The prevalence of dental caries is increasing across different nations around the globe. A review of the literature shows that dental caries is adversely affecting the oral health of children, adolescents, adults and elderly populations in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this review is to report the prevalence, severity, and progression of dental caries in different age groups of Saudi communities. Digital databases such as PubMed, Medline, Google scholar, and the Saudi Dental and Medical Journals were searched to retrieve the published articles and reports on dental caries in Saudi Arabia. Search strategy included key words such as "dental caries," dental decay, decayed missing filled teeth (dmft/DMFT), and oral health. Cross-sectional, retrospective and cohort studies (from 1982 to 2012) reporting the prevalence, incidence and severity of caries among children, adults and older individuals were included in the review. In children with primary dentition ages 3-7 years, the highest caries prevalence was almost 95% and maximum estimate of dmft was 7.34 during the last decade. Approximately, 91% was the highest caries prevalence and greatest DMFT value was 7.35 among the children/adolescents ages 12-19 years. The adults with a mean age between 30 and 45 years had maximum caries prevalence of 98% and DMFT of 14.53 while older individuals had greatest DMFT score of 24.3. Children, adults, and elderly populations demonstrate a higher prevalence and greater severity of caries, and secular trends also show a striking increase in dmft/DMFT and caries prevalence rates over the past few decades in Saudi Arabia.

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The overall 5-year survival rate following treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma is around 50% in most published series. The major prognostic factors are stage at the time of diagnosis, unexpected close margins at resection, depth and pattern of tissue invasion by carcinoma and extracapsular spread. Grading by gross histological differentiation does not influence prognosis, unless deeply invasive margins are evaluated by the pathologist. Because stage at diagnosis is the most important factor affecting outcome, early detection results in better prognosis in most cases.

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Objective: The aim of the study was to measure job satisfaction and stress levels among pharmacists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to explore the main causes of dissatisfaction and stress-related factors. Materials and Methods: A self-administered survey was hand-distributed using a cluster area sampling technique. Data were entered into a statistical analysis system database with a significance level of P < 0.05, using Chi-square, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis. Results: The setting of a pharmacy was found to significantly affect the job satisfaction of pharmacists. 48% of independent community pharmacists were satisfied with their job compared with 62% of dispensary pharmacists and 74% of chain community pharmacists. Marital status and years of experience significantly affected job satisfaction, and married pharmacists had lower levels of satisfaction than their unmarried counterparts. Pharmacists who dispensed a higher number of prescriptions had higher levels of satisfaction. Furthermore, job-related stress factors, such as the setting of the pharmacy and years of experience, had a significant effect on the stress level related to the responsibility of patient care. Participants also reported other job stressors: Long working hours, difficulty in obtaining casual or sick leave, and low salaries. Conclusion: Independent community pharmacists in Riyadh had lower levels of job satisfaction than their counterparts in dispensaries and chain pharmacies. Primarily, efforts should be made to raise the levels of job satisfaction for pharmacists in order to improve their motivation and competence. Failure to reduce stress among workers puts both pharmacists and patients at risk.

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Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is a major cause of hospital care-acquired infections, and this bacterium poses a significant challenge to health care worldwide. At King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU), Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, there had been a significant increase in the number of cases of A. baumannii infections. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the clonal relationship between A. baumannii collected from different specimens of patients admitted to KFHU using the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus–polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) fingerprinting method. Materials and Methods: A. baumannii strains were isolated from a total of 59 specimens from inpatients admitted to KFHU between January and September 2014. These specimens were mainly collected from wound, rectal and throat swabs and transtracheal aspiration. ERIC-PCR fingerprinting was used to determine the clonal relationship between the different isolated strains. Results: Using ERIC-PCR fingerprinting genotype analysis, 51 strains of A. baumannii were clustered into seven groups, while the remaining 8 were single strains. The genetic relatedness of A. baumannii isolated from admitted patients was high, indicating cross-transmission within the hospitalized patients. Conclusion: This study found that the increase in the incidence of A. baumannii in patients at KFHU was likely due to the spread of seven epidemic clones, thereby highlighting the need for intensifying the infection control measures to prevent nosocomial transmission of A. baumannii. These results also demonstrate that ERIC-PCR is a reliable and rapid method for studying the clonal similarity between A. baumannii isolated from different clinical specimens.

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Pharmaceutical care can be given in all settings: The community, hospitals, long-term care, and the clinic. However, published literature indicates that there is a substantial barrier to implementing pharmaceutical care programs in community pharmacies. This review was conducted to discover gaps and limitations in pharmaceutical care services in community pharmacies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We searched PubMed and other available scientific website databases using the following key words to retrieve the relevant articles: Community Pharmacy, Healthcare System, Pharmaceutical Care, KSA. Two authors independently screened the titles and abstracts of promising articles. They discarded irrelevant studies and retained studies, and reviews that held the promise of relevant data or information. The review revealed that only one out of the four studies conducted in KSA retrieved by the authors reported pharmaceutical care service other than dispensing. The same results were reported in other studies conducted in some developing countries. All pharmaceutical care services were reported in studies conducted in Europe. The authors came to the conclusion that in KSA, dispensing of medicines is the dominant service provided by community pharmacists and that there was very limited if not a total absence of other pharmaceutical care services.

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Background and Aim: Studies of associations between various cancers and the ABO blood groups have shown elevated relative risks for some categories of disease. There has so far been no report of an evaluation of the relationship between the ABO blood groups and acne vulgaris. To investigate this association, we conducted a retrospective study of acne vulgaris diagnosed in Turkey. Material and Methods: All cases were clinically confirmed. Blood information was obtained on 498 individuals with acne vulgaris, and the distribution of ABO and Rh blood type for cases was compared with that of 419 healthy blood donors from the same geographic area. Results: Patients with group A and B blood groups ratios were higher than the control group, but not statistically significant (P = 0.325 and P = 0.138). The ratio of the patient group with AB blood group was significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.01). The ratio of blood group O of patient group was significantly lower than in the control group (P < 0.01). There were no statistically significant differences between the patient and control groups in the distribution of Rh factor. Conclusion: Our study showed a significant association of AB and O blood groups with acne vulgaris. Further studies in a larger series on blood group antigens are needed to shed some light on the relationship between these antigens and skin cancer.

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Background: Undergraduate learning is a sensitive and challenging period for students and has been reported to result in high rates of psychological distress in them. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of psychological distress among undergraduate students at Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a stratified sample of 500 undergraduate students from five faculties at Jazan University. All participants completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire, which included questions about their sociodemographic details and a measuring scale of general psychological distress, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). Results: A total of 450 students satisfactorily completed the questionnaire. Of these, 139 (30.9%) were screened positive for psychological distress based on the BSI-18 scale. Females scored significantly higher than males on the somatization (P = 0.002) and anxiety subscales (P = 0.006) as well as on the total symptom scale (the General Severity Index; P = 0.005). However, there was no significant difference between males and females regarding the depression subscale (P = 0.149). Twenty-eight students (6.2%) reported moderate to extreme levels of distress due to suicidal thoughts in the past 1 week before inclusion in this study. Conclusions: This study found that ~31% of undergraduate students at Jazan University are psychologically distressed. This finding necessitates the need for rigorous efforts to develop proper screening and intervention programs targeting this population.

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Objective: To establish the hormonal, metabolic and clinical profile for Saudi women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted at the University Hospital. All women were seen at the gynecology clinic. One hundred women aged between 18 and 45 years were included in the study; 50 women with polycystic ovary disease (PCOS) comprised the study group and 50 women without PCOS comprised the control group. The hormonal, metabolic and clinical profiles were assessed for both groups. Results: There are significantly higher levels of luteinizing hormone, prolactin, free testosterone dehydroepianosterone sulfate, 17α-hydroxy progesterone and fasting insulin in the study group. There were no differences in the levels of total testosterone, estradiol and cortisone levels between both groups. The levels of follicular stimulating hormone and sex hormone binding globulin were significantly lower in the study group. There were no differences in the blood sugar level, cholesterol, triglycerides and low- and high-density lipoproteins. The womens' ages, body mass index, blood pressure, uterine dimensions and endometrial thickness were similar in both groups. The size of both ovaries was significantly greater in the study group. There were more follicles in the ovaries of the study group. Conclusion: Hormonal profile of Saudi women with PCOS was similar with what is already published in the medical literature. But, despite the fact that Saudi women with and without PCOS are overweight, they do not suffer from raised blood pressure and metabolic syndrome; this may be due to the fact that women included in this study were relatively young and the sample size might be too small to draw effective conclusions.

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Background: Blood transfusion-dependent beta Thalassemia Major (BTM) patients are at risk of hemosiderosis. Hemosiderosis of pancreas results in impaired glucose homeostasis tolerance and diabetes mellitus (DM). Since glycosylated hemoglobin has limited role in patients with hemoglobinopathies, this study was conducted as a first attempt worldwide to understand glucose homeostasis and evaluate efficacy of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system as a diagnostic tool of abnormal glucose homeostasis in these patients. Materials and Methods: A case series study of six non-diabetic, transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients aged 9-13-year-old. Clinical and laboratory data were collected on admission for their monthly transfusion. Patients were connected to CGM systems for one day. Findings: Using CGM and based on American Diabetes Association guidelines, three patients were found to have abnormal glucose levels of diabetic range. The other three showed impaired glucose tolerance. Among all patients, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) readings have an inverse relationship to CGM and calibration readings. Conclusion: CGM could be a promising tool for evaluating BTM patients. Larger studies are recommended.

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Background: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a high number of foreign workers, especially those coming from endemic areas with intestinal parasites. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of parasitic infection among foreign workers in Madina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: There was direct microscopic examination of stool samples by wet smears for parasitic stages. This was followed by the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique to confirm and detect parasites not recovered by the wet mount. Results: The total number of foreign workers was 120, 47.5% of whom were males and 52.5% females. They were within the age group of 20-60 years. A total of 53 cases (44.2 %) were infected with IPs. Some samples had double or triple infections, with a total of 69 parasitic infections detected (57.5%). These included Entamoeba histolytica (27.5%), Giardia lamblia (18.8%), hookworm (14.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (11.6%), Entamoeba coli (7.2%), Trichuris trichiura (5.8%), Strongyloides stercoralis (5.8%) and Hymenolepis nana (4.3%). Furthermore, 1.4% each of Enterobius vermicularis, Schistosoma mansoni and Taenia eggs were found. Conclusion: Foreign workers newly arrived from Asia and Africa carry high rates of IPs infection. It is necessary to increase awareness about occupational health, and the risks of parasite transmission to the local population. Moreover, strict adherence to infection prevention policies is recommended.

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Fibroadenoma of breast and ectopic breast tissue is common pathology. Sometimes, it may be associated with hormonal imbalance. However, the presence of fibroadenoma in the axilla without ectopic breast tissue and hormonal imbalance is a rare presentation. We are presenting a rare case report of fibroadenoma developing in the right axilla in a 28-year-old woman. Clinical examination of both breasts revealed no abnormalities and no lymph nodes or supernumerary breasts were detected in the axilla or the neck. No associated urologic or cardiovascular abnormalities were found and the histopathological examination of the excisional biopsy samples showed a well-defined, capsulated type of fibroadenoma similar to that of ectopic mammary tissue.

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The superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare cause of proximal intestinal obstruction in which the third part of the duodenum is compressed between SMA and the aorta due to narrowing in aortomesenteric angle. High index of suspicion, in the presence of known risk factors, is the key to early diagnosis. We describe a case of SMA syndrome in a 17-year-old boy who admitted with a long history of abdominal pain and intermittent vomiting. The computed tomography (CT) features were diagnostic of SMA syndrome. The CT also showed partial compression of the left renal vein by SMA with more proximal dilatation (nutcracker phenomenon). He received conservative medical treatment, with a favorable outcome. Our case is unique in that two rare syndromes which rarely coexist found together in our patient.

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Lipohypertrophy has been a recognized complication of insulin therapy. Despite improvements in insulin purity and the introduction of recombinant human insulin, its prevalence has remained high particularly in those with a poor glycemic control. Injection of insulin into a site of lipohypertrophy, although painless, may lead to erratic absorption of insulin, with the potential for poor glycemic control and unpredictable hypoglycemia. Rotation of injection sites can reduce the frequency of the problem but does not abolish it. The importance of this complication is not only cosmetic but also in its impact on insulin absorption, and hence glycemic control. Lipohypertrophy is characterized by a benign "tumor-like" swelling of fatty tissue secondary to subcutaneous insulin injections. A strong association of lipoatrophy and lipohypertrophy with insulin antibodies might suggest that autoimmune phenomena with insulin play a role in the development of both. Presented here is a young type 1 diabetic on human insulin with poor glycemic control who developed lipohypertrophy at the injection sites around the umbilicus.

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Sialolipoma of the parotid gland is very rare. We report a case of a 38-year-old woman who presented with a painless, slowly growing, mobile lump of the parotid gland. Computed tomography revealed lipoma of the superficial lobe of the parotid gland. Superficial parotidectomy was performed with uneventful postoperative course. The histology showed sialolipoma. Review of the 25 reported cases (including our case) of parotid sialolipoma shows that this tumor is more common in the fifth decade of life, on the left side and the superficial lobe. It has a slight preference for men. Its clinical presentation mimics the standard (pure) parotid lipoma and other more common benign parotid tumors particularly pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin's tumor. Surgical excision is curative with minor complications and small recurrence rate. Histological examination is necessary to establish the diagnosis and to exclude malignancy.

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Intracranial aneurysms are the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage which carries a significant risk of mortality. Mirror aneurysm constitute between 5-12% of all the intracranial aneurysms. These are uncommon entities with poorly understood pathogenesis and clinical significance.

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Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that increases the risk of suboptimal vitamin D levels. Aim: To determine the effects of vitamin D and calcium supplementation on disease activity, related immune markers and bone mineral density in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Subjects and Methods: Eighty-one patients with systemic lupus erythematosus aged 20–70 years were recruited for this interventional study. Participants were enrolled into the following groups: no corticosteroid treatment (n = 21), corticosteroid treatment but without supplementation (n = 30) and corticosteroid treatment along with oral vitamin D and calcium supplementation (n = 30). Disease activity and laboratory parameters of all participants were measured at baseline and at 6 months. Bone mineral density was assessed using standardized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: At baseline, none of the patients had a normal vitamin D status. There were no significant correlations between vitamin D status and the studied immune markers or disease activity values before and after supplementation. After 6 months, patients who received supplementation showed significant (P = 0.002) improvements in bone mineral density. In addition, frequency of osteopenia decreased from 40% to 16.7% and that of osteoporosis decreased from 26.7% to 13.3%. Conclusion: Vitamin D and calcium supplementation significantly improved the bone mineral density in vitamin D-deficient patients with systemic lupus erythematosus but did not significantly attenuate immune markers or disease activity. Further investigations are recommended with higher doses of vitamin D and longer durations to normalize the vitamin level and, possibly, achieve better disease control.

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Objectives: The objective of the following study is to find out the effects of two different pushing techniques in the second stage of labor on postpartum maternal fatigue and APGAR score of neonates in Saudi females, as very few such studies are available in these patients. Hence this study was carried out in this population to see the results and to do a comparison with other studies in literature as well as to find out how we can make labor awareness in our females. Design: Quasi experimental study. Settings: It was carried out in two hospitals in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia from 1 January, 2011 up to 31 December, 2011. One hundred Saudi women who fulfilled criterion were included in the study. They were randomized and the results seen. Results: There was a significant difference in postpartum fatigue within 60 min and 24 h in two groups as P = 0.001, P < 0.001 respectively. There was a significant difference of APGAR score of newborn in both groups, i.e., P < 0.001. Conclusion: It is concluded that physiological pushing technique has a better outcome with regard to postpartum maternal fatigue and neonatal APGAR score when compared to directed pushing during the second stage of labor.

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Morphologically identical breast cancers can display divergent clinical outcomes and responses to therapy. This can predominantly be attributed to molecular class differences that exist amongst histologically similar cancer types. Consequently, molecular classification can be more powerful than histopathology as a predictive factor for the different treatments. This article reviews the molecular classification of breast cancer and emphasizes that ethnic variations may exist in molecular class prevalence patterns. It also highlights key insights into the currently defined molecular classes as provided by ongoing research on primary breast cancers using recent state-of-the-art technology. Such research is revealing that significant molecular heterogeneity may exist within the molecular classes themselves. More diverse ethnic variations may also be unraveled. The results of ongoing and upcoming research may provide more precise prognostic and predictive information about breast cancer and perhaps a breakthrough step toward "personaliziation" of breast cancer treatment. Forty-one relevant articles (2000-2012) extracted through PubMed and Google advanced searches and at our institute's library were utilized to prepare the article, along with results of published and ongoing research by the authors.

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Pulmonary sequestration is a known congenital pulmonary malformation. It has been classified into intralobar and extralobar types. We report a case of a symptomatic adult intralobar pulmonary sequestration which was managed in a rather unconventional approach. Such an approach, arterial embolization, has clearly shown to be safe with good outcome in infants and pediatric population. The patient made a full recovery with good outcome. Such case reports show feasibility and safety of embolization as a less invasive management option for adult pulmonary sequestration.

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Purpose: Despite the availability of a large number of commercial denture cleansing products, only a few are used by wearers of dentures. This may be due to negligence on the part of the wearers of dentures and or the high cost of the products. We, therefore, felt inspired to study the antifungal effect of different materials usually available in the kitchen. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty resin acrylic samples were prepared and divided into three groups of 50 samples each and immersed into variable concentrations of: Sodium chloride (Group I), Sodium bicarbonate (Group II), and vinegar (Group III). In addition, 10 samples were immersed into water as a control group (Group IV). Minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum immersion time needed were studied for each group. Results: The solutions were only found to be effective against Candida albicans in concentrations higher than 50 ml/200 ml, 10 g/200 ml and 5 g/200 ml of vinegar, sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride respectively. The same concentrations were more effective when acrylic resin plates were immersed for 8 hours rather than 1 hour (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and vinegar are not strong enough as denture cleansing agents in low concentrations. However, high concentrations used for 8 hours might be helpful for the user of dentures.

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Objectives : To determine (i) the effects of repeated caesarean sections on maternal and fetal outcomes (ii) whether these outcomes are affected by the timings of caesarean section (elective/emergency). Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective observational study conducted at Al Qassimi Hospital, Sharjah UAE from 1st Jan 2007 to 31st Dec 2008. 224 women who underwent caesarean section (CS) for two or more times were studied with respect to timing of current caesarean section, adhesions, condition of bladder and lower uterine segment, dehiscence of previous scar and any visceral injuries. Total blood loss and postoperative complications were also evaluated. Fetal parameters included gestational age at birth, APGAR scores and breathing difficulties if any. Results: Incidence of dense adhesions increased with increasing number of caesarean sections (22% for prev 2CS, 33% for prev 3 CS, 39% for prev 4 or more CS). Omental adhesions also followed similar pattern. The lower segment was thinned out in 38% of total patients. Scar dehiscence was seen in 50% of previous 4 caesarean section operated in emergency, in comparison to 4% and 6%% in previous 2 and 3 caesarean section. Other complications like bleeding, blood transfusion and postoperative complications were not statistically different in both the groups (elective and emergency). There was no case of caesarean hysterectomy and maternal death. The fetal outcome was similar in all the groups. Conclusions: No definitive upper limit of multiple repeat caesarean sections can be fixed for an individual woman based just on the number of previous Caesarean sections.

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Background and Objective: Fractures and dislocations are a significant public health and economic burden for any country, but current knowledge on the basic epidemiology of fractures in Saudi Arabia is very limited. This retrospective analysis was performed to determine the patterns of incidence of traumatic fractures and dislocations in the urban population of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods : Data were collected on all fractures and dislocations admitted to the orthopaedic wards between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2009. The inclusion criteria were all patients admitted after trauma. The data collected included was the type of accident, fracture and dislocations sustained, surgery undertaken either emergency or elective, implants used, associated injuries, complications, status of the union of the fracture at the time of the final review and complications. Results: There were 1428 patients with 2056 fractures and dislocations. Five-hundred and eighty-four (40.89%) of the injuries were sustained in road traffic and motorcycle accidents. Lower extremity fractures were 830, upper extremity fractures were 555 and spinal fractures were 323. Of these, 202 (14.4%) patients had dislocations, a majority of which were hip joint dislocations. The overall complication rate was 166 (11.69%) and infections formed the majority. Delayed union occurred in 32, nonunion in 24 and malunion requiring surgery occurred in 17. Twenty-seven (1.31%) of fractures were missed. Conclusions: This analysis shows that road traffic accidents are still a major cause of trauma in an urban population and lower extremities form the common site of fractures. Fractures and dislocations due to trauma are steadily increasing and the young are the most affected. We believe that injury prevention programs should be made mandatory to limit muskuloskeletal injuries resulting from trauma. In the coming years, the number of these injuries will rise considerably with the increase in population.

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Introduction: Students evaluating teaching effectiveness (SETE) is highly topical world-wide, including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The literature review highlighted the focus of this study, namely, students' and instructors' perception of the SETE process, not SETE data as such. Setting: Medical colleges in seven Governmental universities in KSA. A group of randomly drawn final year students and a group of their teaching faculties were studied. Materials and Methods: A researcher-constructed 26 items questionnaire on 5-point Likert- type scale was used to generate data. Proportion test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare the differences between the perceptions of the two groups. Results: A total of 600 completed questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed. There were statistically significant differences between instructors' and students' perception of SETE. Whereas, students registered disapproval in three of the four areas studied, the pattern of instructors' response was a mirror image of the students'. It showed disapproval in one of four areas. Conclusion: Sample size was satisfactorily fair as compared with other articles with similar research focus. Evidence of objectivity and data authenticity was demonstrated. The differences and similarities between the opinions in the two groups, as well as in the literature, were identified. It can be safely concluded that the findings in this study agreed broadly with others. Future research was also signposted.

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