Lead screening in children presenting to three hospitals in Lebanon.

Background: Lead damages most body organs and its effects are most profound in children. In a study in Beirut in 2003, before banning the leaded gasoline, 79% of the participants showed blood lead levels (BLLs) higher than 5 µg/dL. The prevalence of lead exposure in Lebanon after the ban on leaded gasoline has not been studied.

The psychometric properties of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires-3 in Arabic: Cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Screening for developmental delay is recommended for pediatricians, yet validated screening tools in Arabic are scarce.

Aims: Assess the reliability, validity, sensitivity and specificity of the Arabic ASQ-3 in detecting developmental delays in children aged 4-33 months.

Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Ophthalmologic Outcomes of Children Born Premature Without ROP: Correlations With Gestational Age and Psychomotor Development.

Purpose: To study ophthalmological outcomes of premature children with no retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and correlate with neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Methods: A total of 69 former preterm infants were evaluated at 2 to 7 years of age. Detailed ophthalmologic examinations were performed.

Improving awareness of preconception health among adolescents: experience of a school-based intervention in Lebanon.

Background: Maternal behavior before and after conception affects maternal and child health. Limited awareness of adolescents in preconception health may be addressed through school education. The aim of this intervention is to assess preconception health awareness among adolescents in Lebanese high schools and to test the effectiveness of a one-time educational session in improving preconception knowledge.

A complex breastfeeding promotion and support intervention in a developing country: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Breastfeeding has countless benefits to mothers, children and community at large, especially in developing countries. Studies from Lebanon report disappointingly low breastfeeding exclusivity and continuation rates. Evidence reveals that antenatal breastfeeding education, professional lactation support, and peer lay support are individually effective at increasing breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, particularly in low-income settings.

Ages and stages questionnaires: adaptation to an Arabic speaking population and cultural sensitivity.

Background: Early detection of developmental delay is essential to initiate early intervention. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) correlate well with physician's assessment and have high predictive value. No such tool exists in Arabic.

Quality of life after surgery for intractable partial epilepsy in children: a cohort study with controls.

Purpose: Investigate if quality of life (QOL) normalizes on long-term follow-up after surgery for partial epilepsy in children.

Methods: This is a cohort study with controls in which a consecutive cohort of nineteen 2-14-year-old children who underwent focal resections for intractable partial seizures between 1996 and 2006, were matched with 19 non-surgery intractable partial epilepsy patients, and with 19 healthy subjects. The two epilepsy groups were matched for age, sex, socio-economic status (SES), cognitive level, seizure type, and seizure frequency.

Prevalence and predictors of immunization in a health insurance plan in a developing country.

Background: The aim of the present study was to describe rates and predictors of compliance with immunization schedule among children enrolled in the Health Insurance Plan of the American University of Beirut.

Methods: Charts were reviewed for 774 children, and 154 parents underwent a randomly selected sample survey of demographic characteristics, parental behavior and attitudes, and health-care system variables.

Results: The overall compliance rate was 49.

The pattern of self-poisoning among Lebanese children and adolescents in two tertiary care centres in Lebanon.

Aim: Self-poisoning in childhood and adolescence is a major problem for health authorities all over the world. The objective of this study was to determine the pattern of self-poisoning in Lebanese children and adolescents.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study included all cases of poisoning in individuals aged 0-18 years who presented to the emergency department of two major hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon over a period of 1 year.

Motor variant of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in a child.

Only 2 cases of pure motor chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy in the pediatric age group have been reported in the literature. We report on a motor variant of chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy with anti-ganglioside antibodies, diagnosed in a 5-year-old girl who presented with progressive motor weakness over a period of 12 months with no sensory involvement. She initially responded partially to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (1 gm/kg/month for 6 months), and then demonstrated sustained but incomplete improvement on chronic prednisone therapy (1-2 mg/kg/day), on which she has continued since 1 year and 4 months after her initial presentation 3 years ago.