Comprehension of premarital screening and genetic disorders among the population of Riyadh.

Objective: Premarital, unfortunately, does not cover all possible genetic diseases, such as deafness and congenital heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, nor does it cover unknown genetic mutations that may cause severe defects in subsequent generations. However, the Saudi population has limited knowledge regarding premarital screening tests, which do not detect all genetic disorders or diseases. Hence, we aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes among the population of Riyadh toward premarital screening.

Nutritional rickets and osteomalacia in school children and adolescents.

Objective: To review experiences of nutritional rickets and osteomalacia in school children and adolescents at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: Records of children and adolescents aged 6-18 years, seen at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the period January 1994 through to December 1999, who were diagnosed to have rickets or osteomalacia were reviewed. The diagnosis was based on clinical, biochemical and radiological data.

Polyarteritis nodosa in Arab children in Saudi Arabia.

At both King Khalid University Hospital and King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 1990 and 1997, we identified 11 children with polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). Nine of them satisfied the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of PAN. All patients were followed for at least 12 months.

Helicobacter pylori infection in children in Saudi Arabia.

20 children with suspected Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection are presented. The mean age of the children was 9.

Congenital glucose-galactose malabsorption in Arab children.

Eight children with chronic diarrhea from glucose-galactose malabsorption from eight different families are presented. Six children are Saudi Arabs and two are of the other Arab nationalities. The mean age of the children at the time of presentation was 10.

Down's syndrome in Saudi Arabia: incidence and cytogenetics.

A study has been carried out in Riyadh to determine the incidence and distribution of Down's syndrome births during a 9-year period from July 1982 to June 1991. Down's syndrome was ascertained in 42 (23 females and 19 males) of 23,261 consecutive babies born alive to Saudi women, giving an incidence of 1 in 554 live births (1.8 per 1,000).

Childhood bacterial diarrhoea in a regional hospital in Saudi Arabia: clinico-aetiological features.

Over a one-year period, 210 paediatric patients, who were admitted with acute diarrhoea to a regional hospital in the south-western region of Saudi Arabia, were retrospectively reviewed for bacterial enteropathogens. Bacterial pathogens were isolated from 66 (31.4%) patients, with Shigella being the most common (17.

Childhood bacterial meningitis in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia.

A retrospective review of 71 paediatric patients admitted with bacterial meningitis to the King Fahad Hospital at Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, during an 8-year period revealed a preponderance of males (67.6%) and young subjects with 88.7% being below 24 months of age.

Childhood brucellosis: a deceptive infectious disease.

Human brucellosis is a multisystem disease that may notoriously mimic many other illnesses leading to misdiagnosis and increased morbidity. Six pediatric cases of brucellosis who had no epidemiologic evidence of the infection escaped early or correct recognition. The diagnosis of brucellosis was later made on the basis of significant brucella serology and positive blood or bone marrow culture.