Biomedical subjects

Siraj M Zakzouk

Publications and source records attributed to Siraj M Zakzouk.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Ocular profile among hearing impaired children.

OBJECTIVE: To report ocular abnormalities among identified hearing impaired children and their prevalence in relation to normal hearing children. METHODS: A sample of 302 identified children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital and Rehabilitation Medical Center of the Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after full audiological assessment, aged below 15 years, were screened ophthalmologically during the period from December 1997 to December 2002. Visual testing and cycloplegic refraction using 1% Cyclogyl was performed followed by retinal examination using direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Electroretinography was recorded for those with retinal pigmentary changes. One hundred control normal hearing children were examined, and chi square test applied. RESULTS: A total of 302 hearing impaired children were examined, 199 (66%) were boys and 103 (34%) were girls, age ranged between 2-15 years. Hearing loss was bilateral severe to profound. One hundred and eighty-four (61%) have one or more ocular abnormalities, while 147 (48.7%) had one or more significant error of refraction. In the control cases, 23% had error of refraction with a chi square test of 20.2 (p<0.001), which is significant. CONCLUSION: Ocular anomalies are more commonly found among deaf children than those with normal hearing. Early ophthalmological assessment of hearing impairment is advisable to detect any ocular anomalies, followed by correction to help in the academic performance of these children.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Hearing screening of neonates at risk.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to screen infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for hearing loss METHODS: One hundred and thirty newborns admitted to NICU were screened for hearing loss using otocaustic emission (OAE). Tympanometry was performed using Grason Stadler Incorporation (GSI) 37 and auditory brain response (ABR). RESULTS: Ninety-six of the infants had known risk factors such as prematurely, low birth weight, hyperbilirubinemia, asphyxia and congenital abnormalities. Out of 130 infants 80 passed the OAE test, 50 had to be rescreened, and 19 had ABR. Only 13 were found with moderate to severe hearing loss, 13.5% of at the risk infants. CONCLUSION: Hearing aids were provided from the age of 6 months, for 7 of the hearing impaired children. Parents of other children refused hearing aids and thought the child would talk when older, although they were full informed regading their children's hearing loss. Early identification and early intervention gives chances for infants to acquire speech and language. Parent's awareness will be stressed upon.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗

PubMed2003

Universal newborn hearing screening.

Hearing loss is an "invisible" handicap. If detection is delayed or denied, significant speech, language, social and emotional delay may result. Delayed identification of hearing loss in children will lead to missing a lot of sound input which can in turn affect their communication, learning, behavior and emotional development as well as future performance in school and work. The world literature on programs for neonatal hearing screening comes mainly from countries such as the United States of America where most births take place in hospitals. Nowadays in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, most births take place in birthing hospitals. It is therefore possible to apply the program in these hospitals, provided training of the staff and the necessary equipment is available.

Hearing Loss↗

PubMed2002

Sensorineural hearing impaired children with unknown causes: a comprehensive etiological study.

Clinicians often face difficulty in accurately identifying the causes of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children. Nevertheless, it remains a challenging process for researchers and clinicians alike. An attempt has been made to study the aetiology of SNHL cases in Saudi Arabia where it was found that 20-45% of the cases are classified as unknown aetiology. A total of 302 children with SNHL were studied. The aetiology was established among 238 children. The remaining 64 children in which the causes of SNHL could not be ascertained using conventional means were further investigated. As a result, the cause of SNHL in 28 out of these 64 cases were identified successfully. Our results suggest that the use of additional medical facilities including laboratory, neurophysiology and ophthalmological investigation can help find some of the causes of SNHL cases which were previously unknown.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Epidemiology of chronic suppurative otitis media among Saudi children--a comparative study of two decades.

An epidemiological survey to study the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) was completed in February 2000. About 9540 children aged up to 12 years were examined clinically by an otolaryngologist. All 125 children (1.3%) suffered from CSOM, nine with cholesteatoma. The prevalence of CSOM in the Central province of the Kingdom was found to be 1.15%. During the first study done in 1982, the prevalence was 5.5% among 293 children aged 6-18 years. In the second study done and completed in 1991 where 6421 children were surveyed, 94 children found to suffer from CSOM i.e. 1.5% with six children having cholesteatoma. These results showed a decrease in incidence of CSOM in the Central province, although in other parts of the Kingdom, the prevalence was found to be as high as 2.89%. The factors predisposing to or associated with chronic ear disease will be discussed, and the results will be compared with results published from other centers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Epidemiology of acute otitis media among Saudi children.

An epidemiological survey was carried out with 9540 children aged up to 12 years to study the prevalence of acute suppurative otitis media and the rate of hearing impairment. A total of 100 (1.05%) were diagnosed with acute otitis media (AOM). The incidence was found to be higher among young children up to 4-years-old and lower in the age group 8-12 years. The male children had slightly higher rate of AOM as compared with female (1.36 and 0.80%), respectively, (P < 0.01). The prevalence of AOM in the children from the different provinces varied, being higher in those from the Southern and Central regions. Also it was found that the prevalence of ASOM was higher among children whose parents were cousins compared with non-relative parents (1.38 and 0.74%) (P > 0.001). Those with poor socio-economic condition showed higher rate especially those living in the Southern part with poor or inadequate health services provided. ASOM was significantly associated with hearing impairment (P < 0.00001).

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

Hearing impairment in low birth weight children.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of hearing impairment in normal and low birth weight children. METHODS: A survey of 9540 Saudi children below 15 years of age was carried out. The survey was performed in the provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from September 1994 to May 1998. The subjects were classified into low birth weight (up to 2.5 kg) and normal birth weight (>2.5 kg) groups. Each child was carefully examined for hearing status. RESULTS: The results of this study showed significantly high prevalence of hearing impairment in low birth weight children (14.87%) as compared to normal birth weight children (9.78%). CONCLUSION: Further studies are warranted to identify the potential risk factors associated with the high prevalence of hearing impairment in low birth weight children.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Cochlear implants in deaf children.

OBJECTIVE: This investigation was aimed to determine the current status of sensorineural hearing loss in children from the provinces of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia and to report on those with severe to profound hearing loss who are in need of cochlear implant. METHODS: A comprehensive survey of 9540 Saudi children was carried out from September 1997 through to May 2000. The subjects were randomly selected from the 4 main provinces of the country. The main objective was to screen these children for hearing impairment. A survey team included an ear, nose and throat specialist, a nurse, a social worker and an audiologist. A questionnaire was completed; clinical examination and audiological assessment was performed. Those confirmed and in doubt cases were referred for further audiological and clinical assessment including computerized tomography scan and auditory brain stem response. RESULTS: The over all prevalence of hearing impairment was 13% (1241 out of 9540). Those with sensorineural hearing loss was 142 (1.5%) and those with severe to profound (76-100 decibels loss) was 68 (0.7%) 7 of them suffered from unilateral while 135 suffered from bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss is high in our country compared to developed countries. Cochlear implant is a useful procedure for those with severe and profound sensorineural hearing loss but hearing aids must be tried first. There is definitely a requirement for additional hearing and speech centers to be available, which, are at least accessible in the big cities in each province.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Point prevalence of type B tympanogram in children.

OBJECTIVE: Otitis media with effusion is a common disease; it is primarily a disease of children. Otitis media with effusion was found as the most common cause of hearing impairment among children. The prevalence varied in different populations. Using otoscopy and tympanometry usually gives a valuable indication of the presence of otitis media with effusion. The aim of this study is to determine the point prevalence of type B tympanogram as a diagnostic and indication of the presence of otitis media with effusion. METHODS: This study was carried out during the period September 1997 through to May 2000. The study population consisted of 9540 children aged one year to 12 years from the 4 provinces of the country. Otoscopic examination and audiologic assessment were carried out using Grason Stadler Incorporation 30-33. The tympanograms were divided into A, B, C one, and C2 groups. RESULTS: The point prevalence rate of type B tympanograms among children was 8.2%. The prevalence of otitis media with effusion was 7.5% CONCLUSION: This study indicates that tympanogram has a significant role in otis media effusion.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗