Phototherapeutic keratectomy outcomes in superficial corneal opacities.

Purpose: COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PHOTOTHERAPEUTIC KERATECTOMY (PTK) IN TREATMENT CORNEAL DYSTROPHIES VERSUS SUPERFICIAL CORNEAL SCARS: visual outcomes, recurrence rate and safety profile.

Methods: PTK was performed in 51 eyes of 51 patients. Data regarding the indications for PTK, ablation depth, symptomatic relief, pre-and postoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), spherical equivalent changes, recurrence and complications were analyzed.

International Symposium on Recent Advances in Surgery.

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

Coping with auditory hallucinations: a cross-cultural comparison between western (British) and non-western (Saudi Arabian) patients.

The majority of schizophrenic patients from Western backgrounds develop strategies to cope with the positive symptoms of their condition. However, there is little evidence to indicate how these coping mechanisms are affected by cultural background. Seventy schizophrenic patients from Saudi Arabia (SA) and the United Kingdom (UK) who reported auditory hallucinations were interviewed to explore the ways in which they coped with their voices and sounds.

A cross-cultural study of the attitudes of mental health professionals towards auditory hallucinations.

The usefulness of psychological interventions for auditory hallucinations is becoming increasingly accepted in Western cultures, but there are few data concerning the views of professionals working in non-Western societies. In this study, 195 psychologists and psychiatrists working in Saudi Arabia (SA) and Britain (UK) responded to a questionnaire regarding their (a) attitudes towards various clinical aspects of auditory hallucinations, (b) perceptions of the clinical value of psychological and pharmacological treatments and of the inputs of the two professions and (c) levels of social distance from people who experience auditory hallucinations. UK staff believed that there is a greater range of possible causes and diagnoses for auditory hallucinations than SA staff, who in turn had more confidence in the efficacy of psychological and pharmacological treatments.

A comparison of public attitudes in Britain and Saudi Arabia towards auditory hallucinations.

Background: The successful introduction of community interventions is partly dependent on public beliefs about the aetiology and treatment of psychiatric difficulties and tolerance of community integration.

Method: This study examined community attitudes towards auditory hallucinations in Saudi Arabia (SA) and the United Kingdom (UK) concerning (a) causes of auditory hallucinations, (b) the efficacy of interventions and (c) levels of social rejection.

Results: Responses from 281 patients attending their general practitioners indicated that those living in Saudi Arabia were most likely to believe that hallucinations are caused by Satan or due to magic, while the UK sample were more likely to cite schizophrenia or brain damage.

Splenectomy for hematological disorders in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Splenomegaly is a common clinical disorder in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its aetiology is variable and includes portal hypertension due to schistosomal periportal hepatic fibrosis, haemoglobinopathies and lymphoproliferative disorders. At King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom, splenectomy is performed frequently for various reasons on patients drawn from all the Provinces.

Increased cholecystectomy rates in Saudi Arabia.

Gallstones have become increasingly prevalent in Saudi Arabia, where cholecystectomy is now one of the commonest major abdominal operations. 2854 people underwent cholecystectomy in the 14 hospitals of the country's Eastern Province in the years 1977 to 1986. During this period the overall frequency of cholecystectomy increased by 978%, a finding not explained by the 67% increase in population or the 87% increase in other operations.