Observations on the management of acute pain crisis in adult sickle cell disease in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Background: Sickle cell pain crisis continues to challenge patients and health professionals in places like Saudi Arabia, where the disease is common, and use of narcotic analgesics is strictly controlled. We sought to find the most effective and appropriate pain control regime for adult sickle cell pain crisis in Saudi Arabian patients.

Patients And Methods: Adult sickle cell disease patients in crisis, treated initially in the emergency room of a private health center, usually undergo further treatment with different pain control regimes in an observation ward.

The impact of a multi-disciplinary management approach on diabetic control in young Saudi patients.

The increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus worldwide makes traditional approaches to its management inadequate. The involvement of young people in this diabetic "epidemic" provides an opportunity to apply a multidisciplinary approach to its management, to help reduce the huge burden of the disease and its complications. In 1998, we established a diabetic clinic for young adults, located within a privately owned company health center, because they were not receiving adequate attention in the adult clinic.

Differences between males and females in adult sickle cell pain crisis in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is highly prevalent in the Al-Hasa area of eastern Saudi Arabia. We analyzed our patient data to try and find an explanation for the unexpected observation that more males than females with SCD were transferred to the hospital after a stay in the stabilization unit.

Patients And Methods: We compared differences between males and females in demographics, pattern of response to treatment for pain, and discharge records for SCD patients admitted to the stabilization unit during the years 2000 to 2002.