National survey of the oral health of 5-year-old children in the United Arab Emirates

A total of 1340 5-year-old children were examined as part of the first national survey of the oral health of children in the United Arab Emirates. The objective was to determine dental caries status and compare variations in caries experience in all 9 medical districts. Sampling and examination for caries was done following World Health Organization guidelines and criteria. Only 17% of the children were caries-free. The mean decayed/missing/filled teeth [dmft] index was 5.1, ranging from 3.8 in Ajman to 6.6 in Dubai. More than half [52%] had > 4 dmf teeth. Overall, caries is highly prevalent in the primary dentition of 5-year-old children and mostly untreated

Magnetic toy ingestion leading to jejunocecal fistula in a child

The accidental ingestion of a foreign body is a common problem in children, but ingestion of magnets is rare. When multiple magnets are ingested, they may attract each other and cause pressure necrosis through the bowel walls and eventually lead to serious complications like obstruction, perforation, and fistula formation. We report a case of a 5-year-old girl with jejunocecal fistula following ingestion of 2 magnet toys; it highlights the diagnostic challenge and the need for early surgical intervention in children especially when multiple magnets are ingested

National survey of the oral health of 12- and 15-year-old schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates

This paper describes the first national survey of oral health in the United Arab Emirates [UAE]. Using WHO criteria, dental caries and fluorosis were recorded in 2651 schoolchildren aged 12 and 15 years, and periodontal disease in those aged 15 years. The prevalence of dental caries in the permanent teeth of 12-year-olds was 54%; the mean DMFT [number of decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth] per child was 1.6. The prevalence of dental caries in 15-year-olds was 65% and the mean DMFT was 2.5. For the UAE as a whole, 70% of 12-year-old schoolchildren had no dental fluorosis and 37% of 15-year-olds had healthy periodontal tissues

Evaluation of some cell makers in B-chronic lymphoproliferative disorders

The scoring system, suggested by some investigators in which a panel of monoclonal antibodies are used to differentiate between CLL and B cell disorders, was applied for 40 patients included in this study. The expression of some cellular adhesion molecules [beta integrin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ICAM-1] and soluble ICAM-1 were also investigated in these patients. Immunophenotyping and adhesion molecules were determined by indirect immunofluorescence and analysed on a flow cytometer. 87.5% of CLL cases scored 4 or 5, none of the cases scored 0,1 or 2. In non CLL no cases scored 4 or 5, 20.8% scored 3 and 79.2% scored 0-1. CD29 showed a higher expression in B-NHL [90%] than CLL [25%] while CD54 and s-ICAM-1 showed similar results in both groups. Our results show that there is a reverse expression of beta -integrin in CLL versus non-CLL cases, serum levels of s-ICAM-1 are significantly elevated in all our patients. In summary, this study showed that by applying the scoring system, it is possible in most cases to distinguish CLL from other B-cell malignancies, and thus improve the diagnosis, classification and treatment results of the B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders

Determination of B2 microglobulin in cerebrospinal fluid in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Beta-2 microglobulin has been claimed to be useful marker for the diagnosis of CNS infiltration, and also for early detection of subclinical CNS leukemia. The aim was to assess the value of B2m in CSF of children with ALL. The study was conducted on 23 patients with ALL, 13 newly diagnosed, 5 with systemic relapse and 5 with CNS relapse. The peripheral blood and bone marrow were examined. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid B2m were estimated for all patients on admission, before and after intrathecal therapy. CSF-B2m was significantly higher in patients with leukemic CNS infiltration. There was no significant correlation between CSF and serum B2m levels. CSF/serum B2m ratio was more than one in cases with isolated CNS relapse, and less than one in all other cases. There was an early elevation in CSF B2m in one case before development of overt CNS relapse. There was no significant change in CSF-B2m before and after ITC. The level of serum B2m after systemic chemotherapy was significantly lower than before treatment. Thus, serial CSF counts, protein and glucose, cytology and B2m are recommended to be used together with the clinical and radiological data to improve the diagnosis and management. Furthermore, CSF serum B2m ratio is recommended to be used for diagnosis of leukemic CNS infiltration when it is more than one

Anticardiolipin antibodies in young patients with vasculopathies

This study included 40 patients divided into 2 group. Group I composed of 26 patients [65%] presented with thrombotic disorders subdivided into: venous [group IA] 8 patients [30.77%] and arterial [group IB] 18 patients [69.23%]. Group II composed of 14 patients [35%] presented with functional vascular disorders. Their mean age was 29.4 years. 10 normal healthy individuals of comparable age were taken as controls [group III]. All patients and controls were subjected to full clinical examination and laboratory investigations including: CBC, PPBS, lipid profile, whole blood clotting time, APTT, PT and anticardiolipin [ACL] I[g]G and I[g]M antibodies by ELISA. Significant increase in the total ACL antibodies was found in group I as compared to group III, while group II showed no statistical difference as compared to either group III or I. The frequency of ACL antibodies was 32.5% of the overall studied patients, 34.62% in group I and 28.57% in group II. Seven out of 13 patients [53.85%] of the ACL positive cases were associated with different rheumatic diseases; 57.14% in systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], 28.57% in rheumatoid arthritis and 14.26% in scleroderma. It is apparent from this study that ACL antibodies are present among a wide diversity of diseases rather than SLE as was previously thought. So it is mandatory to be searched for among young patients with idiopathic thrombosis, to plan for preventive therapy

Plasma ascitic fluid fibronectin in schistosoma mansoni

Sixty male Schistosoma mansoni patients have been included in this work. They were divided into three groups and compared to a control group. Plasma and ascitic fluid fibronectin was determined together with some liver function tests. Plasma fibronectin was significantly increased in early stages of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis, which decreased with advance of hepatic fibronectin was measured, its results were compared with those of previous reports