Evaluation of biomedical research in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To evaluate the quality and quantity of biomedical studies published in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) between 2010 and 2011.

Methods: This study was conducted on January 2013 at the Internal Medicine Department, Taif University, Taif, KSA. An online search was conducted on PubMed to collect the articles published from KSA using the country name (Saudi Arabia) as a keyword.

Chorea as a first manifestation in young patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who was initially diagnosed with rheumatic Fever.

Chorea is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report on a young patient with chorea who was diagnosed initially with rheumatic fever. Follow up and further evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of SLE and anti-phospholipid syndrome.

Cyclosporine in the treatment of lupus nephritis including two patients treated during pregnancy.

Although the combination of corticosteroids and intermittent pulse doses of cyclophosphamide has considerably improved the prognosis of lupus nephritis, there are still some unanswered questions about this regimen, in particular its use in pregnancy. As cyclosporine appeared to be effective in experimental models of lupus nephritis, some studies have been performed using this drug in patients with lupus nephritis. However, there was no mention of pregnancy in these patients.

Severe hyponatraemia in burn patients secondary to hydrotherapy.

Severe hyponatraemia, hyperkalaemia and pre-renal uraemia were seen in two burn victims who were treated with repeated submersion in tap-water. A primary loss of salt through the burned surface area into the whirlpool bathwater has been documented in both cases. All these abnormalities have been partially corrected by adding salt to the whirlpool water.