Frequency of visits for health care by low-birth-weight and preterm Saudi infants in the first year of life.

A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional survey in a Saudi Arabian hospital compared the frequency of visits to hospital of low-birth-weight and normal-birth-weight infants and of preterm and full-term infants during the first year of life. A multivariate analysis of the visits for health care with birth weight, term, Apgar score, mode of delivery and sex was made for 1892 infants. The number of visits for health care was significantly higher for low-birth-weight and preterm infants.

Human brucellosis in Northern Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: Analysis of the clinical features, laboratory findings, treatment given and complications seen in brucellosis patients at the Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital, Hafr Al-Batin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: We retrieved and reviewed the record charts of all patients from January 1995 to December 2001 with a clinical diagnosis of brucellosis whose brucella agglutination titre was 1:160 or greater from the Medical Records Department of Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital, Hafr Al-Batin. We extracted from the files the information on age, gender, occupation, history of raw milk or milk products ingestion, presenting symptoms and physical signs.

Sickle cell anemia morbidity in Northern Saudi Arabia.

Objective: Documentation of the morbidity in sickle cell patients presenting at the Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital, Hafr Al Batin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the burden of delivering care to these patients.

Methods: The record charts of all Saudi patients with Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) admitted between June 1994 through to July 2001 were retrospectively analyzed. Focus was on age of patients, frequency of admissions, duration of hospital stay and requirements for blood transfusions.

Initiating a new renal transplant program: problems and results.

Patients from the North-West area of Saudi Arabia had to travel to Riyadh or Jeddah for renal transplantation and post-transplant follow-up. The administration of the North-West Armed Forces Hospitals Program provided medical expertise and financial support to set up a renal transplant program in this area. Suitable staff members including nephrologists, transplant surgeons, staff nurses social workers and laboratory personnel were recruited.

Outcome of commercial renal transplantation: two years follow-up.

The results of living non-related renal transplants from India involving unethical exploitation of the donor are inferior. We followed-up 12 patients from our unit who went to a center in Bombay for renal transplantation and compared the results with our local new renal transplant programme. Two-year graft survival was 70% compared to 88% with our new renal transplant program.

Management and follow-up of harlequin siblings.

Harlequin fetus is a rare clinical entity, and survival of affected infants beyond the first year of life is uncommon. Management involves intensive care of the skin and eyes, close monitoring of fluid and electrolyte status, constant support and counselling of parents, and surveillance against infection and side-effects of medication. A well-coordinated multidisciplinary approach can prolong survival beyond the neonatal period.