Ribavirin and interferon-α2b as primary and preventive treatment for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a preliminary report of two cases.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly recognized transmissible viral infection with high virulence and case fatality rates for which there is no currently defined primary treatment or prophylaxis. Saudi Arabia has the largest reported number of cases so far. Like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), MERS is caused by a coronavirus.

Eosinophilic pneumonia: experience at two tertiary care referral hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

Background And Objectives: Eosinophilic lung diseases are a diverse group of disorders characterized by pulmonary opacities associated with tissue or peripheral eosinophilia.

Design And Setting: A retrospective study conducted at two tertiary care hospitals from January 1999 to December 2009.

Methods: All cases with the diagnosis of pulmonary eosinophilia were reviewed over a period of 10 years.

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia: experience at three hospitals in Riyadh.

Background: Because reports of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) are lacking from the Middle East, we conducted a retrospective review of of all histopathologically proven cases of BOOP over a 10-year period at three tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh and describe the clinical features and outcome.

Methods: Charts at the three hospitals were searched using a specific code for BOOP or cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP). Lung specimens had to show histological proof of BOOP with a compatible clinical picture.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing. An underutilized diagnostic tool in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To assess the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in major hospitals and medical centers throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and to seek information on the way CPET is conducted.

Methods: Self-reported questionnaires on the use of CPET were mailed during the fall of 2002 to 54 major public and private hospitals and medical centers throughout the KSA. The response rate was 64.

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia.

Bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is now established as a distinct clinicopathologic entity, yet it may be overlooked by clinicians due to unfamiliarity and its non-specific presentation. It can be either idiopathic or associated with a variety of causes, such as infections, drugs, radiation or connective tissue diseases. A lung biopsy is needed to provide histopathologic confirmation.

Clinical spectrum of Swyer-James-Macleod syndrome in adults.

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the clinical and imaging features of Swyer-James-Macleod syndrome (SJMS) in 9 adults.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of 9 patients diagnosed with SJMS at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over a 10 year period.

Results: The patients mean age was 38.

Rapidly growing mycobacterial pulmonary infection in association with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Pulmonary infection due to rapidly growing mycobacteria (Runyan group IV) is uncommon and may be overlooked or misdiagnosed. Esophageal disorders have been recognized as a potential risk factor predisposing for this infection. A 35-year-old Sri Lankan patient, with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease and a hiatus hernia, contracted a pulmonary infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum-chelonae.

Evoked and event related potentials in chronic respiratory failure.

Objective: To assess the value of brainstem auditory evoked potentials and event related evoked potential (3rd positive component of evoked related potentials with latency of 300 millisecond, in evaluating cognitive dysfunction in patients with chronic respiratory failure.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory failure of mild to moderate severity, were assessed regarding their mental function, utilizing mini-mental state examination, arterial blood gases including PH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, partial pressure of oxygen, and both brainstem auditory evoked potentials and event related evoked potential response. Twenty-five normal subjects, matched for age and sex, were also studied as a control group.

An audit of oxygen therapy on the medical ward in 2 different hospitals in Central Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To study the use of oxygen therapy on the medical wards in 2 hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One was academic, King Khalid University Hospital and the other a community hospital, Riyadh Medical Complex.

Methods: This study was carried out over a one year period, 6 April 2000 through to 6 April 2001.

Chronic cough at a non-teaching hospital: Are extrapulmonary causes overlooked?

Objective: To estimate the prevalence, assess the diagnostic approach and to identify specific causes and treatment response of chronic persistent cough (CPC) in consecutive adult patients attending the chest clinic at a non-teaching hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: Chronic persistent cough was defined as cough persisting for more than 3 weeks. Patients were assessed clinically and investigated according to the suspected diagnosis.

Pleurisy in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: A case report.

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