Qatar Medical Journal - Volume 2003, Issue 1

Abu Muhammad Abdallah Ibn Ahmad Ibn A1 Baitar Dhiya A1 Din A1 Malaqi was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and was the greatest bota-nist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages. He was born in the Spanish city of Malaqa (Mala-ga) towards the end of the 12th century. He learned botany from Abu A1 Abbas A1 Nabati, a learned botanist, with whom he started collecting plants in and around Spain. In 1219 he left Spain on a plan Read More

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.

Menorrhagia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding are com-mon indications for referral to a gynecologist. One in 20 women aged 30-49 will consult her general practitioner every year com-plaining of heavy uterine bleeding. Over 70,000 hysterecto-mies are performed annually in the UK with menorrhagia being the commonest indication. In up to 30% of these cases the uterus is anatomically normal. To these women, heavy uterine Read More

The American Heart Association, together with representatives from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), which is made up of leading resuscitation organizations from the Americas, Europe, Southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, undertook a series of evidence-based evaluations of the science of resuscitation which culminated in the publication of ’Guidelines 2000 for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Em Read More

Management of scorpion envenomation in children is a difficult problem. The envenomation syndrome is not very well understood in humans although there has been extensive work on animal envenomation. This is an attempt to bring together the two experiences in order to produce an acceptable management protocol for envenomation in children. This protocol is based on the management of more than 2,500 cases over a period of se Read More

Cryptococcal meningitis is a rare disease that can affect both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. A patient presenting with proximal muscle weakness was found to have cryptococcal meningitis. Nerve conduction studies (NCV) confirmed the proximal weakness as acute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. During treatment the patient developed drug-related acute renal failure. He was then treated successfully with an al Read More

Between 5th July and 22nd September 1999, forty-three patients were bronchoscoped of whom forty-one had samples sent for Microbiology i.e., eighty-two specimens (forty one broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) and forty one bronchial wash(BW)). Of the eighty-two specimens, forty (from twenty patients) grew Burkholderia cepacia with or without other pathogens. None of the patients showed evidence of infection. Sputum cultures from all pati Read More

Several reports indicate that haemoglobinopathies and thalassemias are the most common genetic abnormalities in the population of the Arabian- Peninsula. However the exact frequencies of these abnormalities among the Qatari population has not yet been determined. We surveyed the results of all hemoglobin-electrophoresis performed in Hematology laboratory at Hamad Hospital over a period of 78 months (Jan.1994- June.2000) tog Read More

A retrospective study of patients diagnosed with pyogenic arthritis at Hamad Medical Corporation over the fiveyear period January 1st 1996 to December 312000 showed that only 24 patients out of 63 fulfilled the criteria for bacterial arthritis. Staph. aureus was the main organism isolated from the synovial fluid (72%). The mean duration between the onset of symptoms and admission was 11 days. Nearly half the patients (45%) were Read More

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a common problem and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Between June 1999 to May 2000 eight hundred and sixty patients were admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit, Hamad Medical Corporation, 102 of whom (11.8%) were admitted with a diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common nationality was Qatari (42.2%) and the most common age group was betwee Read More

In a single blind study of 20 ASA 1 patients undergoing rhinoplastic surgery under controlled hypotensive anesthesia in Rumailah Hospital, Qatar, on reaching the steady state of anesthesia the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was adjusted to the lower accepted limit (40-50 mm.Hg) using esmolol infusion. The MAP and bispectral index (BIS) were continuously recorded together with all essential monitoring perioperatively. A significant c Read More

Uterine artery embolisation has been introduced recently as an alternative treatment for fibroids. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the initial results of uterine artery embolisation in the treatment of symptomatic muterine leiomyomata in HMC and review the data from the literature. On the basis of clinical and ultrasonographic examinations, four women aged between 35 to 44 years with severe fibroid-related menorrhagia were Read More

In order to review our experience with prostaglandin-E2 for the induction of labour and to evaluate its safety and outcomesa retrospective study was carried out at the Women's Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, over a six-month period. Three hundred and thirty four patients (7% of total deliveries) were induced by PGE2 (Dinoprostone), including 105 (30%) nulliparae and 229 (70%) multiparae. Patients with a history of one pre Read More

A young patient with a ventricular septal defect presentedwith Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia complicatedby endocarditis. The presentation was acute withhigh fever; hypotension, leukocytosis, and renal impairment The organism was penicillin sensitive. Treatment with ampicillin for four weeks produced a successful outcome. Endocarditis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae has become rare in recent years and the association with a Read More

Spinal subpial lipoma is a rare entity and comprises only 0.9% of spinal cord tumours(l\ It arises from premature dysfunction of the cutaneous ectoderm during neural tube formation(2). We present a case of a 44-year-old male who presented with the symptoms attributed to this lesion, together with pathology, neuroimaging characteristics and management strategies

A seven-year-old girl presented with recurrent left renal pain, generalized weakness and lack of energy. Ultrasound scanning showed bilateral pelvic kidneys. Intravenous urography (IVU) demonstrated bilateral floating kidneys. Nuclear scintigraphy performed in both the upright and recumbent positions showed slight impairment of drainage in the upright position on both sides.

Diffuse sclerosing variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma(DSPC) is an unusual type of Papillary Carcinoma that occurs in young patients. Clinically it can be mistaken for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis as it often presents as a diffuse firm thyroid swelling 3*. It is important to recognize this variant as the patients invariably have lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis.Contrary to the previous reports of a poor prognosis of this variant when com Read More