Human sensitization to Prosopis juliflora antigen in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Allergenicity to Prosopis juliflora pollen antigen has been reported from only a few countries, including the US, South Africa, India and Kuwait. In some parts of Saudi Arabia, species of Prosopis have been introduced by the millions as roadside ornamentation. There appear to be four flowering seasons during which pollen grains float in all directions.

Prescribing for asthma in the outpatient clinics in Riyadh: Does it follow the guidelines?

In order to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality associated with asthma, current guidelines recommend the use of anti-inflammatory therapy in a step-wise approach. To obtain information on how physicians are treating asthma, we evaluated prospectively 243 newly seen asthmatics in the outpatient clinics in four hospitals in Riyadh. The patients were assessed by five pulmonologists who confirmed the diagnosis, established the severity, recorded the medications patients were taking, and the specialty of the prescribing physician.