ABSTRACT
Spindle cell lipoma (SCL), an uncommon variant of benign lipomatous tumor, occurs predominantly in the posterior neck or the shoulders. Patients usually present a well-circumscribed and non-aggressive subcutaneous mass. Histopathologically, the mass comprises fat, CD34-positive spindle cells, and ropey collagen on a myxoid matrix. We report a case of left-shoulder SCL in a 45-year-old Saudi male nonsmoker with no known trauma. A soft tissue mass was seen on MRI near the posterior shoulder. It was a 4.5 cm x 3 cm subcutaneous rounded lump with heterogeneous signal intensity. There is no aggressive or invasive feature, and there is no significant fatty content. The mass was surgically excised with no complication. Histological examination revealed a neoplastic lesion constituted of mature adipocyte lobules and proliferation of loosely held bland spindle-shaped cells against a myxoid background. These cells exhibit neither increased mitoses nor nuclear pleomorphism. There were intervening rope collagen bundles. Lipoblasts and atypical stromal cells are also unidentified. At the periphery, a thin capsule was identified. There is no evidence of malignancy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in Unaizah, Al Qassim. The correct diagnosis of SCL without a lipogenic component may be made by paying close attention to the clinical setting, histologic characteristics, immunohistochemical profile, and chromosomal abnormalities.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent types of cancer among women worldwide including those in Saudi Arabia. The risk of developing BC can be lowered by reducing risk factors through early screening and by women having full knowledge of this condition. The aim of this study is thus to evaluate knowledge of the importance of early screening and detection of BC among post-menopausal women in Saudi Arabia's Qassim region and to compare it with pre-menopausal women. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among post-menopausal women in the Qassim region. Data were collected by using a pre-tested, pre-coded, validated self-administered online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Social Package of Statistical Science) Statistics version 23.0. RESULTS: Data were collected from 1386 women who agreed to participate in this study, of which 484 women reported that their menstruation had stopped (34.9%). In general, it was found that 73.7% of the participants had adequate knowledge with a significant difference between pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Concerning knowledge of BC (p = 0.042), pre-menopausal women had a higher level of knowledge (75.5% had adequate knowledge compared with 70.5% of post-menopausal women). Considering the source of knowledge of the participants regarding BC, websites or social media is considered the main source for 71.8% of the participants, followed by family and friends (52.2%). Concerning the knowledge about the risk factors of BC, 26.4% of the participants reported that they did not know them, and 11.8% of the participants did not know any of the symptoms of BC. CONCLUSION: In this study, the knowledge of post-menopausal women was found to be adequate; however, it is significantly lower than that of the pre-menopausal women. Educational level is a significant factor that affects the level of knowledge regarding BC risk factors and different modalities for diagnosis and approaches for management, and this indicates the importance of increasing interest in education in our society.
ABSTRACT
Objective The study aims to evaluate the primary healthcare practitioner's (PHCP) knowledge, attitude, and practice toward systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to explore the difficulties of early referral to specialized clinics. Method This is a cross-sectional study conducted between February and March 2022 targeting the PHCP among the primary healthcare centers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted among 203 participants who enrolled via a cluster random sampling technique depending on the survey. Qualitative categorical variables are expressed as frequencies and percentages, while continuous variables are reported as means and standard deviations (SD). The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and the independent T-test have been used to explore the relationship between participants' knowledge scores and their socio-demographic characteristics. A P-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result The study found that only 4.4% of participating PHCPs had good knowledge related to SLE, while 45.8% of them had fair knowledge, and nearly half of them (49.8%) had poor knowledge. It was noted that GPs who specialized in family medicine or saw more than 40 patients each week had comparably better knowledge than others, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). The difficulty in diagnosing SLE patients was mentioned by 48.3% of the PHCPs. Family medicine consultants (p<0.001), those who worked in a tertiary care facility for more than six months (p<0.001) and those who worked in a rheumatology department (p<0.05), reported considerably better levels of comfort when treating SLE patients. Conclusion This study found that included participants' understanding of SLE, its diagnosis, and management was inadequate. Coordination between rheumatologists and experts from many disciplines at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care is critical for overcoming ambiguities and obstacles in the diagnosis and therapy of SLE patients.
