Association between cretinism and prolactin secretion

Objective:To compare the serum prolactin level in hyperthyroid and normal control females. Hyperthyroidism is a mutual disease. Even though a direct relation has been demonstrated amid hypothyroidism and increased prolactin levels, this association has not been established for hyperthyroidism

Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study was carried out on cases and control groups. To select the cases, all women referred to the laboratories of Saudi National Hospital with a thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] level 0.5 mIU/L and met the inclusion criteria were entered in the study. A total of 62 women aged 16 to 49 years were enrolled. The case group included 24 hyperthyroid women, and the control group included 38 women with normal thyroid function matched by age

Results: The mean [SD] serum level of prolactin was 16.4 [0.96] ng/mL [95% confidence interval [CI], 15.39 ng/mL to 15.69 ng/mL] in the controls and 23.02 [1.47] ng/mL [95% CI, 22.7 ng/mL to 23.4 ng/mL] in the case subjects. Hyperprolactinemia was more common in the hyperthyroid group [16.4 [0.96] ng/mL versus 23.02 [1.47] ng/mL; P<.001]. The prolactin level decreased with age. Hyperthyroidism and estradiol increased the prolactin level. After adjusting for age and estradiol, hyperthyroidism increased the serum prolactin level [P<.001]

Conclusion: The outcomes of the present study showed that hyperprolactinemia is more frequent in hyperthyroid females. Serum prolactin level can be increased in hyperthyroidism

Knowledge about the overall patient's satisfaction of the primary health care in Saudi Arabia and common complains that brings patients to the primary health centre

Background: Despite the modern life and the availability of great facilities, patients are not satisfied with the health care offered in the primary health care center in Saudi Arabia. Common complains that bring patients to the primary health care center are usually hypertension, headaches or back pain but there are others that are unknown and common like abdominal pain

Objectives: This study was done to explore the overall patient's satisfaction of the primary health care in Saudi Arabia and the common complains that bring patients to the primary health centre

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during the period from January to April 2018 on 864 participants chosen from many different social media platforms to investigate the overall patient's satisfaction of the primary health care in Saudi Arabia and the common complains that bring patients to the primary health centre

Results: 48.1% of the participants had visited the primary health care center at a certain point of time, 33.6% of the participants went to the primary health center first before going to the hospital, 43.7% of the participants received a professional health care whenever they enrolled to the primary health care centers, 51.9% of the participants usually found the prescribed medications at the primary health care center and 30% of the participants claimed abdominal when they visited the primary health care center. Regarding patient's satisfaction, 18.8% of the participants rate the primary health care center 5 out of 10. Finally, 90.6% of the participants thought that the ministry of health should pay more attentions to the primary health care centers

Conclusion: overall patient's satisfaction about the primary health care center in Saudi Arabia was as great as we could expect. The main complain that brings participants to the primary health care centers was abdominal pain

Knowledge about waiting time spent in the emergency department for patients in Saudi Arabia and overall patient satisfaction

Background: Despite the modern society and medical services, waiting in emergency department is taking too long time for patients in Saudi Arabia. Time spent in the emergency department is crucial and can affect the overall health outcomes. Knowing the time spent in the emergency department and overall patient's satisfaction can provide an important information of health care that is provided in Saudi Arabia. Comparing the time spent in the emergency department in Saudi Arabia to other countries will help us know the quality of health care provided

Objectives: Waiting in the emergency department is a global issue not only in the developing countries but also in modern countries. This study aimed at assessing how long is the waiting time spent by patients in the emergency department before receiving the medical care and the overall patients' satisfaction

Methods: A cross-sectional study on the time spent in the emergency department before getting help for patients in Saudi Arabia and overall patients' satisfaction was carried out on 528 participants during the period from February to March 2018

Results: 42% of the participants, indicated that the main complain that brought them to the emergency department was in the abdominal area and 29.5% of the patients spent more than one hour before getting helped from healthcare providers. 18.8% of the participants evaluated the emergency department service by 1 out of 10

Conclusion: Our results showed that large number of patients was suffering from waiting too long time in the emergency department before receiving the required medical care

Assessment of knowledge about radiation risk among fellows and residents in pediatric department in Tabuk city

Background: The study aimed at investigating the knowledge in pediatric residents and fellows in two Saudi hospitals, putting shedding lights on the information available for patients and their relatives concerning the risk assessment of radiation used in radiological investigations for children

Methods: This study was a cross sectional study based on a questionnaire of multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire was distributed to 40 pediatric residents and fellows from two hospitals in Tabuk city in Saudi Arabia, military hospital [NWAFH] and KKH. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS, version 17.0 [SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA]. The percentage of participants who gave correct answers was calculated for each question. Individual questions were analyzed using Chi-squared test of independence. All statistical significance values were P < 0.05

Results: Only35 from the 40 questionnaires were completed then analyzed [87.5%]. Only 10 surveyed [34.5%] was considered competent torisk radiation knowledge for commonly performed radiological examination. Regarding to the Percentage of correct answers, at least 50% [adequate knowledge was considered with seven minimum score of correct answers out of thirteen]

Conclusion: The knowledge of radiation doses and risks from common radiological tests was sub-optimal among the fellows and residents in pediatric department. Awareness of radiation hazards for fellows and residents during radiation exposure risk examinations should be considered an essential part of medical education

Breast cancer staging and the role of radiology

Purpose: To Compare tomosynthesis to mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and histology for the detection and staging of BI-RADS 4-5 anomalies, as a function of breast composition, histology, size, and lesion location

Materials and methods: 25 patients underwent tomosynthesis, MRI, mammography, and ultrasound. The diagnostic accuracy of the different examinations was compared

Results: The sensitivities for detection were as follows: 92.7% for MRI, 80.5% for ultrasound, 75.6% for tomosynthesis, and 61% for mammography. Tomosynthesis improves the sensitivity of mammography [P= 0.0001], but not the specificity. The detection of multifocality and multicentricity was improved, but not significantly. Tomosynthesis identified more lesions than mammography in 10% of cases and improved lesion staging irrespective of the density, but was still inferior to MRI. The detection of ductal neoplasia was superior with tomosynthesis Compared to mammography [P = 0.016], but this was not the case with lobular cancer. The visualization of masses was improved with tomosynthesis [P = 0.00012], but not with microcalcifications. Tomosynthesis was capable of differentiating lesions of all sizes, but the smaller lesions were easier to see. Lesion sizes measured with tomosynthesis, excluding the spicules, concurred with histological dimensions. Spicules lead to an overestimation of the size

Conclusion: In our series, tomosynthesis found more lesions than mammography in 10% of patients, resulting in an adaption of the surgical plan

Dysmenorrhea among female medical students in King Abdulaziz University: prevalence, predictors and outcome

Objective: To determine the prevalence, predictors and outcome of dysmenorrhea among female medical students in King Abdulaziz University [KAU], Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 435 medical students at KAU, Jeddah selected through stratified random sample method. A pre-constructed, validated, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect personal and socio-demographic information. Data about menstrual history, stress, smoking were also collected. The severity of dysmenorrhea was scored by the "Visual Analogue Scale [VAS]". Descriptive and analytical statistics were conducted

Results: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 60.9%. Logistic regression showed that heavy period was the first predictor of dysmenorrhea [aOR=1.94; 95% CI: 1.29- 2.91], followed by stress [aOR=1.90; 95% C.I.: 1.19-3.07]. The prevalence of severe dysmenorrhea among the sufferers was 38.6%. Depressed mood was the commonest [80.8%] symptom accompanying dysmenorrhea. Regarding the outcome of dysmenorrhea, 67.5% of the sufferes reported emotional instability, while 28.3% reported absenteeism from the university

Conclusions: A high prevalence of dysmenorrhea was prevalent among medical students in King Abdulaziz University [KAU], Health promotion, screening programs, and stress management courses are recommended