Qatar Medical Journal - Volume 2002, Issue 2

We have received many requests from colleagues in Qatar and abroad to re-publish the biographies of the Muslim physicians and scientists who contributed to the development of medicine as we know it today.

He is Abu A1 Hassan Ala Addin Ali Ibn Abu A1 Hazm. One of the prominent Muslim Physicians. He was the first to describe the pulmonary circulation (minor circulation) of the blood. This was an important landmark in the understanding of the circulation, several hundreds of years before William Harvey's description. In finding that the wall between the right and the left ventricles of the heart is solid without pores, he disputed Galen's vi Read More

Abu Ali Hassan Ibn Al Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding. Known in the West as Alhazen, Ibn Al Haitham was born in 965 A.D. in Basrah, and was educated in Basrah and Baghdad (Iraq).

Papers considered for publication in Qatar Medical Journal are those reporting original work, review articles and case reports that are particularly relevant to medicine in the broad sense. Editorials and Review articles are by invitation.

Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy is a viable alternative with putative advantages over the same procedure performed via laparotomy for those individuals requiring uterine extirpation without indication for cervical removal. The laparoscopic approach to this procedure provides even lower morbidity and therefore can enhance clinical outcomes. The risk of subsequent cervical cancer, an uncommon and largely preventable occur Read More

The International Guidelines 2000 Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care was the world's first international conference to produce evidence- based international resuscitation guidelines.

The presence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) was studied histologically in 574patients who underwent Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. The most common gastroscopic findings were gastritis in 300patients (52.2%) followed by normal gastroscopy in 119 patients (20.7%), duodenal ulcer in 67 patients (11.7%), gastric ulcer in 20 patients (3.5%), duodenitis in 59patients (10.3%) and other findings in nine patients (1.6%). Histological examinati Read More

Howell-Jolly bodies (HJB) are composed ofDNA which will apparently take the fluorescent dye used to stain the chromatin bodies of the malarial parasites (MP). While evaluating a capillary tube/fluorescent staining technique for malaria we came across this previously unreported false positive effect of HJB in ten cases, all negative microscopically for MP and not originally requested for that test All gave positive results, the degree of which correl Read More

During the month of Muslim fasting (Ramadan) many people alter their sleeping habits and stay awake most of the night In this study I looked into the effect of this alteration as well as the effect of fasting on testosterone and its circadian variation in fifty-eight (58) healthy adults. Fortysix (46) of the subjects showed alteration of the diurnal variation during the third week of fasting. Thirty-eight (38) males showed significant increase in eve Read More

To compare the efficacy of either preoperative or postoperative peritonsillar infiltration of local anesthetic upon posttonsillectomy pain, 70patients aged 15/40 years scheduled for elective tonsillectomy under general anesthesia were divided into three groups. Six patients were excluded for failure to complete the postoperative data, two patients had post-operative bleeding and two patients developed otitis media on the second day posto Read More

A hundred patients presenting with dyspepsia and/or symptoms suggesting parasitosis/candidiasis were subjected to oesophago-gastroduodenoscopy (OGD) in the Endoscopy Unit of Basrah Teaching Hospital Duodenal ulcers were found in 23% of them. Duodenal aspirate and stool samples were taken and examined microscopically for parasitosis and candidiasis. Examination of duodenal aspirates revealed the presence of Giardia lamblia in Read More

A retrospective study was used in the Fertility Clinic of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to determine the outcome of IVF/ICSI cycles complicated by OHSS. Materials & Methods: In the period between January 1994 and August 2000, 3174 IVF/ICSI cycles were performed and 2918 cycles had reached embryo transfer, 564 women achieved pregnancy (19.33%). 92 women ( Read More

To determine the prevalence of obesity amongst pregnant women in Qatar and to compare pregnancy complications and perinatal outcome among obese and non-obese women, a retrospective controlled study was conducted at the Women's Hospital, Doha, during the period from 1st January to the end of June 2001. We compared 75 obese and 75 non-obese women matched for age and parity. Maternal demografic variables included ma Read More

Bleeding from a bladder tumor is a common presentation. Most bleeding can be managed conservatively but on certain occasions bleeding can be severe and hard to control. Sixteen patients who were presented with severe intractable bleeding secondary to bladder tumors and failed conservative management, underwent embolization of branches of the hypogastric arteries to control bleeding. Effective control of bleeding was achieved Read More

To assess the diagnostic value of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in patients with abnormal chest radiographs suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) but with negative sputum smears for acid fast bacilli (AFB), a retrospective study was made of all such cases referred to the Pulmonary Diseases Service at Hamad Medical Corporation between July 1997 and June 2000. It included patients unable to produce any sputum sample. From 193 FOB p Read More

Current treatment regimens with either long-term interferon (IFN) monotherapy or interferon-ribavirin combination achieve a sustained response of 6-21%. To improve the efficacy of IFN several strategies have been devised, including the use of higher doses of IFN, prolonged courses or pegylated IFN. Some recent reports have suggested that daily administration of IFN in the early phase of therapy (induction dose) may be more efficacious t Read More

This report describes a diabetic Yemeni male with pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and calcification. Persistent diarrhea and weight loss led to further investigation and a diagnosis of celiac disease with an excellent response to a gluten free diet

Objective: To measure the incidence and risk factors of eclampsia, establish how often it is preceded by preeclampsia, detect the clinical characteristics of women developing eclampsia, document the morbidity associated with eclampsia, determine the maternal case fatality rate and review the clinical features and management of this condition. Method: A retrospective review of all cases of eclampsia which were managed in the Women's H Read More

Human infection with Histoplasma capsulatum is largely asymptomatic but disseminated disease is fatal if left untreated. We report a case of bilateral adrenal enlargement due to disseminated histoplasmosis in a Bangladeshi male who was successfully treated.

Laparascopic splenectomy is one of the advanced surgical procedures with indications gradually increasing in hematological diseases. This is a review of five cases operated upon over two years. All were female patients, three with ITP and two with thalassemia. In one with gall bladder stones, laparascopic cholecystectomy was done with splenectomy. The mean operative time was 3 hours and 30 minutes. No case was converted to open techniq Read More

Non-epithelial tumors of the bladder of mesenchymal origin are very rare, comprising 1% or less of all bladder tumors(l), 50% of which are sarcomas of one type or another, and are generally classified as leiomyosarcomas, rhabdomyosarcomas and carcinosarcomas. Leiomyosarcomas arise from the muscularis mucosae and invade the lamina propria towards the outer muscular wall.

Pyomyositis is a bacterial infection affecting the large muscle groups and is usually accompanied by abscess formation; the term “tropical myositis” being an alternative as it is more common in the tropical regions, and has become an increasingly recognized entity in temperate climates. Normally skeletal muscle is resistant to metastatic infections but it seems likely that more than one specific factor can remove this barrier. The most c Read More

Tuberculous liver abscesses are rare and are usuallyassociated with disease involving other organs. In 1952 Leader made an extensive review of the world literature and documented 80 cases of hepatic tuberculosis with large abscesses or nodules. In most of these cases tuberculosis was present elsewhere in the body. An isolated tuberculous liver abscess is very rare and only 20 cases have been reported in the English language literat Read More

The use of the stomach for bladder enlargement and replacement has been known since Sinaiko's work in a canine model. Mitchell et al later showed that the use of the stomach for bladder replacement and enlargement had many advantages especially in situations of acute acid loading and azotaemia. The advantages of using the stomach included protection against hyperchloraemic acidosis (due to net excretion of chloride), red Read More

Objective: To identify the incidence of ocular injury in Qatar from January 1999 to December 2000 and the related factors. Methods: Retrospective study of all patients who suffered ocular injury requiring hospitalization during the mentioned period. Data was collected from medical records and the statistical analysis done using SPSS 7.5. Results: The type of ocular injury and the effect on the Visual Acuity were determined, as well as the i Read More

Objective: To define forces of youth soccer ball heading (headers) and determine whether heading causes retinal hemorrhage. Setting: Regional Children's Hospital, youth soccer camp. Patients: Male and female soccer players, 13 to 16 years old, who regularly head soccer balls. Measurements: Dilated retinal examination, after 2-week header diary, and accelerometer measurement of heading a lofted soccer ball. Results: Twenty-one Read More