Qatar Medical Journal - Volume 2009, Issue 1

Ibn Al-Thahabi Abu Mohammed Abdellah Ibn Mohammed Al-Azdi (ca. ?- 1033 CE), known also as Ibn Al-Thahabi, was an Arab physician, famous for writing the first known alphabetical encyclopedia of medicine.

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.

Oral infections are a source of bacteremic organisms that can infect damaged heart valves causing bacterial endocarditis and other forms of cardiovascular disease including stroke. This review discusses the relationship of oral infections, bacterial endocarditis and coronary artery disease, especially periodontal disease, while suggesting guidelines for best practice clinical management.

Unexplained infertility occurs in many couples of childbearing age, immune mechanisms have been postulated in this disorder for the last few decades. Circulating antibodies against spermatozoa present in serum and seminal plasma have been especially implicated. This autoimmunity against spermatozoa has been investigated in males, while the isoimmunity (in the females) has got low attention. Fifty women with unexplained infe Read More

To analyze the different presentation, types of infection, predisposing factors (particularly diabetes mellitus) of necrotizing fasciitis; a rare potentially fatal rapidly progressing necrotizing infection of subcutaneous tissue and superficialfascia with secondary necrosis of overlying skin, the medical records were reviewed retrospectively of 94 patients (71 male; 23 female) admitted to the surgical intensive care unit of Hamad General Hospital, Qa Read More

To assess the possibility of pre-operative differentiation of strangulated and non-strangulated intestinal obstruction based on clinical; radiological and laboratory features without CT scan, 66 patients with acute bowel obstruction were studied prospectively. Forty-nine (74%) were male, 17 (26%) female with a wide age distribution. In 56 (85%) the small bowel was obstructed, in ten (15%) the large bowel. Adhesions were the most common ca Read More

Background: The currently available TNF blocking agents include ifliximab, etanercept and adalimumab. They are approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis in the United States and Europe. Also TNF blockers are used currently in other rheumatic and non-rheumatic disease. Objective: Primary objective: To evaluate our practice of using TNF blockers in the outpatient rheumat Read More

Objectives: To investigate maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies in women with different types of diabetes in Qatar. To identify factors such as age, family history of diabetes and obesity contributing to the increased risk of GD. Design: The design of this study is retrospective. Materials and Methods: il4 pregnant women with different types of diabetes including 143(28%) Impaired Glucose Tolerance Test (IGTT), 334(65%) Gestation Read More

To study the outcome of various methods of endometrial ablation as a treatment of heavy vaginal bleeding, the records and post-operative histories were reviewed of 122 women with a mean age of 47 years who attended the Women's Hospital, Doha, Qatar, between January 2002 and December 2005. Post-operative amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, or a normal flow plus a satisfied patient were considered evidence of success; a needforf Read More

Brucella arthritis is common in Mosul, Iraq, with peripheral arthritis being the most common presenting manifestation. A prospective analysis of 80 patients (43 female, 37 male) attending the Ibn-Sina General Teaching Hospital between October 2001 and September 2002recorded information on gender, age, residence, contactwith animals and intake of unsterilized dairy products andstudied the distribution of arthritis according to the Read More

To evaluate the response rate of hyperthyroidism to radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) and the mortality rate post RAI treatment in a Qatari cohort the records were analyzed retrospectively of 113 hyperthyroid Qatari patients (23 male, 90 female) treated with RAI (1-131) in the Endocrine Clinic, Hamad Medical Corporation, between 1984 and2002. 90 (79.6 %) had diffuse goiter, 14 (12.4%) multinodular goiter, 6 (5.3%) single nodular goiter an Read More

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants and young children. In the United States RSV is responsible for 90,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths each year 1, 1. Fleming, Pannell, and Cross3 reported that the average death rate from RSV is 6.7 per 100,000 population. Infants with congenital cardiac defects are at greater risk because changes associated with congesti Read More

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the treatment of choice for symptomatic gall bladder disease and is one of the most frequently performed operations in Qatar. Daycare laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DCLC) was started in 2003 offering many advantages over conventional laparoscopy including reduced demand for hospital beds. DCLC has been shown to be safe in many centers worldwide but in Qatar its feasibility and safet Read More

An unusual case of a blunt and penetrating injury to the thumb is described. A laterally displaced epiphyses of the first metacarpal divided the digital artery and a penetrating injury in the first web space inflicted on the medial digital artery resulting in a total vascular interruption leading to gangrene and ultimate amputation. Such injuries are rare in children but proper assessment and examination could have prevented the end result.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare condition affecting women in late pregnancy or up to five months of the postpartum period. The signs, symptoms and treatment of PPCM are similar to that of heart failure. Early diagnosis and proper management are the cornerstones for a better outcome for these patients. We report two cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy which were treated in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) Read More

By means of in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer an epileptic married Qatari female with Kartagener's syndrome bore two sons, both of whom were haemophiliac. The nature of Kartagener's syndrome audits implications are explained and discussed.