Iodine Deficiency Disorders as a Predictor of Stunting among Primary School Children in the Aseer Region, Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: To investigate the present occurrence of stunting and explore the role of iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) as a predictor of stunting among primary school children in the Aseer Region.

Methods: In a cross-sectional investigation on school children in the Aseer region, thyroid enlargement was evaluated clinically. Urine was collected to evaluate iodine content.

Iodine-deficiency disorders in the Aseer region, south-western Saudi Arabia: 20 years after the national survey and universal salt iodization.

Objective: To study (i) the current prevalence of iodine-deficiency disorders among schoolchildren in south-western Saudi Arabia after universal salt iodization and (ii) the iodine content of table salts and water.

Design: Cross-sectional study on a stratified proportional allocation sample of children. Thyroid gland enlargement was assessed clinically and by ultrasound scanning.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections among health students and health care workers in the Najran region, southwestern Saudi Arabia: the need for national guidelines for health students.

Background: The objectives of the study were to study the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among health college students (HS) and health care workers (HCWs) in the Najran Region of south-western Saudi Arabia and to study the students' knowledge of occupational exposure to blood-borne viral infections.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 300 HS and 300 HCWs was conducted.

Results: An overall seroprevalence of HBV of 1.

Assessment of malignancy rate in thyroid nodules according to the Bethesda system of fine-needle aspiration. Report from a tertiary center in the Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To determine the rates of malignancy of thyroid nodules in each standard cytologic diagnostic category of the Bethesda system.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study from October 1998 to April 2007 at the Department of Pathology, Aseer Central Hospital, Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia, all cases of thyroid nodules that underwent preoperative cytologic examination by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and concurrent postoperative histopathologic examination were included. All FNA diagnoses were reclassified using the thyroid FNA Bethesda reporting system, including non-diagnostic (insufficient), benign, atypical follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AFLUS), neoplasm, suspicious of malignancy, and malignant groups.

Patterns of thyroid cancer in Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To examine the pattern of thyroid cancer, assess the magnitude of the problem, and evolve a management plan for such malignancies.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all thyroid cases operated at Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between January 1998 and December 2007. Clinical presentations, management regimens, and recurrence were reviewed.

Ranson's criteria for acute pancreatitis in high altitude: do they need to be modified?

Background/aim: To examine the validity of Ranson's criteria in the prediction of the severity of acute pancreatitis (as judged by the occurrence of complications) in a high-altitude area of Saudi Arabia with a predominant biliary pancreatitis.

Materials And Methods: All consecutive cases of acute pancreatitis (AP) admitted to a tertiary care hospital over a two-and-half-year period were included in this prospective study. Ranson's criteria (RC) were used to determine the severity of the attack of AP, which was then correlated with the occurrence of complications.

Clinical characteristics, diagnosis and surgical management of hydatid cysts.

Echinococcosis was described by Hippocrates more than two thousand years as a "fluid-filled liver", followed by the famous Arabian physician "Al-Rahzes." It is endemic in the Middle East, India, Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey and Southern Europe. The disease has got different clinical presentations, depending on the organ(s) involved, and may present a clinical dilemma regarding diagnosis and treatment.

Drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts. The importance of cyst wall biopsy in the recent era.

Objective: While open internal drainage has been the standard treatment for pancreatic pseudocysts, less invasive techniques which pay little attention to cyst wall biopsy, are becoming popular. The aim of this study is to report on our experience in draining pancreatic pseudocysts and probe the necessity or otherwise of obtaining a wall biopsy at drainage.

Methods: Operation theatre registry, operation log books and medical records at Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were reviewed to retrieve the clinical details of patients with pancreatic pseudocyst who required a drainage procedure in a 13 years period from August 1989 to November 2002.

Proinflammatory cytokines in open versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Objective: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a minimal access surgery, is fast replacing open cholecystectomy and is being associated with less trauma. The objective of this study was to compare the proinflammatory cytokine levels in both laparoscopic cholecystectomy and open cholecystectomy.

Methods: This study was carried out at Aseer Central Hospital, Aseer region, Abha Private Hospital and the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the time period October 1998 through to November 2000.

Prevention of herniation at the site of cannula insertion after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

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