Gastrointestinal parasite infestation.

Twenty-five percent of the world's population could be suffering parasitic infestation. Highest prevalence is in underdeveloped agricultural and rural areas in the tropical and subtropical regions. In some areas incidence may reach 90% of the population.

The natural history of hepatitis C virus infection.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. The natural history of HCV infection is not fully understood. For years, there has been an overestimation of the rate of chronicity in acute HCV.

Spasmocanulase in irritable bowel syndrome.

Objectives: Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional gastro intestinal disorder, with various symptomatology and difficult to treat using several medications. Spasmocanulase, which has an anti-spasmodic and anti-flatulence effect and contains several ingredients, was tried in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, who had been on other medications previously without improvement.

Methods: At the gastroenterology out-patient clinic, Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 21 patients who were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome for more than 2 years on treatment and did not benefit from these medications, received spasmocanulase one tablet 3 times a day and followed in the gastroenterology out-patient clinic, every 6 weeks for 6 months.

Endoscopic management of bile duct injuries in 107 patients: experience of a Saudi referral center.

Background/aims: Management of postcholecystectomy complications has been variably discussed. Various options exist but the recent trend has been towards the endoscopic retrograde approach favoring a simultaneous diagnostic and therapeutic potential. We studied the various endoscopic modalities to evaluate the efficacy of this approach.