A Retrospective Study of Malaria and Its Effect on Hematological Indices in a Hospital in Jizan, Saudi Arabia

Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality with a major public health importance. Nearly half of the world population is at risk of malaria. In Saudi Arabia, a series of malaria outbreaks occurred in Jizan area and vigorous action was taken by the Saudi Ministry of Health to control malaria in this area. This study aimed at investigating the incidence of malaria Jizan area in 2014 and the effect of malarial infection on several hematological indices. Data were retrospectively collected for the year 2014 from Samtah General Hospital for all malaria positive cases. A total of 44 patients results were obtained for those who were diagnosed as positive for malaria together with their hematological indices and demographic data. A total of 3674 cases were suspected of malaria and only 44 cases were positive. The highest peaks of malaria cases were seen during the months of March and December. A statistically significant reduction in the WBC and Platelet count was observed in malaria positive cases. This study suggests that the malaria control in Jizan area be continued. Providing highly qualified lab personnel and microscopist in the area is very beneficial in order to achieve the malaria eradication goal

Canine lymphoma: a retrospective study (2009-2010)

This study reviews the medical records of 56 dogs diagnosed with lymphoma based on the cytological and/or histological results between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010. Most of the dogs were middle-aged to old, and were diagnosed with multicentric lymphoma (ML) (n=36). The majority of the dogs were presented in stages III to V (n=55) and substage b (n=43). A complete blood count and serum biochemistry, urinalysis, serum protein electrophoresis, thoracic radiographs and/or abdominal ultrasound were performed. The results correlated with previously described results in the literature. Therapy was initiated in 80% of the dogs (n=45). After diagnosis, the median survival time of 62% of these dogs (n=28) treated with only prednisolone was 32 days (range 3 - 224 days). For 24% of the dogs (n=11) treated with chemotherapy, the median survival time was 119 days (range 11 - 273 days). Surgical resection of the macroscopic tumor was performed in the remaining six dogs (13%). Three of these dogs received subsequent prednisolone therapy. The median survival time of these six dogs was 47 days (range 0 - 669 days). The dogs that received chemotherapy had significantly longer survival times than those treated with only prednisolone, although negative prognostic factors were present in all of the cases treated with chemotherapy

Outcomes following laminoplasty or laminectomy and fusion in patients with myelopathy caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: A systematic review

Study Design Systematic review. Objective To compare laminoplasty versus laminectomy and fusion in patients with cervical myelopathy caused by OPLL. Methods A systematic review was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Cochrane database, and Google scholar of articles. Only comparative studies in humans were included. Studies involving cervical trauma/fracture, infection, and tumor were excluded. Results Of 157 citations initially analyzed, 4 studies ultimately met our inclusion criteria: one class of evidence (CoE) II prospective cohort study and three CoE III retrospective cohort studies. The prospective cohort study found no significant difference between laminoplasty and laminectomy and fusion in the recovery rate from myelopathy. One CoE III retrospective cohort study reported a significantly higher recovery rate following laminoplasty. Another CoE III retrospective cohort study reported a significantly higher recovery rate in the laminectomy and fusion group. One CoE II prospective cohort study and one CoE III retrospective cohort study found no significant difference in pain improvement between patients treated with laminoplasty versus patients treated with laminectomy and fusion. All four studies reported a higher incidence of C5 palsy following laminectomy and fusion than laminoplasty. One CoE II prospective cohort and one CoE III retrospective cohort reported that there was no significant difference in axial neck pain between the two procedures. One CoE III retrospective cohort study suggested that there was no significant difference between groups in OPLL progression. Conclusion Data from four comparative studies was not sufficient to support the superiority of laminoplasty or laminectomy and fusion in treating cervical myelopathy caused by OPLL

Intrahepatic persistent fetal right umbilical vein: a retrospective study

Introduction: To appraise the incidence and value of intrahepatic persistent right umbilical vein (PRUV). Methods: This was a single-center study. Records of all women with a prenatal diagnosis of intrahepatic PRUV were reviewed. The inclusion criteria were women with gestational age greater than 13 weeks of gestation. Exclusion criteria were fetuses with situs abnormalities, due to the hepatic venous ambiguity, and extrahepatic PRUV. The primary outcome was the incidence of intrahepatic PRUV in our cohort. The secondary outcomes were associated malformations. Results: 219/57,079 cases (0.38%) of intrahepatic PRUV were recorded. The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 21.8 ± 2.9 weeks of gestations. PRUV was isolated in the 76.7%, while in 23.3% was associated with other major or minor abnormalities. The most common associated abnormalities were cardiovascular abnormalities (8.7%), followed by genitourinary abnormalities (6.4%), skeletal abnormalities (4.6%), and central nervous system abnormalities (4.1%). Within the cardiovascular abnormalities, the most common one was ventricular septal defect (six cases). Conclusion: In most cases PRUV is an isolated finding. Associated minor or major malformations are presented in the 23.3% of the cases, so this finding should prompt detailed prenatal assessment of the fetus, with particular regard to cardiovascular system

Borderline Ovarian Malignancies : A Single Institute Retrospective Study.

Background: Borderline ovarian tumors are histologically characterized as epithelial tumors with a stratified growth pattern but without destructive stromal invasion. Little is known about the histological subtypes and outcome, role of fertility sparing surgery and role of postoperative therapy in advanced stage in Indian scenario. While there is ample data in the world literature about this disease, prognosis in Indian patients is largely unknown due to dearth of studies in our setting. Objective: To study the demographic profile, clinical features, imaging, treatment and outcome of borderline ovarian tumors. Methods: This is a retrospective study of eighty seven patients with pathologically proven diagnosis of borderline ovarian tumor, diagnosed and treated from January 2006 to October 2011 at our institution. Most patients underwent surgical staging which incuded total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salphingo-oophorectomy, infracolic omentectomy, bilateral pelvic and para aortic lymphadenectomy. Young patients who had not completed their family underwent fertility sparing surgery. Patients with invasive metastatic implants received adjuvant chemotherapy. The outcome of these patients was correlated with stage, type of peritoneal implant, type of surgical procedure and with histological subtype. Results: At a median follow-up of 48 months, 100 percent survival was noted. One patient with stage III disease had recurrence. Conclusions: Borderline ovarian tumors occur at a younger age compared to invasive tumors. In patients with early stage disease who wish to preserve fertility, hysterectomy and contralateral oophorectomy are not necessary. Serous tumors occur at a younger age. They can be associated with invasive peritoneal implants and raised CA125 values. Majority of the serous tumors are bilateral and smaller in size compared to mucinous and endometroid tumors. Raised CA125 values did not correlate with the stage of disease. These patients have an excellent prognosis even in Indian scenario where majority of patients present with big ovarian masses

Clinical specialty training in UK undergraduate medical schools: A retrospective observational study

Objectives: To determine if increased exposure to clinical specialties at medical school is associated with increased interest in pursuing that specialty as a career after foundation training. Design: A retrospective observational study. Setting: 31 UK medical schools were asked how much time students spend in each of the clinical specialties. We excluded two schools that were solely Graduate Entry, and two schools were excluded for insufficient information. Main outcome measures: Time spent on clinical placement from UK undergraduate medical schools, and the training destinations of graduates from each school. A general linear model was used to analyse the relationship between the number of weeks spent in a specialty at medical school and the percentage of graduates from that medical school entering each of the Core Training (CT1)/Specialty Training (ST1) specialties directly after Foundation Year 2 (FY2). Results: Students spend a median of 85 weeks in clinical training. This includes a median of 28 weeks on medical firms, 15 weeks in surgical firms, and 8 weeks in general practice (GP). In general, the number of training posts available in a specialty was proportionate to the number of weeks spent in medical school, with some notable exceptions including GP. Importantly, we found that the number of weeks spent in a specialty at medical school did not predict the percentage of graduates of that school training in that specialty at CT1/ST1 level (ß coefficient=0.061, p=0.228). Conclusions: This study found that there was no correlation between the percentage of FY2 doctors appointed directly to a CT1/ST1 specialty and the length of time that they would have spent in those specialties at medical school. This suggests that curriculum adjustments focusing solely on length of time spent in a specialty in medical school would be unlikely to solve recruitment gaps in individual specialties