Radiological outcome of bone disease in multiple myeloma patients pre- and post therapy: A single center experience.

OBJECTIVES: To find any correlation between the clinical response as per International Working Myeloma Group (IWMG) response criteria and the radiological response at the end of treatment. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, total of 39 patients whom diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) between January 2010 and December 2018 and fulfilled the study criteria were included. RESULTS: The high sensitivity and specificity of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in detecting osteolytic myeloma lesions in the bones was strongly emphasized in our study. Follow up PET/CT, we found that while 17 patients showed complete remission in PET/CT, and 14 of these of patients demonstrated a complete clinical response at end of therapy assessment. CONCLUSION: Although we did not find a statistically significant correlation between the response versus metabolic activity and the number of bone/bone marrow lesions, however, our study was limited by the absence of clear criteria for defining disease response in PET/CT in MM patients. Further prospective analysis would be needed to establish a defined criterion.

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards bio-medical waste management among healthcare workers: a northern Saudi study.

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) involved in day-to-day care and other healthcare activities play a significant role in biomedical waste (BMW) management. The World Health Organization stated some of the causes for the failure of BMW management, namely, lack of awareness of the health hazards related to BMW and inadequate trained HCWs in BMW management. The present study assessed knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards BMW management among the HCWs in northern Saudi Arabia. Methodology: The present study assessed KAP through a self-administered and validated questionnaire. Using a multistage probability sampling method, 384 HCWs from different healthcare facilities participated in this survey. We performed binomial logistic regression analysis to find association between KAP subscales and sociodemographic characteristics. Spearman's correlation test was performed to find the strength and direction of correlation (rho) between KAP scores. Results: Of the population studied, high knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were found in 47.1%, 65.1%, and 49.5% of the HCWs, respectively. The present study found that knowledge score was significantly higher among the age group from 30 to 39 years (ref: age less than 30 years: AOR = 2.25, 95% CI [1.05-4.85], p = 0.04) and non- Saudi nationals (ref: Saudi: AOR = 2.84, 95% CI [1.63-4.94], p < 0.001) The attitude score towards BMW management was significantly lower among the HCWs working in tertiary care settings (ref: PHC: AOR = 0.38, 95% CI [0.12-0.69], p = 0.01). Regarding the practice score, the male categories had a significantly higher score (ref: female: AOR = 1.82, 95% CI [1.19 -2.99], p = 0.02), while pharmacist (ref: physicians: AOR = 0.39, 95% CI [0.18-0.58], p = 0.02) and lab technicians (ref: physicians: AOR = 0.31, 95% CI [0.11-0.53], p = 0.02) had a significant lower practice score. The test results revealed a weak positive correlation of knowledge with the attitude scores (rho = 0.249, p = 0.001), and a moderately strong positive correlation was found between attitude and practice scores (rho = 0.432, p = 0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that a regular training program for the HCWs on BMW management is necessary through symposiums, role play, interactive lectures, and other feasible training methods. Furthermore, a multicentric prospective exploratory study is to be conducted in other regions of the KSA to understand the region-specific training needs of HCWs.

False-Positive Gallium-68 DOTATATE PET/CT in Vertebral Hemangioma.

A healthy 52-year-old man started to have few minutes spells of palpitation, tachycardia, hot flashes, and chest tightness. He had a lab work-up for carcinoid, including 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which was negative. Months later, his symptoms became worse which warranted further investigation to exclude carcinoid disease. Gallium-68 DOTATATE positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning was performed to assess the patient for carcinoid tumor. It showed foci of radiotracer avidity in the thoracic and lumber spine. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the vertebral lesions showed atypical hemangioma. Subsequently, follow-up serum chromogranin A testing was negative.

Descriptive Patterns of Deafness Among Pre-School Saudi Children Aged Two to Five Years Visiting Neurology Clinic From 2012 to 2017.

Background Early childhood years are very important and crucial periods for developing different developmental milestones. Hearing loss is considered to be one of the most commonly detectable problems, which often goes unnoticed or not given proper attention due to the lack of screening modalities or the inability of parents or guardians to recognize it in early stages. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the pattern of differences pertaining to hearing loss among pre-school children of various age groups to better approach this issue in a systemic and fundamental manner, so that better care and treatment can be provided to children suffering from deafness. Methods This study involved a descriptive, retrospective chart review in two hospital settings, and it was conducted at the department of physiology (neurophysiology) of King Abdulaziz and King Khalid University Hospitals at the King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh during the period of 2012-2017. A total of 324 pre-school Saudi children from the age of two to five years were involved and tested by brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) to assess deafness. Results A total of 324 patients underwent the BAEP test; of them, 199 (61.4%) were males and 125 (38.6%) were females. Regarding the age groups, the most common age group was that of two-year-olds with 117 (36.1%) participants, followed by three-year-olds with 80 (24.7%) children, four-year-olds with 73 (22.5%) patients, and five-year-olds with 54 (16.7%) participants. Furthermore, there were 220 (67.9%) patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), 92 (28.4%) with conductive hearing loss (CHL), four (1.2%) with mixed hearing loss (MHL), and eight (2.5%) with normal audiometry. The normal hearing threshold was determined to be 20 dB, and the mean value for the hearing threshold of the SNHL in the right ear was found to be 43.45 ± 25.85, while the left-ear mean value was 44.54 ± 28.78. The mean value of the hearing threshold in CHL of the right ear was 50.96 ± 22.23, while that of the left ear was 47.85 ± 22.74. Lastly, the mean value of the hearing threshold in MHL of the right ear was 80.00 ± 21.21, while that of the left ear was 73.75 ± 18.87. Conclusion SNHL was the most common type (67.9%) of pre-school hearing loss in Saudi Children attending the neurophysiology clinic at KSU hospitals between 2012-2017, while MHL constituted the most severe cases.

Prevalence of diabetes and its relation with age and sex in Turaif city, northern Saudi Arabia in 2016-2017.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diabetes in Saudi Arabia has increased dramatically during the last decades. This increase has been attributed to significant changes in cultural and socio-economic factors. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of diabetes and its relation with age and sex in Turaif city, northern Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out during the academic year 2016-2017 over a period of 6 months (October 01, 2016 to March 30, 2017). A total of 1,287 Saudi national individuals of both sexes, aged from 1 year to more than 65 years were included in the study. Data were collected by a predesigned questionnaire covering medical history of diabetes, age and sex. RESULTS: Mean age (± SD) was 24.29 (±13.96) years with the minimum age at 1 year and the maximum age at 93 years, male to female ratio was 42.5% to 57.5%. The total prevalence of DM among the studied population was 5.8% and pre-diabetic cases were 6.8%. There were significant relationships between age/sex, and the occurrence of diabetes among the studied population (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The total prevalence rate of DM among the studied population of Turaif city, northern Saudi Arabia was 5.8% and pre-diabetic cases were 6.8%. Awareness campaigns and prevention programs about diabetes should be instituted and the existing ones must be strengthened. Adequate commitment from the Ministry of Health is also advocated.