Gulf Asthma Diagnosis and Management in Adults: Expert Review and Recommendations.

The prevalence and incidence of asthma are increasing globally because of genetic and environmental influences. Prevalence of asthma in the Gulf has been reported to range from 4.7% to 32.

A Cross-Sectional Study in Patients with Severe COPD to Assess the Perception of Symptom Variability (COPVAR) in the Middle East and Africa.

Purpose: This study was performed to assess symptom variability and its impact on morning activities in stable patients with severe COPD in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) countries.

Patients And Methods: Non-interventional, cross-sectional study (NCT03425760) in patients with severe COPD (GOLD 2015, C, or D categories). Symptom variability was assessed directly by interviewing the patient and using the Global Chest Symptoms Questionnaire (GCSQ).

Correlates of Pulmonary Function in Children with Sickle Cell Disease and Elevated Fetal Hemoglobin.

Objective: The current study was carried out to compare pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in pediatric Kuwaiti sickle cell disease (SCD) patients to age-matched normal controls and to investigate the association of PFTs with selected clinical and laboratory parameters. Subjects andMethods: There were 38 patients with SCD and 36 controls in the study. The patients were recruited from the Pediatric Hematology Clinics of Mubarak Al-Kabeer and Al-Amiri Hospitals, Kuwait, and were studied in steady state.

Mixed viral infections circulating in hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections in kuwait.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of viral mixed detection in hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections and to evaluate the correlation between viral mixed detection and clinical severity. Hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI) were investigated for 15 respiratory viruses by using sensitive molecular techniques. In total, 850 hospitalized patients aged between 3 days and 80 years were screened from September 2010 to April 2014.

The Prevalence of Human Bocavirus, Human Coronavirus-NL63, Human Metapneumovirus, Human Polyomavirus KI and WU in Respiratory Tract Infections in Kuwait.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of human coronavirus (HCoV)-NL63, human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human bocavirus (Boca), human polyomavirus KI (KIV) and human polyomavirus WU (WUV) in respiratory tract infections (RTI) in Kuwait.

Materials And Methods: Respiratory samples from 735 hospitalized patients with RTI from September 2010 to April 2013 were evaluated for the presence of HCoV-NL63, hMPV, Boca, KIV and WUV using molecular assays, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse-transcription PCR.

Results: Of the 735 patients, 285 (38.

The cost of asthma in Kuwait.

Objective: To evaluate the direct costs of treating asthma in Kuwait.

Materials And Methods: Population figures were obtained from the 2005 census and projected to 2008. Treatment profiles were obtained from the Asthma Insights and Reality for the Gulf and Near East (AIRGNE) study.

High resolution computed tomography in asthma.

Objectives: High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) can detect the structural abnormalities in asthma. This study attempts to correlate these abnormalities with clinical and pulmonary function test (PFT) data.

Methods: Consecutive stable asthma patients attending Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital, Kuwait, were subjected to HRCT during a six month period from July 2004 to December 2004, after initial evaluation and PFT.

Effect of acute cold exposure on lung perfusion and tracheal smooth muscle contraction in rabbit.

Acute exposure to cold temperature can affect the respiratory system of those exposed to extreme weather and induces asthma in asthmatic patients. However, the effect on lung perfusion and the pulmonary circulation was not addressed in any previous study. The present study investigates the effects of acute cold exposure on tracheal smooth muscle and lung perfusion.

Closed percutaneous pleural biopsy. A lost art in the new era.

Objective: To assess the association between size and number of biopsy specimens obtained by percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, with overall diagnostic yield in general, and histopathological evidence of tuberculosis pleurisy, in particular.

Methods: One hundred and forty-three patients, with a high index of clinically having tuberculous pleurisy, were referred to the respiratory division of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital in Kuwait during a 9-year period (January 1999 to December 2007). All subjects with exudative lymphocytic predominant effusion underwent percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, looking for tuberculous granulomas.

Long term prognosis of sarcoidosis in Arabs and Asians: predictors of good outcome.

Background: The prognosis of sarcoidosis is variable and often difficult to predict. Our aim was to identify predictors of good prognosis in Arabs and Asians with sarcoidosis.

Methods: Data on patients with sarcoidosis followed up for at least 3 years in two major hospitals in Kuwait were collected retrospectively for the period 1983 to 1995 and prospectively from 1995.

Technetium 99m-diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid aerosol clearance in the evaluation of pulmonary involvement in sickle cell disease.

Background: Pulmonary clearance of inhaled technetium (Tc) 99m-labeled diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) aerosol is a sensitive non-invasive marker of alveolar permeability and patients with interstitial lung diseases show enhanced clearance. However, a previous study in adult patients with diabetes mellitus showed delayed clearance.

Objectives: To investigate DTPA clearance in steady-state, otherwise healthy adult sickle cell disease (SCD) patients and correlate it with pulmonary function tests (PFTs), hematologic and clinical parameters.

Demographic pattern and clinical characteristics of patients with smear- positive pulmonary tuberculosis in kuwait.

Objective: The aim of this study was to document various clinical factors that are likely to be of help in the control of tuberculosis in Kuwait.

Subjects And Methods: Details of patients with sputum positive for acid-fast bacilli in the period from January 1998 to December 2000 were collected retrospectively from the case records and population statistics from government sources. The data were then tabulated and analyzed.