Knowledge about tobacco smoking among medical students in Saudi Arabia: findings from three medical schools

Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Educating and training medical students about tobacco dependence prevention and treatment will prepare them for the task of helping smokers quit. In Saudi Arabia, little is known about medical students' knowledge on this topic. This study was conducted among 237 medical students [89% response rate] from three medical schools in Saudi Arabia. Students were asked to complete a 55-item questionnaire about the knowledge of smoking epidemiology, smoking cessation practice and benefits, and treatment of tobacco dependence. The majority of the students [91.4%] do not have adequate knowledge about the epidemiology of smoking. Students demonstrated a low knowledge of the health risks associated with tobacco use [average score 53%; SD = 11.6], a fair understanding of the benefits of smoking cessation, and insufficient information about treatment of tobacco dependence. Respondents thought they were adequately prepared to counsel their patients to quit smoking. Medical students in Saudi Arabia are not well informed and trained in tobacco dependence and treatment. It is necessary to address this deficit by prioritizing these topics in medical education curricula

Histopathological findings of failed grafts following Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty [DSAEK]

To study the histopathological findings of the early cases of failed DSAEK grafts and to analyze the causes of graft failure. Retrospective study of 13 failed DSAEK grafts [four grafts submitted alone with no host cornea] of 12 patients. The histopathologic features are correlated with the clinical and operative findings. Significant attenuation of the endothelial cells found in 10/13 cases [77%], retained recipient Descemet's membrane in 7/13 [54%], variability of graft thickness in 5/13 [38%] and two of these had stromal irregularity. Retrocorneal fibrous membrane along the donor's Descemet's membrane was found in 4/13 [31%] resulting in endothelial detachment in one case. Eight of the nine host cornea-graft specimens were found to have: total graft-cornea detachment [in one], subtotal in four and partial [

Megakaryocytic blast crisis at presentation in a pediatric patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia [CML] infrequently present in blast crisis [BC]. While most BC are of myeloid origin, megakaryocytic BC is rare, especially at the time of CNAL diagnosis. We describe the first pediatric patient presenting with megakaryocytic leukemia and having BCR-ABL1 translocation as the single chromosomal abnormality. Clinical features were more suggestive of CML in megakaryocytic blast crisis than Philadelphia chromosome positive de novo AML The patient was treated with AML-directed chemotherapy and imatinib mesylate followed by umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation. The patient was in complete molecular response 16 months after stem cell transplantation