risk factor and clinical characteristics of pilots at the Royal Jordanian Airlines

To describe the risk factors and clinical characteristics of pilots at the Royal Jordanian Airlines [RJA]. The study was conducted on all pilots subjected to exclusion of Coronary Artery Disease [CAD] between October 1986 to October 2000 at Queen Alia Heart Institute were eligible for inclusion in the study. Twenty-four patients [7.7%] of the study group had [CAD]. The left anterior descending artery was the most frequent vessel involved [39%], while the left main coronary artery and left circumflex artery were the least involved [each 8.3%].The prevalence [7.7%] of CAD] among Pilots in [RJA] is in accordance with that in other countries, the recommendation of the Aviation Medical Committee at King Hussein Medical Center was not to allow 12 pilots to fly following the Civil Aviation Fitness requirement of the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization]

Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen in Jordan

To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen among the Jordanian population. A total of 1066 healthy individuals were randomly selected using clustering, systematic and simple random sampling methods. The overall response rate was 75% and 775 individuals were actually included in the study. The study revealed a prevalence rate of hepatitis B surface antigen [HbsAg] of 1.7% among the study population. A higher prevalence rate was found among males than females. The history of hospital admission was the most important risk factor for acquisition of hepatitis B. Further studies are needed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B by determining hepatitis B antibody markers in addition to HbsAg

Pain relief after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. comparative study

The aim of this study was to determine whether subcutaneous injection of a long-acting local anesthetic at the site of ports of entry or installation of the same drug in the right subdiaphragmatic region would reduce post operative pain or not. The study was conducted on 60 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at King Hussein Medical Center [KHMC] between July 1995 and February 1996.Two scores of pain [visual pain scale and verbal rating scale] were used and assessment was done at two-hour intervals. Those patients were randomly allocated into three groups, group I received 20ml of 0.25% bupivacaine, intraperitoneally in the right subdiaphragmatic area, with the patient in the supine position. Group II received a total of 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine injected subcutaneously around the four port sites. Group III received saline with no local anesthetic. There was no significant reduction in the median visual scale or the verbal pain score among the three groups post-operatively. Subcutaneous infiltration with bupivacaine after laparoscopic cholecystectomy or its intraperitoneal instillation has no significant effect in relieving post-operative pain