Symptomatology and clinical approach for suspected cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma among Primary health care clinics in Riyadh, KSA, 2022-2023
Abstract
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) account for 33% of all head and neck malignancies diagnosed in Saudi Arabia each year.Early recognition of the such serious medical illness by family physicians and general practitioners play vital roles to improve the outcomes.Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the common symptoms and clinical approach for suspected cases of NPCs in primary health care clinics.Methods: This cross-sectional study focuses on general practitioners in the Riyadh region.A questionnaire on several aspects of NPC was given to 190 general practitioners and family physicians, based on the literature and interviews with head and neck surgeons.A validity and reliability probing test was performed on this questionnaire.SPSS was used to analyze the data.Results: This study included a total of 190 participants form a variés primary health care center in Riyadh region.Starting with acknowledging nasopharyngeal carcinoma as a serious problem in Saudi arabia (15.26%) strongly agreed and (25.79%)only agreed, while the remaining participant were either neutral or disagreeing.Unilateral nasal obstruction was a reason enough to refer the patient to an ENT clinic for (70%) while it was not for (30%).Conclusion: Our study revealed that there are few areas to be improved regarding to the knowledge among primary health care physicians related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.