Biomedical subjects

R al-Rashed

Publications and source records attributed to R al-Rashed.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Features of hepatic cavernous hemangioma on planar and SPECT Tc-99m-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy.

PURPOSE: To determine the value and diagnostic accuracy of planar and SPECT Tc-99m-labeled red blood cell (Tc-99m RBC) scintigraphy in the investigation of suspected hepatic cavernous hemangioma as found on ultrasound. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred patients, 89 women (89%) and 11 men (11%), between 22 and 67 years old (mean age, 38 years) were evaluated for liver masses found on abdominal ultrasound. All the patients had previous Tc-99m RBC scintigraphy. The size of the lesions ranged from 1 to 9 cm. The final diagnosis was reached through cytologic biopsy, or histopathologic tests (or all of these). RESULTS: One hundred thirty lesions were found. With regard to the distribution of the lesions, 116 (89%) were single; 14 (3%) were multiple, with 118 (91%) in the right lobe and 12 (9%) in the left lobe; 83 (64%) were posterior; and 47 (36%) were anterior. With respect to the pattern of radioactivity fill-in, 86 (66%) lesions were typical and 44 (34%) were atypical. The results of Tc-99m RBC scintigraphy showed sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive and accuracy values of 97%, 83%, 98%, 77%, and 96% respectively. The use of SPECT improved the sensitivity value by 11% for lesions of 1 to 2 cm. CONCLUSIONS: Tc-99m RBC scintigraphy is the noninvasive technique most helpful in the diagnosis of hepatic hemangioma, especially in those at risk for lesion rupture or bleeding. SPECT should be performed whenever planar imaging fails to show the lesion by 2 hours. The use of ultrasound should precede scintigraphy for two important reasons: the size and the location of the lesion. Location of the lesion (anterior or posterior) is important for optimal gamma camera acquisition parameters. Lesions less than 1 cm are cannot be detected because they are beyond the limit of spatial resolution of the gamma camera we used.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

High prevalence of and risk factors for hepatitis C in haemodialysis patients in Saudi Arabia: a need for new dialysis strategies.

Non-A, non-B is a major form of hepatitis in haemodialysis (HD) patients. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been recently identified as the leading cause of non-A, non-B hepatitis in HD. A variable prevalence of hepatitis in HD has appeared in the literature, ranging between 1% and 29% in the Western world, and between 30% and 54% in Saudi Arabia, but all these reports used first-generation ELISA. Using second-generation enzyme immunoassay, we conducted a multi-centre study involving 22 HD centres all over Saudi Arabia in order to establish the prevalence and risk factors for HCV in HD patients in Saudi Arabia. A total of 1147 patients were studied, with a mean age of 43.4 +/- 15.3 years. Five hundred and eighty were males and 567 were females. The overall prevalence rate of positive anti-HCV was 68%, with a range from as low as 14.5%, to 94.7%. To our knowledge, this is the highest value reported among dialysis patients world-wide. A positive correlation was found between anti-HCV positivity and male sex (P = 0.005), longer duration on dialysis (P = 0.002) and blood transfusion (P = 0.003). However, interestingly 62.6% of the patients who had not had blood transfusion had anti-HCV antibodies. HCV antibodies were also found more frequently in Egyptians, Pakistanis and Yemenis than in Saudis. A comparison between those centres with low prevalence of positive HCV and those with high prevalence regarding risk factors was carried out, and it was found that the major difference between them was the adherence of the staff to universal infection precautions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with chronic liver disease and haemodialysis patients from Saudi Arabia.

The genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) were investigated in 28 Saudi patients (21 males, seven females; age range 23-68 years; mean 45.0 years) with histologically proven chronic hepatitis (13 chronic active hepatitis and 15 liver cirrhosis) and in 32 Saudi patients with chronic renal failure maintained on haemodialysis (22 males, 10 females; age range 18-60 years; mean 40.0 years) who also had liver disease due to HCV. Among the 28 patients with chronic liver disease genotype 4 was the predominant one (60.7%), followed by types 1b (21.4%), 1a (14.3%) and 2a (3.6%). The distribution of genotypes was similar in patients with chronic active hepatitis to those with liver cirrhosis. Among the 32 patients with chronic renal failure and maintained on haemodialysis, genotype 4 was also the dominant type (55.0%), followed by 1a (25.0%), 1b (21.9%) and 2a (3.1%). In all categories studied the prevalence of genotypes between males and females was the same. As our patients were selected from various regions of Saudi Arabia, we believe that genotype 4 is the predominant one throughout the whole kingdom.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection in Saudi Arabian children: a baseline survey for mass vaccination against hepatitis B.

Saudi Arabia is considered to be an area of endemic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. By adult age, 7% persons have hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and about 70% have one or more HBV markers. In order to provide a baseline for the integration of hepatitis B vaccine into the extended programme of immunisation (EPI), a population-based survey of HBV markers was made among Saudi children. The overall prevalence of HBsAg was 6.7%, with at least one HBV marker being positive in 19.7% persons tested. Two peaks of HBV prevalence were observed in the 7- and 10-year-old children respectively. The prevalence of HBsAg was steady in all age groups with identifiable but insignificant peaks in children aged 4 and 7 years respectively. Despite the apparent homogeneity of the Saudi population, the prevalence rates of HBV varied among the regions and were higher in urban dwellers. There was no significant difference in the HBsAg prevalence for the sexes (7.3% for males and 6.0% for females). Socioeconomic factors and family size did not significantly influence the prevalence of HBV among children. Of 307 HBsAg-positive children, 55 (17.9%) were positive for HBeAg. The early acquisition of HBV in the Saudi population is confirmed. The most effective strategy for HBV control, therefore, is by mass vaccination of all Saudi infants. An extension of the immunisation programme so as to include all pre-school children should further reduce the reservoir of HBV in Saudi Arabia. A repetition of a similar survey after 5 and 10 years should be made in order to measure this reduction.

Child↗

PubMed1992

Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among Saudi patients with chronic liver diseases.

The prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) was determined in 55 patients with chronic liver diseases including liver cirrhosis (42 patients), liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (8 patients), and chronic active hepatitis (4 patients). A total of 63.6% of these patients were positive for anti-HCV, a significantly higher prevalence than the rate of 3.9% observed in 488 asymptomatic volunteers. Of the 42 patients with liver cirrhosis 16 (38.1%) had positive anti-HCV without any markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV), while 12 (28.6%) had markers of neither HCV nor HBV infection. Our findings suggest that HCV infection may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease in Saudi Arabia, which is an area of endemic HBV infection. Screening for anti HCV should be considered mandatory in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) especially where the etiology appears obscure.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Prevalence and significance of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among Saudi haemodialysis patients.

Seventy-four patients who were maintained on chronic haemodialysis in King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were tested using the recently available ELISA to determine the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in a haemodialysis unit. The prevalence rate of anti-HCV antibodies of 41.9% in the haemodialysis patients was significantly higher than the rate of 3.9% detected in 488 asymptomatic blood donors who were similarly tested. In the haemodialysis patients, anti-HCV positivity was related to previous blood transfusion (greater than 5 units of blood) and to the duration of haemodialysis (greater than 4 years); but was unrelated to sex, age, positive HBV markers or to past or current elevation of serum ALT. The results indicate a relatively higher prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in our patients compared to rates of 1-20% reported from Europe and the U.S.A. An effective control strategy for HCV infection in this high risk group is urgently indicated.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus among Saudi Arabian children: a community-based study.

In a population-based survey, 39 (0.90%) of 4,496 Saudi Arabian children (ages 1 to 10) were positive for antibody to hepatitis C virus. No significant difference was seen between the prevalence rate in males (0.9%) and females (0.8%) or between urban (0.7%) and rural dwellers (1.0%). A significant variation of rates (0% to 5.7%) was seen from one region to another. The Gizan population, noted for hyperendemic hepatitis B virus infection, had the highest prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus despite its cultural and socioeconomic similarities to other regions. In some regions of Saudi Arabia the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus among children was 0% despite endemic rates for both hepatitis B virus and hepatitis A virus infections. An inverse relationship between age and antibody to hepatitis C virus positivity was noted, suggesting an early acquisition of infection in the population studied. Although the overall prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in Saudi children appears low, endemic foci exist where transmission of infection appears to occur early in childhood. The significance of this characteristic for the incidence of chronic sequelae of hepatitis C virus infection needs further evaluation.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Paraspinal abscess.

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Abscess↗