Changing patterns of visual loss in the eastern province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Considerable attention has been given to the problems of prevention of blindness and trachoma in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia over the past 40 years. It was reported in the 1960s that trachoma prevalence in Eastern Province preschool children was in excess of 90% in villages and 70% in towns, leading to a high incidence of blindness. Unpublished data from the Kig Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital 1984 G/ 1404 Hnational Survey of Eye Disease and Visual Loss demonstrated that, according to World Health Organization criteria, the prevalence of blindness in the Eastern Province was 3.3% and the prevalence of active trachoma was 11.3%. Recent socioeconomic improvement, including the health services, prompted a new survey in order to assess the current situation. From a stratified geographic cluster sample, 4819 persons were registered and 4340 were examined. Results from this 1990 survey are compared with the 1984 data. Blindness was reduced from 3.3% to 1.5%, and cataract remains the major cause of blindness [37.5%]. Trachoma is responsible for 9.4% of the causes of blindness in 1990, in comparison to 27.3% in 1984. Active trachoma has decreased to a level where it can no longer be considered a major health hazard [1%]; however, total elimination of the disease, and protection of families at risk is recommended

Predicting nodal malignancy from clinical data

A large variety of disorders can lead to lymphadenopathy. It is important and beneficial to patient management to rapidly differentiate between benign and malignant causes. The objective of the study is to identify factors predicting nodal malignancy from readily available clinical data. A retrospective study was carried out on patients admitted to Riyadh Medical Complex, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between April 1996 and March 2000 with lymphadenopathy, who underwent lymph node biopsy. Univariate analysis suggests 6 variables [age, sex, the presence of other physical signs, abnormal complete blood count, abnormal liver function test and negative Mantoux test] to have independent association with nodal malignancy. The multivariate logistic regression model revealed patients aged more than 40 years, males, generalized lymphadenopathy, presence of other physical signs, abnormal liver function tests and negative Mantoux test to be statistically significantly associated with nodal malignancy [p>0.05]. The present logistic model can be useful in predicting nodal malignancy using routinely collected clinical data

Comparison of the anthropometry of Saudi Arabian urate children aged 6-11 years with the NCHS/CDC reference population

To assess the nutritional status of children based on anthropometric indicators and to develop a standard growth chart for schoolchildren in Saudi Arabia. A total of 4,154 male Saudi primary schoolchildren aged 6-11 years were randomly selected, using a three-stage stratified cluster sampling procedure that covered all regions of Saudi Arabia. Weight and height were measured and used to calculate the anthropometric indicators: weight for height, height for age and weight for age. These indicators were compared with the American National Center for Health Statistics Center for Disease Control [NCHS/CDC] reference population. There was an indicator of past malnutrition of children whose height for age fell in the lower centile range of the NCHS/CDC reference population. Weight for height, an indicator of current nutritional status, was comparable with the reference population with only 5% below -2 standard deviations of the reference population. There was a statistically significant trend in the prevalence of indicators of past and current malnutrition with age. While the indicator of past malnutrition increased with age, the prevalence of the indicator of current malnutrition decreased with age. The level of obesity increased from 3.8% at age 6 years to 8.3% at 11 years, with the overall level of obesity of 6.6%. These findings showed high reliability of the interpretation of the anthropometric indicators, and that the Saudi male primary schoolchildren appear to enjoy a comparable nutritional status with their American counterparts. The generated growth charts are more applicable to the Saudis and probably to the Gulf communities as they are derived from local rather than European or American measurements

Characteristics of institutionalized disabled in Saudi Arabia

The purpose of the study is to describe the characteristics of the disabled in institutionalized care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All institutions for the disabled in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire was completed on each disabled subject by health officials responsible for their care in a cross-sectional study. The health officials under the supervision of the physicians in the Ministry of Social Affairs, obtained additional information from the health records of either the parents or the care providers of the disabled The major items of information were the demography, family history and types of physical disability or associated diseases of the subjects. Information was available on a total of 2,275 subjects of which 61.7% were males and 38.7% were females. Seventy percent were below the age of 20 years. Nearly all subjects [99.2%] were either unemployed or unemployable. The majority of subjects had a combination of disability of which dumbness [63.8%] and cerebral palsy [51.6%] were the main diagnosis while epilepsy was the most common disease. Motor disability included quadriparesis [29.3%], paraplegia [8.6%], hemiplegia [4.2%] and monoplegia [3.2%]. The major factors associated with these disabilities were incomplete immunization, previous infections and perinatal problems. The findings showed a high frequency of children and young adults in institutionalized care with low employment potential. The frequency of disabilities can be reduced if efforts are directed towards factors associated with occurrences of dumbness and cerebral palsy which can be associated with epilepsy and other disabilities