Analysis of diarrhea episodes in children reported at a primary health care center in abha city in the year 2002.

Objective: To determine the incidence, characteristics and the different factors associated with diarrhea events reported at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level in children under five years of age.

Material And Methods: All reported cases of diarrhea in children under 5 in the primary health care (PHC) center of Wasat Abha, Abha city during the year 2002. The medical records of patients were reviewed for name, sex, date, duration of diarrhea and character of stool, type of feeding, degree of dehydration, the treatment received and the outcome.

Hydrocephalus, ventriculo-peritoneal shunt and cerebrospinal fluid ascites.

A small number of patients with congenital hydrocephalus, who have been treated effectively with ventriculoperitoneal shunts, develop progressive increase in abdominal girth, due to cerebrospinal fluid ascites. This abdominal distension can produce respiratory difficulties that require endotracheal intubation and ventilator support. The respiratory difficulties and the abdominal distension were eliminated when the ventriculoperitoneal shunt was converted to a ventriculoatrial shunt in each of the three cases presented in this paper for discussion.

Pulmonary aspergilloma simulating bronchogenic carcinoma.

When a pre-existing lung cavity is colonized by Aspergilius fumigatus, it forms a fungal ball (pulmonary aspergilloma) and the presenting symptom is usually haemoptysis that may be massive and often-times life threatening. The radiological finding is that of a ball-like structure within a lung cavitation and the typical air crescent around the ball both on plain radiography and CT scan of the chest. The present case is of a 50-year-old male who had a 25-year history of heavy smoking (40 cigarettes per day) and haemoptysis.

Ectopic chest tube insertions: diagnosis and strategies for prevention.

In the six-month period from October 1999 to March 2000, the authors carried out a prospective study of ectopic chest tube placements (ECTP) diagnosed at the Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia. During the reference period, 63 chest tube placements were carried out in 44 patients while one patient was from a medium-sized general hospital within a neighbouring city. The grades of the surgeons who had performed the ECTP were: surgeon specialists based at peripheral hospitals--5 (83.

Gunshot injuries in adults in the Abha region of Saudi Arabia.

In the four-year period from 1996 to 1999, 42 adult patients (age 12 years and above) were admitted to the Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia, following gunshot injuries. The mean annual admissions for gunshot injuries was 10.5 +/- 4.

Delayed traumatic epidural hematoma of the posterior fossa.

The prompt use of computerized tomography has significantly enhanced the early localization of traumatic posterior fossa hematoma of the brain. Consequently, timely surgical intervention has been possible before irreversible damage has set in. The result is an overall improvement in the survival of patients with this condition.

Carcinoid tumourlets associated with diffuse bronchiectasis and intralobar sequestration.

Innumerable carcinoid tumourlets may develop within pulmonary lobes should there be scarring from intralobar sequestration; these tumourlets may, in turn, be the cause of chronic lung disease. This report documents the incidental detection of multifocal carcinoid tumourlets in the lung of a 65-year-old man who had repeated episodes of lung infection, progressive dyspnea and haemoptysis; he lived at high altitude. The left lower lobe of the lung was resected surgically, during which procedure an aberrant systemic arterial supply was noticed.

Neonatal meningitis.

Objective: To determine the prevalent bacterial agents of neonatal meningitis and their antibiotic susceptibility in a referral intensive care unit in Assir Central Hospital, Saudi Arabia, during the years 1993-1998.

Methods: Records of newborn infants with positive cerebrospinal fluid culture during the period were retrospectively studied.

Results: There were 1473 nursery admissions, of which 32 episodes of meningitis occurred amongst 31 neonates.

Congenital hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis of probable autosomal recessive inheritance.

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

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

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

Bochdalek hernia in adulthood: a case report and review of recent literature.

A 37-year-old Filipino woman presented with a post road-traffic accident fracture of dorsal spine 12. Chest radiograph revealed evidence of loops of small bowel in the left lung field. She admitted to symptoms of respiratory insufficiency since birth and treatment for tuberculosis in childhood.

Diffuse pulmonary calcinosis and multiple soft tissue calcification in renal failure patient with pathological femoral fracture.

The rare occurrence of diffuse pulmonary calcinosis is described with case illustration of a patient who presented with a pathological femoral fracture during end-stage renal failure. Associated metastatic soft tissue calcification with parathyroid hyperplasia requiring parathyroidectomy was observed. Roentgenologic evidence of hyperparathyroidism with osteitis fibrosa cystica and a high product of the calcium and phosphate values were indications for the parathyroidectomy.

Deep venous thrombosis in Assir region of Saudi Arabia. Case-control study.

In a five-year case-control study (1988 to 1993) at Assir Central Hospital (ACH), Abha (8,000 feet above sea level), Saudi Arabia, 92 of 129 patients suspected of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were studied with ascending contrast venography (CV) (74 patients, 80.4%) or Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) (18 patients, 19.6%).

Management of neglected embolic occlusions in lower-limb arteries using arterial lavage.

Fourteen patients (seven males and seven females aged between 8 months and 100 years) with embolic lower-limb arterial occlusions of 1 to 6 days' duration were treated at Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia over a 27-month period. On admission, the limbs were ischaemic up to mid-thigh and peripheral pulses were absent. Doppler studies showed absence of blood flow.

Sensorineural hearing loss in neurobrucellosis.

A case of neurobrucellosis presenting to the otologist with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) as the predominant clinical feature is reported. The diagnostic features and treatment options are discussed and the need for prolonged combination treatment to prevent relapse and further deterioration of hearing stressed. SNHL in neurobrucellosis has hitherto been reported principally in neurology literature as something of an incidental finding and so escapes the attention of otologists.

Childhood achalasia--a case report.

The neuromotor disorders of the oesophagus are rare in childhood. The spectrum includes achalasia, vigorous achalasia and diffuse oesophageal spasm. The classical presentation in achalasia is vomiting, failure to thrive and recurrent chest infection.

Specific investigations in chronic urinary bilharziasis.

Seventy-two patients with histologically confirmed chronic urinary bilharziasis were studied for the reliability of some specific investigative tools in diagnosing this disease, namely urinalysis, serology, urography, and cystoscopy. Of the 72 patients 36 (50%) had hematuria and only 3 (4%) had ova of Schistosoma haematobium on urinalysis. Sixty-two patients (86%) had features of bilharziasis on intravenous urography (IVU).

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma within a choledochal cyst.

The authors describe a 6-year-old girl in whom they found an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in a choledochal cyst; they found no previous reports of such an association. The patient presented with recurrent jaundice and loss of weight and appetite. A large abdominal mass was palpable.

Clinical and radiological features of chondroectodermal dysplasia.

This report documents the presence of chondroectodermal dysplasia in southwestern Saudi Arabia by describing the clinical and radiological features in three patients from two families. Mesomelic dwarfism, characteristic orodental manifestations, small thorax, nail hypoplasia and polydactyly of the hands were seen in all cases. Two patients had atrial septal defect; the third patient, who died, had an undefined cardiac anomaly with congestive heart failure.