Publications (9)32.54 Total impact
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Article: Smokeless tobacco (shamma) and oral cancer in Saudi Arabia.
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ABSTRACT: Oral use of smokeless tobacco has been associated with the development of oral cancer. Shamma is a preparation of smokeless tobacco. Previous investigators in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have reported a relationship between their patients with oral cancer and a history of using shamma. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between a smokeless tobacco preparation (shamma) and oral cancer, among the provinces of the KSA. Tumor Registry (TR) data from the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC) were reviewed for the period from 1976 to 1995. A total of 26510 Saudi cancer patients were referred over this 20-year period. The frequency of oral cancer was investigated, specifically for those primary sites located near the habitual placement of this smokeless tobacco product. Notably, 35.4% of these oral cancers were referred from one province - Jizan. The percentage of oral cancer cases from this province is significantly higher than the percentage of total malignant cases referred to KFSH&RC from this province, and the Saudi population of this province when compared to the whole of the KSA. These data suggest that there is a relationship between the factors smokeless tobacco product (shamma), frequency of oral cancer, and Jizan province: oral cancer appears to be more common in this province where shamma is also common.Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology 12/1999; 27(6):398-405. · 1.89 Impact Factor -
Article: Neurometabolic diseases at a national referral center: five years experience at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre.
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ABSTRACT: Of 910 children under the age of 12 years referred to the national center, we were able to assign an etiology to 473 (52%). This group consisted of lysosomal storage diseases (32%), amino acid disorders (14%), organic acid disorders (16%), various chromosome abnormalities and syndromes with dysmorphia or brain dysgenesis (26%), and various other metabolic diseases (12%). While such amino acidemias as branched-chain amino acidemia (MSUD) in classic and intermediate forms (44%) and hyperphenylalaninemia (PKU) due to 6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin synthase deficiency (6PTSD) (19%) were common, classic PKU was rare (16%). Methylmalonic acidemia (31%), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A lyase deficiency (16%), and propionic acidemia (12%) were encountered more frequently than other types of organic acidemias. When compared to the number of referred Down's syndrome patients, the results suggested the birth of at least one infant with neurometabolic disease per 50 births. Five tribes of Saudi Arabia constituted 26% of the diagnosable neurometabolic diseases. Diseases such as MSUD, 6 PTSD, Sanfilippo syndrome type B, methylmalonic acidemia, homocystinuria, GM2 gangliosidosis Sandhoff variant, infantile central nervous system spongy degeneration (Canavan disease), and neuraminidase deficiency showed definite tribal occurrence. In addition, 32% to 42% of the definitely diagnosed, and 25% to 87% of patients with probable neurometabolic disease but without a definable etiology, had more than one sibling affected. It is concluded that the many rare autosomal diseases of Saudi Arabia are due to "founder effect" created by marriages occurring within tribal and extended family boundaries.Journal of Child Neurology 05/1992; 7 Suppl:S4-11. · 1.75 Impact Factor -
Article: Ineffectiveness of dantrolene sodium in the treatment of heatstroke.
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ABSTRACT: To determine the efficacy of dantrolene sodium in the treatment of heatstroke. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Heatstroke center in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Fifty-two adult patients with heatstroke. Patients were assigned to receive either dantrolene sodium (2 mg/kg body weight iv) or placebo. Conventional cooling therapy was initiated in all. There was no significant difference in the mean cooling times for the treatment and control groups (67.9 vs. 69 min). There was only one death in the control group. Complications were seen in six (23%) patients receiving dantrolene sodium and seven (27%) patients receiving placebo; the difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the mean number of hospital days (4.7 +/- 2.0 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.9 days). Treatment with dantrolene sodium at the dose used, did not prove beneficial to patients with heatstroke.Critical Care Medicine 03/1991; 19(2):176-80. · 6.33 Impact Factor -
Article: Retrospective studies in scleroderma: pulmonary findings and effect of potassium p-aminobenzoate on vital capacity.
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ABSTRACT: The principal clinical pulmonary findings were extracted from University of Michigan Hospital records of 390 patients with scleroderma. Dyspnea was the most frequent symptom and strongly correlated with pulmonary fibrosis and with decreased vital capacity (FVC) and CO diffusing capacity (DLCO). The mean value for FVC was 84% of the predicted normal for 326 patients, and that of the initial DLCO 56.8% of the predicted normal (323 patients). Pulmonary fibrosis was diagnosed on first chest X-ray in 80 of 382 patients. An additional 48 patients developed fibrosis detected on subsequent X-rays. Analyses were performed to determine whether the deterioration of pulmonary function over time was less for scleroderma patients who were adequately treated with potassium p-aminobenzoate (KPAB) than for those inadequately or never treated with KPAB, The average decrease for both FVC and DLCO was found to be less for KPAB-treated patients. However, only in the case of vital capacity was the difference significant. In the presence of radiological evidence of pulmonary fibrosis FVC decreased more rapidly (p = 0.002), but the decline in DLCO was not affected. When adjusting for the presence or absence of fibrosis the average slopes of the logarithm of vital capacity were significantly less negative (p = 0.003) for patients on KPAB.Respiration 02/1989; 56(1-2):22-33. · 2.26 Impact Factor -
Article: Kaposi's sarcoma: the most common tumor after renal transplantation in Saudi Arabia.
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ABSTRACT: Between September 1975 and November 1986, 263 renal transplant recipients at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center were followed; 82 procedures were done by the authors using live related donors. Among the 263 patients, 14 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma were identified, an incidence of 5.3 percent compared with an incidence of 0.4 percent in renal transplant recipients from Western countries. In addition, two more patients had other types of tumors. Thus, Kaposi's sarcoma represents 87.5 percent of tumors in the King Faisal Hospital renal transplant population, in contrast to 3.7 percent in the Cincinnati Transplant Tumor Registry. The mean period between transplantation and diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma was 12.5 months (range, one to 37 months). Eleven patients were Saudis and three were other Arab nationals. Seven of the 11 Saudi patients were from the southwestern region of the country. Cytomegalovirus titers were not elevated in six of 10 patients. Results of tests for human immunodeficiency virus were negative in seven of eight patients. HLA-A2 antigen frequency was significantly increased in the King Faisal Hospital renal transplant patients with Kaposi's sarcoma as compared with a control population (83.3 percent versus 43.6 percent, p value = 0.006 [P = 0.06 with Bonferroni adjustment]), and increased, though nonsignificantly, compared with the live related kidney transplant recipients without Kaposi's sarcoma (83.3 percent versus 49.4 percent, p value = 0.058 [P = 0.58 with Bonferroni adjustment]), suggesting a genetic predisposition to Kaposi's sarcoma in these patients.The American Journal of Medicine 03/1988; 84(2):225-32. · 5.43 Impact Factor -
Article: Retrospective studies in scleroderma: effect of potassium para-aminobenzoate on survival.
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ABSTRACT: Demographic and survival data are presented for 390 patients with scleroderma. For the entire group an estimated 81.4% survived 5 years from diagnosis and 69.4% survived 10 years. Life-table analyses revealed that adequate treatment with potassium para-aminobenzoate (Potaba KPAB) was associated with improved survival (p less than 0.01); 88.5% 5 year survival rate and 76.6% 10 year survival rate for adequately treated patients. Five and ten year survival rates for patients never treated with KPAB were 69.8 and 56.6%, respectively. Similar findings were obtained by comparing observed to expected mortality for these patients; again, KPAB therapy showed prolongation of survival. The Cox proportional hazards model was also applied to this retrospective study adjusting for baseline clinical involvement, demographics and KPAB treatment. There were some interesting results including a high significance for skin involvement per se as a prognostic indicator: the greater the extent of skin involvement the poorer prognosis. Time from first diagnosis to first University Hospital visit or admission when included as a covariate did not influence survival.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 02/1988; 41(2):193-205. · 4.27 Impact Factor -
Article: A method to prevent arrest of embryo development by ultrasound coupling gels after transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval.
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ABSTRACT: Two commonly used sterile ultrasound coupling gels were found to affect development in vitro of 8-cell mouse embryos adversely. Suggestions made previously by other investigators to prevent these deleterious effects in percutaneous aspiration of human ovaries under ultrasound guidance, appeared not to be applicable in transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval, especially in nulliparous patients. We report a new method, developed in our IVF programme, which allows optimal visualization of the pelvic organs without the risk of impairing embryo development after ultrasound-guided vaginal oocyte retrieval.Human Reproduction 11/1987; 2(7):611-4. · 4.47 Impact Factor -
Article: Potassium para-aminobenzoate and liver function test findings.
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ABSTRACT: Risk of hepatotoxicity has been raised with respect to potassium para-aminobenzoate (Potaba) therapy. In this regard relevant clinical and laboratory hepatic findings in the hospital records of 390 scleroderma patients were analyzed. There were 274 patients who had received potassium para-aminobenzoate at some time and 116 who never received it. No instance was found in which potassium para-aminobenzoate was the cause of an acute hepatic hypersensitivity reaction. There were random or intercurrent abnormalities in hepatic test findings over time, but these actually occurred more often in the group of patients never treated with potassium para-aminobenzoate. Further, there was no evidence that long-term potassium para-aminobenzoate therapy is hepatotoxic. These findings suggest that acute hepatic reaction to potassium para-aminobenzoate is at least uncommon if not rare.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 08/1986; 15(1):144-9. · 3.99 Impact Factor -
Article: Retrospective studies in scleroderma: skin response to potassium para-aminobenzoate therapy.
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ABSTRACT: Analyses were made of University of Michigan Hospital records of 467 patients diagnosed during the period 1948 - July 1980 as having scleroderma (390) or scleroderma associated with manifestations of other collagen disease (77). In all, there were coded 4733 visits or admissions. Demographic characteristics are detailed for the 390 patients with clinical features of scleroderma alone. The principal focus of this report is on degree and extent of skin involvement and response to therapy with potassium para-aminobenzoate (Potaba, KPAB). Ninety percent of 224 patients treated with KPAB experienced mild, moderate, or marked skin softening. Among a parallel group of 96 evaluable patients who did not receive KPAB, less than 20% were noted to have mild or moderate skin improvement at the end of follow-up. The difference in skin softening attained by patients treated with KPAB compared to that of patients who did not receive this medication was significant (p less than 0.0001).Clinical and experimental rheumatology 6(3):261-8. · 2.15 Impact Factor
