ABSTRACT
Background: Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) is a condition of the heart that occurs when blood flowto the heart muscles is stopped abruptly. The disruption in blood flow to the heart muscles is usually caused by ablockage of one or several coronary arteries. Heart attacks can be fatal owing to the critical functions performedby blood in the heart. Fatalities arising from heart attacks are witnessed all over the world. The difference infatality rates of heart attacks is highly dependent on the exposure to risk factors such as smoking and obesity.Healthy living populations will rarely encounter high cases of a heart attack. This study was set out to assess anddocument the knowledge level of acute myocardial infarction patients regarding the modifiable risk factors of aheart attack in Saudi Arabia. Patients suffering from a heart attack are at great danger of fatality. Knowledge ofmodifiable factors can promote healthy living habits and behaviors among them. Methods: A cross-sectionalsurvey was developed to assess knowledge levels of acute myocardial infarction patients in the three cities ofRiyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. A total of 123 participants were recruited through convenient sampling across15 hospitals in the cities. The eligibility criteria for recruitment included a mandatory age of 18 years and SaudiArabian citizenship. Participants were issued with questionnaires containing different questions on modifiablerisk factors (fatty foods, vegetables, fruits, smoking, physical exercise, and obesity). Results: Five out of the sixmodifiable factors represented knowledge levels of less than 50%. Participants were only knowledgeable on therisk factor of obesity which saw 52.8% associating it with a heart attack. Conclusion: There is a need to boosteducation and awareness among acute myocardial infarction patients in Saudi Arabia.
ABSTRACT
Vitamin A toxicity is a well-described medical condition with a multitude of potential presenting signs and symptoms. It can be divided into acute and chronic toxicity. Serum vitamin A concentrations are raised in chronic renal failure even with ingestion of less than the usual toxic doses. Hypercalcaemia can occasionally be associated with high levels of vitamin A but it is rare. In this report, we describe a 67-year old female patient with chronic kidney disease who was taking vitamin A supplements for approximately 10 years. The patient had worsening of her chronic kidney disease over the last years and developed chronic hypercalcaemia. Her vitamin A level was elevated with a daily intake of 7000 IU. The vitamin A supplement was stopped. A few months later, vitamin A level diminished substantially and serum calcium levels returned to normal.
La toxicidad de la vitamina A es una condición médica bien descrita que presenta un sinnúmero de potenciales signos y síntomas. Puede ser dividida en toxicidad aguda y crónica. Las concentraciones séricas de vitamina A se elevan con la insuficiencia renal crónica, incluso con la ingestión de dosis tóxicas por debajo de lo habitual. En ocasiones, la hipercalcemia puede estar asociada con altos niveles de vitamina A, pero esto raramente ocurre. En este informe, describimos a una paciente de 67 años de edad con enfermedad renal crónica, que estuvo tomando suplementos de vitamina A por aproximadamente 10 años. La paciente sufrió un empeoramiento de su enfermedad renal crónica en los últimos años, y desarrolló hipercalcemia crónica. Su nivel de vitamina A se elevó con una ingesta diaria de 7000 UI. El suplemento de vitamina A fue suspendido. Unos meses más tarde, el nivel de vitamina A nivel disminuyó sustancialmente, y los niveles de calcio sérico volvieron a la normalidad.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Aged , Hypervitaminosis A/complications , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/blood , Hypercalcemia/etiologyABSTRACT
A 12-years-old female presented with clinical and radiological findings of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system [few pediatric series have been published]. We report this case to stress the importance of early screening by magnetic resonance imaging and early therapeutic intervention in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis fin the prevention of high rates of morbidity and mortality
ABSTRACT
To study the causes and Computerized Tomography Scan findings in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. A retrospective review of Computerized Tomography Scans in 26 patients with proven peritoneal carcinomatosis was conducted from 1997 to 2002. In 22 patients, there was proven primary malignant tumor and patients presented for follow-up studies. In four patients, the primary tumor was diagnosed at the time of presentation, looking for distribution of peritoneal thickening, ascitic fluid, and its extension. Diffuse peritoneal thickening and enhancement was seen in scans of all patients. Ascites was seen in 24 patients with extension to Douglas pouch in four patients. The primary tumor responsinle for peritoneal involvement was ovarian in 12 patients, colonic in eight, pancreatic in three, breast in one and unknown primary in two patients. Peritoneal thickening, enhancement, and ascites are the commonest findings in peritoneal involvement by malignancy 'peritoneal carcinomatosis'. Ovarian carcinoma followed by colonic are the commonest primary tumors to cause peritoneal carcinomatosis. The Computerized Tomography Scan is the imaging modality of choice to show the changes in perritoneal carcinomatosis
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Peritoneal Neoplasms/etiology , Retrospective Studies , Ovarian Neoplasms , Colonic Neoplasms , Breast Neoplasms , Pancreatic NeoplasmsABSTRACT
Magnetic Resonant Imaging [MRI] is the examination of choice in diagnosing anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] tear. Direct signs of ACL tear on sagittal images, include focal or diffuse increased signal intensity within the ligament, focal discontinuity, acute angulation and wavy contour of the ligament. The ACL appears abnormal on sagittal images in some cases in spite of the absence of ligamentous tear, which may be due to: oesinophilic or mucoid degeneration within the ligament, partial volume effect with the lateral femoral condyle or periligamentous fat, or due to suboptimal selection of the sagittal planes. For these reasons many authors recommend to look for indirect signs of ACL tear on sagittal MRI. These signs are due to instability associated with ligament deficiency. To study the value of indirect signs in cases of ACL tear, we retrospectively reviewed the MR images in patients with ACL tear which were confirmed surgically, and compared them with those of patients with normal ACL on MRI and surgery