traveler to Holland with a benign killer: a case report of a sickle cell trait male with splenic infarction

Sickle cell trait is highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia. However, most of the patient are asymptomatic, only few present with symptoms of the complications of the disease. We report a case of 24-year-old male who presented to the hospital with history of dull left upper quadrant, nausea and vomiting while he was on the airplane. Investigation showed a picture of sickle cell trait with hemoglobin S of 40%. Peripheral blood smear was within normal. CT scan of the abdomen confirmed the presence of splenic infraction. This case emphasized on the need to increase the level of threshold to recognize the rare complications of sickle cell trait and how to manage them appropriately

Breastfeeding practice in Arar, Northern Saudi Arabia

Background: Human milk meets all the nutritional requirements of infants for the first 6 months of life, and it is associated with a lower incidence of diarrhea than partial or artificial feeding. The infant should be exclusively breastfed for at least 4 months of life and if possible for 6 months, as recommended by WHO and UNICEF

Aim of the Study: was to assess the breastfeeding practice for children under 24 months in Arar city, as well as its relation to some sociodemographic and nutrition related variables

Participants and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Arar city, mothers were selected from the attendees of 6 randomly selected primary health care centers in the city. They were interviewed and filled in a questionnaire that included the key questions

Results: 11.8% of infants received exclusive breastfeeding, 39.7% received a mix of both breast and artificial feeding while 48.5% depended only on artificial feeding. More than 50% of the studied infants were males, 70% of the mothers weren't working. No significant relationship between type of child feeding and child age, sex, mother education, mother's working status, father's work or mother age group [P >0.05]. About 2 thirds of children who had mixed feeding suffered from repeated gastroenteritis, delayed teething, standing and walking

Conclusion: In accordance with the obvious deficiency of exclusive breastfeeding in Arar city which is located in Northern Saudi Arabia, we highly recommend that programs promoting exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of age must be conducted to increase mothers' awareness of the exclusive breastfeeding duration is recommended