How teachers' knowledge of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder makes difference in doctors' diagnostic decisions and management?

Objectives: The teacher's knowledge plays a key role in the process of assessing, screening, and diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This was a cross-sectional study aimed at surveying teachers' knowledge about attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder, one of the most prevailing neurodevelopmental disorders

Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirteen female elementary school teachers were randomly chosen from six regular female public and private schools in Al-Khobar in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. They completed a self-reported questionnaire on their general "factual" knowledge of the nature of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the management "action knowledge" of the condition. Factors which might affect their knowledge were also examined

Results: About 48.7% of the total sample had adequate factual knowledge, but only 27 [23.9%] showed adequate action knowledge about how to deal with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Teachers' knowledge of attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder [factual and action] was not significantly correlated with their years of experience, level of education [qualification] and duration of training in educational methodology

Conclusions: It was concluded that teachers in female primary schools had inadequate knowledge about attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder. Implications and recommendation for health and educational professional are outlined

Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms in female schoolchildren in Saudi Arabia

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] is the most common seen developmental disorder, with significant impacts on the child's social, psychological, and scholastic functioning. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of ADHD in female primary schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Khobar Town, Eastern Saudi Arabia. A random sample of six primary schools for girls was chosen, from which samples of 1009 students were selected by systematic random sampling, with ages ranging between 6 and 15 years [mean and standard deviation, 9.2 [1.9]]. All subjects were screened for different types of ADHD using the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale. The overall prevalence of ADHD was 3.5%. The prevalence of children with ADHD/ inattentive type was 2.1% and the prevalence of children with ADHD/hyperactive-impulsive type was 5.6%. This rate decreased significantly with increase in age. The prevalence was higher in government school students, among Saudi citizens, later born siblings, higher number of siblings, and lower parental education. It was concluded that the prevalence of ADHD in female primary schoolchildren is comparable with what has been reported in other studies. Some demographic factors should be taken into consideration when interpreting this result. Implications and recommendations to the concerned authorities are outlined to improve the health and educational care services to help these children

accurate prediction of rare hemoglobin variants using a combination of high performance liquid chromatography, retention time and isoelectric focusing electrophoresis position

To investigate the predictive accuracy of using a combination of the high pressure liquid chromatography [HPLC] retention time and the relative isoelectric focusing [IEF] position to diagnose rare hemoglobin variants. A selected group of 40 patients with a rare beta-chain variant were assigned a presumed diagnosis following HPLC and IEF screening and then the variant identified in each case by DNA analysis. The study was conducted at the National Hemoglobinopathy Reference Laboratory, Oxford, United Kingdom, from August 2008 to October 2008. Thirteen out of 14 different variants were predicted accurately in 39 [97.5%] cases, compared to only one each for HPLC and IEF when used individually. A novel amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction test was developed for Hb J-Baltimore and used successfully to provide a simple, rapid, and inexpensive diagnosis. The use of both HPLC retention time and isoelectric focusing position provides an accurate presumed diagnosis of a rare hemoglobin variant in the majority of cases. Amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction test can provide a simple, rapid and inexpensive molecular diagnostic method for rare beta-chain variants

Initial ligguistic and psychometric validation of the Arabic version of nepean dyspepsia index

To report the initial evaluation of the linguistic and psychometric validation of the Nepean Dyspepsia Index [NDI], as part of the ongoing research of quality of life among dyspeptic patients. The Arabic version of the NDI was administered to 158 subjects [54 with non-ulcer dyspeptic [NUD]], 50 with gastro-esophageal reflux disease [GERD] and 54 with no history of gastroenteritis disease], with a mean age of 46.6 and SD 10.7. All subjects answered the Arabic versions of the General Health Questionnaire [GHQ], the Self-Report Questionnaire [SRQ], and the Short Form-12 Quality of Life [QOL] scale. We administered the final translation of the NDI by consensus. The study was conducted in King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, between December 2002 and January 2004. The NDI has shown adequate internal consistency. Cronbach Alpha coefficient ranged between 0.88 to 0.93, and Split-half correlation reliability ranged between 0.82 and 0.94. Correlations between NDI subscales and total scores were high and significant. Adequate Face and content validity was demonstrated by consultation with gastroenterologists and clinical psychologists. Convergent validity was shown in the moderate and significant correlation of the NDI subscales and global index with the indices of the SF-12. Divergent validity was shown in that subscales of the NDI revealed low correlation with scales which measure other dimensions; thus, both QOL subscales and symptom checklist have discriminated patients from non-patients groups [p>0.01]. The factorial structure of the NDI was also examined, and it revealed 4 factors, which is similarly the same with other studies. The initial validation of the Arabic version of the NDI has shown that this scale has adequate psychometric and linguistic property and can represent a good addition to health outcome measures in dyspepsia research. Further validation studies are recommended