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At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Early experience with left ventricular volume reduction surgery in Syria.

OBJECTIVE: To review our early experience with left ventricular volume reduction surgery (the Batista operation) in the management of patients with end-stage heart failure. METHODS: Between December 1996 and April 1998, 10 patients (9 males, mean age 32yr) with advanced symptomatic cardiomyopathy underwent left ventricular volume reduction surgery at Damascus University Cardiovascular Surgical Center. The cause of cardiomyopathy was idiopathic in three patients, valvular in four, ischemic in two, and viral myocarditis in one patient. Concomitant procedures included aortic valve replacement in four patients, mitral valve repair in six patients, and coronary artery bypass grafting in two patients. RESULTS: All patients survived the procedure. Echocardiography prior to discharge documented significant improvement in ejection fraction in all but two patients. Mean follow-up was 7.6 months. After discharge, three patients developed progressive congestive heart failure to which they subsequently succumbed, and two more patients died suddenly late postoperatively. Only two patients continue to show both clinical and echocardiographic evidence of improvement. CONCLUSION: Left ventricular volume reduction surgery cannot be freely advocated until better means are found to identify patients who will benefit from the procedure, and proper prophylaxis against fatal postoperative complications can be afforded.

Adolescent↗

Lysine fortification reduces anxiety and lessens stress in family members in economically weak communities in Northwest Syria.

Lysine is a limiting amino acid in diets based on wheat as the staple. In experimental animals, prolonged dietary lysine inadequacy increases stress-induced anxiety. If observed in humans, such a result would have a strong implication for the relationship between nutrition and communal quality of life and mental health. As part of a 3-month randomized double-blind study, we tested whether lysine fortification of wheat reduces anxiety and stress response in family members in poor Syrian communities consuming wheat as a staple food. In the lysine-fortified group, the plasma cortisol response to the blood drawing as a cause of stress was reduced in females, as was sympathetic arousal in males as measured by skin conductance. Lysine fortification also significantly reduced chronic anxiety as measured by the trait anxiety inventory in males. These results suggest that some stress responses in economically weak populations consuming cereal-based diets can be improved with lysine fortification.

Adolescent↗

Epidemiology of traumatic injuries to the permanent incisors of 9-12-year-old schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria.

This cross-sectional survey was carried out to assess epidemiological data concerning dental injuries to the permanent incisors of Syrian children. It included 1087 children aged 9 to 12 years, of both sexes, randomly selected from public and private primary schools in Damascus. The response rate was 100%. The prevalence of traumatic injuries to the permanent incisors rose from 5.2% at the age of 9 years to 11.7% at the age of 12 years (P = 0.007). The difference in prevalence between boys and girls was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The majority (59.8%) of children who had experienced injuries to the permanent incisors reported that they were not taken to the dentist for evaluation or treatment of the damage. Among those children who had experienced traumatic injuries to the teeth 93.1% presented with untreated damage. Because some injuries were minor, such as small enamel fractures, the proportion of children who needed treatment was 63.2%. There was a tendency for children with an incisal overjet greater than 5 mm to have experienced dental injuries (P = 0.06). Children with inadequate lip coverage were more likely to have experienced dental injuries than those with adequate lip coverage (P = 0.000). The most common reported cause of injuries to the permanent incisors was violence (42.5%), followed by traffic accidents (24.1%), collisions with people or inanimate objects (16.0%) and falls (9.1%). In conclusion, traumatic dental injury may pose a serious dental public health problem.

Accidental Falls↗

Prevalence of caries and lesions treatable through the ART approach in high caries risk schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of dentinal lesions treatable through the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) approach for high caries risk schoolchildren. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A convenience sample was taken of 1,542 grade 1 and 931 grade 2 children from 21 primary schools in a low socio-economic area in Damascus. Dentinal lesions in which the smallest excavator (diameter of 0.9 mm) could enter the cavitated lesion were considered treatable using the ART approach. Mann-Whitney U and ANOVA tests were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The mean dmfs and dmft scores of the 6- to 7-year-olds (grade 1) were 9.0 and 4.4, respectively. The mean DMFS and DMFT scores of the 7- to 8-year-olds (grade 2) were 1.6 and 1.4, respectively. At least 89.9 and 54.9% of the dentinal lesions in the deciduous and permanent dentition that were in need of a restoration, respectively, were diagnosed as treatable using ART. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of dentinal lesions in need of restorations in both deciduous and permanent dentitions in this high caries risk group of 6- to 8-year-olds were diagnosed as being treatable using the ART approach.

Analysis of Variance↗

Cystic fibrosis in a child from Syria.

We describe a Syrian child with typical features of severe cystic fibrosis (CF) phenotype and a positive sweat test. DNA analysis confirmed homozygosity for the delta F508 mutation on chromosome 7. This report stresses the need to draw attention to and consider CF in Arab populations. The frequency and distribution of delta F508 in the Middle East are reviewed.

Arabs↗

Evaluation of sodium stibogluconate in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Syria.

A series of 31 patients presenting with skin lesions with positive smears for leishmania parasites were treated with sodium stibogluconate (each ml of injection containing the equivalent of 100 mg pentavalent antimony). The drug was administered either intramuscularly at a dosage of 6 ml daily for at least 10 days or infiltrated around the lesion (maximum 2 ml per lesion) at weekly intervals for 3 to 4 consecutive weeks. Twenty-four (77%) of the patients were assessed as showing a successful response, with parasites absent from the smear and the lesions healing at the end of treatment. Poor results, however, were reported in 5 of the 16 patients treated solely by infiltration. Follow-up of a few patients at 3 months showed that the healing process was prompt and little disfiguration was produced, lesions on the trunk tending to heal more quickly than those on the face.

Adolescent↗