Impact of rotavirus vaccination on viral gastroenteritis diseases

Background: Rotavirus infection causes a significant burden of diarrheal diseases in infants and young children leading to hospitalization and death. Rotavirus was a leading cause of viral gastroenteritis hospitalization among children less than the age of 5 years in Bahrain before rotavirus vaccine introduction in 2008

Objective: To evaluate the impact of rotavirus vaccination program in the viral gastroenteritis admission among patients less than 5 years of age and to evaluate the incidence of intussusception

Design: A Retrospective Data Analysis

Setting: Salmanyia Medical Complex, Bahrain

Method: Children aged less than five years hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis and intussusception based on international classification of diseases, tenth revision code, were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups: viral gastroenteritis and intussusception; both groups were admitted to pediatric wards and reviewed from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012. The characteristics of patients with intussusception only were reviewed and analyzed according to age, sex, nationality and vaccination status. Patients less than five years of age with bacterial gastroenteritis were excluded

Result: One thousand nine hundred fifty-five children under five years of age were hospitalized from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012. The first group consisted of one thousand nine hundred one patients, admitted with viral gastroenteritis. The second group consisted of fiftyfour patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of intussusception. Thirty-seven [1.9%] were males, forty-three [2.2%] were Bahrainis and 11 [0.6%] were non-Bahrainis. No intussusceptions cases occurred within 31 days of Rotavirus vaccination

Conclusion: The study revealed that children less than 5 years of age who were hospitalized for viral gastroenteritis have declined following Rota virus vaccine introduction and no reported intussusception with 31 days of vaccination

Coronary events in Bahrain: descriptive study

In Bahrain, cardiovascular death accounts for about 19.5% annually. Prevalence of Ischemic Heart Diseases [IHD] was 174.4 per 100,000 populations. Coronary events found to be the fourth leading cause of discharge from Salmaniya Medical Complex [SMC] in 2005. To evaluate the pattern and profile of patients with coronary events. Salmaniya Medical Complex, Kingdom of Bahrain. Retrospective Cross-sectional Study. Two hundred twenty-six patients were selected by a systematic random sampling technique from patients admitted with coronary events in SMC from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004. Data were reviewed and documented from the medical record. One hundred thirty-eight [61.1%] suffered from unstable angina, 66 [29.2%] had myocardial infarction and 22 other coronary events. Pre-existing cardiovascular diseases [previous IHD, atherosclerotic diseases, other heart diseases and stroke] suffered by almost half of the patients. Hypertension was reported in 97 [42.9%] patients, while diabetes was reported in 82 [36.3%] patients. More than two-third of cases diagnosed with coronary events had unstable angina and nearly one-third of cases had myocardial infarction. The majority of patients had preexisting morbidities, which include diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic cardiac conditions

Clinical presentation and demographic characteristics of diagnosed adult hypothyroidism at primary health care centers in Kingdom of Bahrain

Hypothyroidism is second only to diabetes mellitus as the most common endocrine disorder, but has attained little attention in the literature.The prevalence internationally is reported as 2-5% increasing up to 15% by age 75 years. To provide a baseline clinical profile of diagnosed adult hypothyroidism patients at primary health care in the kingdom of Bahrain. Primary health care centers in Bahrain Cross sectional descriptive study. Medical records of 239 hypothyroid patients selected from a list of patients who underwent thyroid function test [TFT] during the year 2005 at primary health care centers in Bahrain were reviewed and all patients were contacted by phone. Socio demographic and clinical data were recorded. Mean age of patients was 48 years. Females represented 88% of the study sample. Family history was positive in 47% of patients. The two main presenting symptoms were fatigue 66% and sleepiness 47% followed by emotional liability, weight gain and constipation. The majority of the patients [55%] were diagnosed during the past five years. The study is a primary one on hypothyroidism in Bahrain. Results showed that hypothyroidism is more common in females and the most common presenting symptoms were fatigue and sleepiness

Cancer prevention: role of primary care professionals

Review the current inputs of primary care professionals in Bahrain in the area of cancer prevention, Three key tasks performed at primary care level were reviewed [female cancer screening, tobacco control, Hepatitis B immunization]. The review is based on data collected from various health statistics, annual reports and national and regional surveys. Cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Bahrain. Evidence reported that a large proportion of cancer is preventable in nature, and suggest that primary care professionals have a critical role to play in cancer prevention and control. Although the coverage of cervical and breast screening was low [30% and 40%, respectively], yet, the current screening program covers women of lower risk. There is an urgent need to involve primary care professionals in tobacco control and tobacco cessation activities in particular. Follow up for Hepatitis B cases and contacts are identified as a priority area and need further improvement. Guidelines for screening and management of Hepatitis B cases at Primary care level need to be established Primary care professionals can increase their inputs in cancer prevention. Public education about cancer risk factors is priority activity. They require to be involved more in tobacco cessation programs. New measures for female cancer screening are required to improve the role of primary care professionals

Profile of elderly attending primary health care centers in Bahrain

This cross-sectional study is aimed at describing some demographic, health and social characteristics of elderly attending health centers in Bahrain Of the 22 health center in Bahrain 4 were randomly selected for conducting the study All the elderly attending the selected health centers during the study period [17-28 July 1999] were interviewed by the study group member Total of 201 elderly were included in this study with 106 [53%] males and 95[47%] females 80% of them were young-old [65-75 years] and most of them were illiterate [77,6%] 81,1% were living with their children [with or without the spouse]The prevalence of health problem among elderly was high with 36,3% for Diabetes mellitus, 39.3% for Hypertension and 15,4% for cardiovascular diseases 58,2% had joints problem, 79,1% had visual problems and 39,8% had hearing problems