Mesenteric panniculitis of the sigmoid colon

A 44-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain, diarrhea and lower abdominal mass. CT findings were not characteristic, and exploratory laparotomy revealed a mass involving the sigmoid colon with gross appearance simulating malignancy. Histological examination of the resected sigmoid colon revealed Mesenteric Panniculitis. Post-operatively, her symptoms dramatically improved. Having reviewed the literature, this appears to be the first reported case among the Saudi population

Epidemiological aspects and cost of managing hypertension in Saudi Arabian primary health care centres

The main epidemiological features and the direct cost of management of hypertension for a sample of registered patients in primary health care centres in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia were examined. Epidemiological features were gathered through patient interviews and from medical records, while direct cost of management was obtained using a standard formula. Consultation accounted for the highest direct cost of disease management [67%]; investigations and drugs were responsible for 16% and 17%, respectively. Number of visits, frequency of follow-up and use of additional drugs were significantly associated with higher total direct cost and higher cost of consultation. Medical education for physicians regarding cost containment and the complete documentation of medical treatment is advised

Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome: report of two cases

The popliteal artery entrapment syndrome [PAES] is due to anomalous interrelations between the artery and the neighbouring musculotendinous structures. Eighteen anatomical variants have been described, and in more than 80% of the cases the medial gastrocnemius was involved. We report two Saudi patients with PAES. Previously in Saudi Arabia, to the best of our knowledge, only one case of this syndrome has been reported

Acute biliary pancreatitis: six-and-a-half years' experience

During a 6 1/2-year period 120 patients with acute pancreatitis were admitted to the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital. Of the 120 patients, 40 had non-biliary pancreatitis; 80 patients [66.7%] had associated gallstones in whom the management as well as the outcome was retrospectively studied and 20 of these patients [16.66%] had severe attacks. Fifty-eight patients had conservative treatment followed by cholecystectomy and/or common bile duct exploration, and in 38 of these patients, the surgery was performed during the admission for the pancreatitis. Sixteen patients had endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography [ERCP] with sphincterotomy and extraction of gallstones. Six patients had emergency surgery, one of whom died. In patients with biliary pancreatitis, the outcome was best and duration of hospital stay shortest in those who had emergency endoscopic sphincterotomy, followed by those who had early surgery compared with those who had emergency or delayed surgery