Adolescent health and health care in the Arab Gulf countries: Today's needs and tomorrow's challenges.

This review article documents the evidence regarding the health status of adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years in the Arab region and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) and also considers the state of adolescent health care in the region compared to the recommended guidelines for such services. Adolescents make up more than 25% of the population of the GCC countries, a percentage that is far higher than that in other high-income countries, yet their health status and health care needs are not given proportional attention in the region. Thus, the burden of mortality and morbidity for adolescents in the region has shifted from communicable diseases to road traffic injuries, mental health issues, non-communicable diseases, and health-compromising behaviors and conditions that contribute to those issues.

Student, school, parent connectedness, and school risk behaviors of adolescents in Saudi Arabia.

Background And Objectives: School-related risk behaviours, such as school absenteeism, and engaging in violence on school property are scarcely addressed in the Kingdom. The study investigated select school behaviours, including school absenteeism, engaging in fights, and discipline for misconduct at school as well as their association with the school environment, school and home connectedness.

Design And Setting: A school-based cross-sectional study.

Tobacco use among adolescents in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

Background: Initiation of smoking behavior during adolescence is associated with negative health outcomes. Understanding initiation of smoking behavior in adolescents in relation to other behavioral, health, and environmental factors is essential for effective behavioral modification.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe tobacco use behaviors among adolescents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and related demographic and social factors.

Herpes simplex encephalitis in children with autosomal recessive and dominant TRIF deficiency.

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is the most common sporadic viral encephalitis of childhood. Autosomal recessive (AR) UNC-93B and TLR3 deficiencies and autosomal dominant (AD) TLR3 and TRAF3 deficiencies underlie HSE in some children. We report here unrelated HSE children with AR or AD TRIF deficiency.

The perception of adolescent medicine among health care professionals in Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of this study was to survey a group of Health Care Professionals (HCP) to assess their perception on adolescent health care and the need for dedicated adolescent health care facilities in the country. Cross-sectional, close-ended survey designed and administered to assess several categorical variables, was conducted on 500 HCP selected by a nonrandom quota-based convenience sample. No significant differences were found between different HCP positions with regard to all collected variables.

An unusual case of pyelonephritis in a pediatric renal transplant recipient.

Emphysematous (Gas-forming) pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare and life-threatening infection of the renal parenchyma with or without involvement of the peri-renal tissues. Diagnosis of this condition is usually made on clinical and radiological grounds. Risk factors for this condition include diabetes mellitus, urinary tract obstruction, renal anomalies such as polycystic kidneys, stones, old age and others.

Rapid response to rituximab in a pediatric liver transplant recipient with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease and maintenance with sirolimus monotherapy.

A 12-yr-old girl with end-stage renal disease secondary to primary hyperoxaluria type I received a living related (left lateral segment) liver transplant from her brother as the first step of a staged liver and kidney transplant. Renal transplantation was planned for a later date from the same donor. Nine weeks after transplantation she developed polymorphic PTLD of the tonsils and adenoids.

Congenital sodium diarrhea in a neonate presenting as acute renal failure.

Congenital sodium diarrhea is a rare cause of secretory diarrhea due to a defect in the sodium/proton exchanger that results in decreased sodium absorption and increased excretion in stools. We report a pre-term baby boy with a birth weight of 1.4 kg who was referred because of rapidly rising serum urea and creatinine.