Saudi Med J
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To estimate the rate of scabies diagnostic recurrence and identify factors associated with the high likelihood of frequent scabies recurrences among adults in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This multi-center retrospective study was conducted in adult patients who were diagnosed with one or multiple recurrent infestations of scabies between January 2016 and September 2018 at the Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs hospitals and clinics, Saudi Arabia. The number of scabies recurrences during the study period was recorded and modeled using a Poisson model. Results: A total of 468 adult patients (39.8±17.8, range: 14.2-105.7 years) were included in the study, resulting in 645 scabies diagnoses in which 302 (46.8%) were recurrences. ⋯ The study suggests that male gender, first tertile, and high humidity were independently associated with the high rate of scabies recurrences among adults. An interventional program to lower the rate of scabies recurrences and prevent outbreak should be undertaken.
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To estimate the prevalence of chronic pain (CP) and high-impact chronic pain (HICP) in a sample of the general adult population in Saudi Arabia. ⋯ Chronic pain and HICP are common in Saudi Arabia, especially among females and elderly, suggesting a public health problem. This calls for collaborative efforts at various levels of the social hierarchy to ensure the provision of effective management of CP in Saudi Arabia.
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To investigate the circulating levels of microRNA-34a (miRNA-34a) as a novel non-invasive biomarker of breast cancer (BC). Methods: The case-control study was conducted at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq, from December 2018 to April 2019. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction has been employed to analyze miRNA-34a expression in the samples of serum from 90 participants (30 patients with BC 30 patients with benign breast tumors and 30 control subjects) after RNA extraction and reverse transcription. ⋯ Additionally, we analyzed the receiver operating characteristic curves of various markers, including miRNA -34a, CA15-3, and CEA, to assess the diagnostic power of each marker. Results: The expression of miRNA-34a has been significantly lower in the group of breast cancer compared with that in the group of control, and miRNA-34a expression has been significantly reduced in the group of benign breast tumor compared as that in the group of control. Receiver operating characteristics analysis showed a very good discriminative power of combined miRNA-34a and CA15-3 (specificity=77.7%; sensitivity=83.3% and areas under the curve =0.842) for BC patients. Conclusion: MicroRNA-34a expression is significantly decreased in the patients' serum with the cancer of breast, and miRNA-34a can be employed as a potential non-invasive molecular marker for the early diagnosis of BC.
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Case Reports
Pectoral nerve block as the sole anesthetic technique for a modified radical mastectomy in a comorbid patient.
Breast surgery operations are generally performed by general anesthesia. In order to decrease postoperative pain, regional anesthesia is usually combined with general anesthesia. ⋯ We performed pectoral nerve block I and pectoral nerve block II as a sole anesthetic technique with sedation by dexmedetomidine for modified radical mastectomy, for a 75-year-old female patient with multiple diseases. Pectoral nerve blocks with sedation could be a good technique for breast surgery than general anesthesia in comorbid patients.
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[No Abstract Available].