48 (54.5%), and 14.3/28 (51.0%), respectively. The highest mean score for an item of DREEM questionnaire was for "my accommodation is pleasant" (3.48±0.75), while the lowest was for "there is a good support system for students who get stressed" (0.88±0.86). The total mean score was not significantly different between the two phases of the curriculum, or among males and females; however, few significant differences among the main domains and items were noted. Based on the learners' perspectives, the educational environment of FOMKU, was suboptimal. Medical educators in Kuwait should improve this environment in order to advance the quality of the delivered curriculum.

BMC Medical Education, 2014

Background: Professionalism is a core competency in the medical profession worldwide. Numerous st... more Background: Professionalism is a core competency in the medical profession worldwide. Numerous studies investigate how this competency is taught and learned. However, there are few reports on the students' views and experiences with professionalism especially in the Arab world. Our aim was to explore the experiences and views of Kuwait final-year medical students on professionalism.

Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology, 2014