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PUBLIC AWARENESS TOWARDS GALLSTONES AMONG GENERAL POPULATION IN AL-RIYADH CITY, SAUDI ARABIA

Hassan Muneer Albagshi1 , Hussain Abdulkareem Alkhamis1 , Mustafa Ahmed Alturki2 , Ali Mohammed Alsaihati2 , Intessar Hussain Alsaid3 , Alwaleed Eid Alsubaie4 , Abdulelah Saleh Alhabib4 , Suliman Saud Alobaid4 , Yasir Mohammed Alsagoor5 , Norah Hamad AlOmireen6 , Yousef Ayman Hejazy7

Background: Gallstone is one of the most common emergencies cases physician always face during their duties and cholecystectomy is common procedure worldwide. There are many risk factors for gallstones formation such as old age, female gender, obesity and Sickle Cell Disease. However, there is lack of awareness towards gallstone symptoms and its risk factors among general population in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Objectives: to evaluate the knowledge and level of awareness towards gallstone disease, symptoms and risk factors among general population in Al-Riyadh city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A cross sectional study was included 300 Saudis participants adult from general population who were randomly chosen in the period from September–October 2018. Results: the results show that all participants have heard about gallstone. Almost half of participants know that abdominal pain is the most common symptoms of gallstone (47.3%) and almost half of the participants do not know if nausea and vomiting are symptoms of gall stone but more than half of participants don’t know if fatty food could be trigger the pain or not (54.3%). Regarding the methods of diagnosis, most of participants don’t know if gallstone could be diagnosed clinically or not (40.7%). About two-third of participants do not know if there are complication related to gallstones. Conclusion: All participants had heard about gallstones but most of them do not have awareness towards the symptoms, risk factors thus more campaigns are needed in increase the awareness among general population. Key words: Gallstones, Awareness, Symptoms, Saudi Arabia.

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