Publications by authors named "B al-Khalaf"

Background: Respiratory infections are known to exacerbate wheezing in many asthmatic patients. We aimed to use molecular methods for the fast detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila in respiratory specimens from asthmatic patients in Kuwait.

Methods: We used uniplex PCR assays to detect the three atypical bacteria in clinical specimens from 235 asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients in Kuwait.

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Anemia is a common feature in chronic kidney disease patients due to deficiency of erythropoietin (EPO). Diseased kidneys are unable to produce EPO, which enhances red blood cell production from the bone marrow. Recombinant human EPO in hemodialysis patients was introduced with perfect outcomes as a hormonal substitutive treatment.

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Background: The increasing prevalence of asthma in many countries has been related to weather factors and aeroallergen concentrations, but this has not been studied in Kuwait. We evaluated the effect of meteorological factors and the occurrence of aerobiologicals on the number of asthma cases in Kuwait.

Methods: The number of daily asthma visits to the allergy center and emergency department at Al-Sabha Hospital for 1 year were examined on a monthly basis for correlation with major metereological factors (temperature, relative humidity, rain, wind speed and direction).

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