Histological and laboratory features of patients undergoing liver biopsy at a university hospital in Central Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To identify the most common liver pathologies seen in our center, to find the prevalence of advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C, and to correlate the histological and laboratory features of the most common diseases and compare between them.

Methods: Liver biopsy procedures performed in our Gastroenterology Unit at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were traced from records between the years 1997-2003. Clinical, histopathological, and laboratory features were recorded.

The role of leptin in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: The role of steatosis in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease (CLD) is now believed to form part of a continuum in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). One of the unconventional areas in which leptin is now receiving great attention is liver diseases. Several published studies indicate that circulating leptin is increased in patients with cirrhosis, chronic HCV, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Biochemical and radiological predictors of malignant biliary strictures.

Aim: Differentiation of benign biliary strictures (BBS) from malignant biliary strictures (MBS) remains difficult despite improvement in imaging and endoscopic techniques. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical, biochemical and or radiological predictors of malignant biliary strictures.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all charts of patients who had biliary strictures (BS) on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or percutaneous cholangiography (PTC) in case of unsuccessful ERCP from March 1998 to August 2002.

Malignant biliary strictures. Diagnosis and management.

Objective: To identify the cause, methods of diagnosis and management of malignant biliary strictures in our institution and compare with studies from other communities.

Methods: From March 1998 through to August 2002, we reviewed 1000 files of patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) at the Gastroenterology unit, King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for malignant biliary strictures (MBS). Clinical, laboratory data, method of diagnosis and management were recorded.

Hepatitis A in Saudi Arabia: A comparative sero-epidemiological study.

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version.

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection in Saudi children 8 years after a mass hepatitis B vaccination programme.

Objectives: On October 1 1989, a programme was begun in Saudi Arabia in which the HBV vaccine was added as the 'seventh' primary immunogen of the Extended Programme of Immunization (EPI). In 1990, another programme was launched by the Ministry of Health to vaccinate all school children. Eight years after this mass vaccination programme, the efficacy of HBV vaccine was evaluated in a community-based study.

Challenges encountered in commissioning of new health care facilities: Radiology Department Experience.

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version.

Stroke register: experience from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

A stroke registry was established in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia with an estimated population of 750,000 inhabitants of whom 545,000 are Saudi citizens. The register started in July 1989 and ended in July 1993. The Gulf war led to its interruption from August 1990 to August 1991.

Biliary leak: Endoscopic management.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of endoscopic treatment in patients with biliary leak. The study was performed at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh. We used retrospective analysis of the complete records of 18 patients with biliary leak treated endoscopically over a period of 10 years.

Refractory duodenal ulcer.

Refractory or intractable ulcer is defined as an ulcer that fails to heal completely after eight to twelve weeks, despite appropriate treatment with a modern antiulcer therapy in a compliant patient. Refractory ulcer should be suspected in individuals diagnosed to have peptic ulcer if their symptoms persist longer than usual: occurrence of complications or simply their ulcers fail to heal, since up to 25% of such patients remain asymptomatic. Conditions associated with refractory ulcer include noncompliance, continuous consumption of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acid hypersecretion, smoking.

Community survey of neurological disorders in Saudi Arabia: Results of the pilot study in Agrabiah.

A pilot study of the Agrabiah area in Al-Khobar was undertaken to field test study methodologies and identify possible limitations and constraints to a planned community survey for neurological disorders in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The survey used a pre-tested questionnaire administered by trained personnel to all subjects living within 50 blocks randomly selected from the 198 inhabited ones in the area. Subjects with abnormal responses on screening were then evaluated by neurologists using specific guidelines and criteria to establish the diagnosis of neurological disease.

Pattern of chronic liver disease in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A hospital-based clinicopathological study.

During the period 1982-1990, 544 patients with clinical evidence of liver disease were admitted to King Fahd University Hospital, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Besides routine laboratory and sonographic investigations, all were subjected to either a needle liver biopsy, laparoscopy or a laparotomy. The tissue diagnoses were as follows: liver cirrhosis 17.

The microbiology of acute diarrhoeal disease in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

A prospective study of acute diarrhoeal diseases in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was carried out over a 19-month period to determine aetiology, risk factors and other epidemiological characteristics. Of the 853 subjects studied, 344 were cases and 509 controls. More cases were seen in children than in adults.

Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigenemia among patients with schistosoma mansoni.

This case-control study was designed to determine the prevalence of persistent hepatitis B surface antigenemia (HBsAG) among patients with schistosoma mansoni and to rationalize their vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Seventy consecutive patients with a confirmed diagnosis of schistosoma mansoni were matched for age, sex, nationality, and residence (for Saudis only) with 70 healthy controls. Despite identical mean ages, sex, and nationality distribution, 18 schistosomiasis patients (26%) had positive HBsAg as compared with only three of the controls (4%).

Abdominal tuberculosis in Saudi Arabia: a clinicopathological study of 65 cases.

The clinical and pathological features of 65 patients with abdominal tuberculosis obtained during a 7-yr period were analyzed and the diagnostic procedures critically evaluated. The diagnosis was histologically confirmed in 59 patients. In two more patients, the diagnosis was based solely on a positive ascitic fluid culture for tubercle bacilli.

A community survey of neurological disorders in Saudi Arabia: the Thugbah study.

We report the findings of a total population survey of Thugbah community in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (SA) to determine its point prevalence of neurological diseases. During this two-phase door-to-door study, all Saudi nationals living in Thugbah were first screened by trained interviewers using a pretested questionnaire (sensitivity 98%, specificity 89%) administered at a face-to-face interview. Individuals with abnormal responses were then evaluated by a neurologist using specific guidelines and defined diagnostic criteria to document neurological disease.

[Cerebrovascular disorders in young adults in Saudi Arabia. A study of 136 cases].

We report our experience of stroke in 136 young adults aged from 18 to 45 years seen in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia over a 10-year period. They constituted 25% of all our stroke cases. Thirty-eight percent were Saudi nationals and 62% expatriates.

Tuberculous peritonitis: the value of laparoscopy.

The laparoscopic and pathological diagnoses of 43 patients who underwent abdominal laparoscopy for various indications are presented. Major indications for the laparoscopy included hepatomegaly in 32 patients, ascites in 28, and pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) in 18 patients. A combination of two or more of these indications was a more common feature.

Evaluation of students' performance and examination procedures in final certifying examinations in internal medicine (1982-1988).

We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the performance of 459 students on their final certifying examination in internal medicine. These examinations were taken during 1982 through 1988, and the failure rate was 17.6%.

A single nocturnal dose of famotidine for the treatment of duodenal ulcer: evaluation of efficacy and safety.

The efficacy and safety of a single nocturnal dose of famotidine (40 mg) was evaluated in 30 consecutive patients of duodenal ulcer (DU). Three patients were lost for follow-up and therefore were excluded. The mean age of remaining 27 patients was 34.

Pattern and ethnic variations in stroke in Saudi Arabia.

We report our observations in 427 stroke patients (305 Saudis, 122 non-Saudis with an age range of 14 months to 85 years) seen in a tertiary hospital in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia over an 8-year period. Of these patients, 115 (27%) were between 18 and 45 years old, and constituted the "young stroke patients" for this study. The hospital frequency for the young was 5/10,000 inpatients.

Stroke in a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia: a study of 372 cases.

Epidemiological studies have shown a consistent downward trend in the incidence and mortality of stroke in industrialized communities. There are however no reports on the pattern of stroke in Saudi nationals and expatriates in Saudi Arabia. The types and etiologies in 372 subjects (262 Saudis, 110 non-Saudis) are described.