Qatar Medical Journal - Volume 2011, Issue 2

Abu Nasr Mohammad Ibn Al Farakh Al Farabi, known as Al Phrarabius in Europe, was born the son of a general in Wasij, a small village near Farab in Turkistan in 259 AH (870 AD). He completed his early education at Farab and Bukhara but later went to Baghdad for higher studies where he studied and worked from 901 AD to 942 AD becoming fluent in several languages and mastering various branches of knowledge and technology. He lived 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

Records were reviewed of 81 cases of ruptured gravid uteri seen in the hospitals of Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, in the 32 years 1977–2008, an overall incidence of 0.025%, although the incidence 1977–1997 was 0.01 % and that of 1998–2008 was 0.036%. Grand multiparity was a prominent cause (56.5%) in the first 21 years but less so in the later period 1998–2008 (10%) although involvement of a uterine scar from a previous ca Read More

Objective: To evaluate the mid-term results of balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty (BPV) in children. Design: Prospective study. Settings: Pediatric Cardiology Department of Queen Alia Heart (QAHI), Jordan. Methods: One hundred and thirty-two patients with a median age of 3 years (range 1 day to 16 years), underwent (BPV) between January 1999 and January 2006. We evaluated our patients with regard to peak pressure gradient across the right Read More

Obesity is a chronic disease prevalent in both developed and developing countries and as a risk factor for several other chronic diseases it should be regarded as one of the greatest neglected public health problems with significant future implications to healthcare systems. With the aim of assessing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients attending Primary Health Care Centers (PHC) and identifying important causal factors a Read More

Although it is a common malignancy, there is a lack of information about leukemias in Kurdish people. To evaluate the pattern of acute lymphoblastic leukemia among Kurdish children in Duhok city/ North of Iraq, and to compare it with available data from other countries, 83 cases were studied of acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosed by bone marrow aspiration cytology, cytochemistry and immune-phenotyping between July 2006 an Read More

To investigate the possible role of circumcision in decreasing urinary tract infections in children less than five years of age the clinical and laboratory findings of 100 cases of urinary tract infection admitted to Al Khansaa Pediatrics Hospital were compared with a similar number of apparently healthy children. The results showed a strong relationship between circumcision and decreased incidence of urinary tract infections and that the risk Read More

To investigate the risk factors and characteristics of obstructive sleep apnea records were reviewed retrospectively of 88 patients at a European center (UK) during January-October 2005 and 198 patients at a Middle Eastern center (Qatar) from April 2002-April 2005. A greater percentage (83%) in the UK group had OSA (RDI-5 events/hr) compared to 55% in Qatar (p < 0.05). In both groups OSA was diagnosed more in males. Declared alcohol i Read More

To assess the causes of high serum ferritin (over 1000 nanogram/ml) the records were reviewed of 145 samples of blood with ferritin levels over 1000 ng/ml taken in 2004 at Hamad Medical Corporation. The most common causes of hyperferritinemia in Qatar were found to be: end-stage renal failure, thalassemia major and sickle cell disease.

The diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) needs consideration of both clinical and biological aspects such as auxological data, GH provocative tests and active metabolites of GH including IGF-I and IGFBP-3. In children with GHD, recombinant human GH (rhGH) replacement therapy has been used worldwide with minimal serious side effects. This study aimed to report the results of an investigations for GHD, to describe the growth respo Read More

With the intention of assessing the neuro-imaging, clarifying the percentages of symptomatic, idiopathic and cryptogenic cases and identifying the underlying causes, records were reviewed retrospectively of 30 children with infantile spasm admitted to Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. Twenty-three patients were symptomatic, four idiopathic and three cryptogenic. Brain CT and MRI scans of 13 cases detected similar neuro-i Read More

There is a growing awareness that Vitamin D sufficiency is required for optimal health during all stages of life. Inadequate Vitamin D status is increasingly recognized as common problem. To assess the serum level of 25 Hydroxyvitamin D 250 HD among healthy post-menopausal Qatari women living in Doha a crosssection randomized study of 205 post-menopausal Qatari women was conducted between 1 September 2008 and 31 Ap Read More

More than 90% of malignant tumors of the larynx are squamous cell carcinomas. Extramedullary plasmacytoma is a plasma cell tumour representing less than 1 % of all head and neck malignancies and involvement of the larynx is very rare. In the larynx the supraglottis is the primary site of involvement compared to the glottic and subglottic regions. We report a case of 54-yearold Indonesian female who presented at our clinic wi Read More

In our study we present two cases that have been diagnosed as stage I endometrial carcinoma where a Levonorgestrel intrauterine releasing system (LNG-IUS) referred to as Mirena was used as a primary treatment because the standard surgical treatment was deemed to carry an unacceptable risk of death. Histopathology report after therapy showed complete regression of endometrial cancer.

Chordomas are rare malignant tumors arising from embryonic remnants of notochord. The usual location is the axial skeleton, with the commonest sites being, clivus and sacrococcygeal region. Naso maxillary region is a very rare site for chordomas. We present a case of chordoma in Cranio Maxillofacial Surgery of the clivus treated with surgery and radiotherapy ten years previously, who reported with an extensive secondary lesion in the max Read More

HELLP (Hemolysis Elevated Liver Enzymes and Low Platelets) syndrome is a multi-system pregnancy associated disorder, commonly seen in patients with pre-eclampsia but can occur alone. It is significantly associated with maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality. A triad of hemolysis elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia after 24 weeks of gestation is diagnostic of this syndrome. HELLP syndrome is classified depending on simpl Read More

Celiac trunk aneurysm is a rare finding. Most patients are symptomatic at the time of diagnosis but occasionally such aneurysms are detected incidentally during diagnostic imaging for other diseases. Since the anomaly was first described in 1745(1) fewer than 180 cases have been reported in the international medical literature.(2) Atherosclerotic aneurysms of the celiac artery (CAAs) comprise approximately 4–6% of all visceral ane Read More