Background: Tobacco smoking is a major health issue worldwide. In addition to several health problems, smoking can also cause buccal cavity ulcers and buccal cavity cancer in case of chronic smoking. Tobacco smoking may also lead to deranged morphology of red blood cells (RBCs), which results in reduced oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

IntroductionRoad traffic accidents (RTAs) are the most frequent cause of traumatic spinal injuries (TSIs), which account for up to 33.6% of all spinal fractures. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is one of the countries which has high rates of SCIs and bears the economic burden of that situation.Methods120 patients were included in this study, using a stringent set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patients were followed-up from the point of triage to admission and discharge. We analysed the clinical notes of the patients to determine the severity of their traumatic spinal injuries, the neurosurgical management carried out, and other prognosticating factors such as blood transfusion and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The data collected was analysed anonymously, and the confidentiality of all participants was respected.ResultsMost of the patients were young adults and adolescents under the age of 40 (n = 96). There was a male preponderance of 84.1%. With respect to spinal injury stratification, 55 patients had cervical spine fractures, 10 patients had cervical lacerations, 85 patients had thoracolumbar spinal fractures, and 10 patients had thoracolumbar spinal lacerations. 35 patients had other fractures documented. All 120 patients were followed up to assess the management of their traumatic spinal injuries. 66.6% (n= 80) of all patients were managed conservatively, whereas the remaining 33.3% (n=40) were managed surgically.ConclusionTrauma is an important cause of spinal injuries (TSIs), and untreated TSIs may lead to poor clinical outcome, especially if the cervical region is involved.

A broad spectrum of pathologies that involve the laryngotracheobronchial airway and imaging plays a crucial role in evaluating these abnormalities. Computed tomography with virtual bronchoscopy has been found to be very helpful in defining the location, extent, and nature of these lesions, and is increasingly being used even in patients with contraindications for fiberoptic bronchoscopy and laryngoscopy. Ionizing radiation, associated with virtual bronchoscopy, can be minimized by using low-dose multidetector computed tomography and hybrid iterative reconstruction techniques. Furthermore, retrospectively generated virtual bronchoscopy from a routinely acquired computed tomography data set eliminates additional cost and radiation. In the future, virtual bronchoscopy assisted with advanced navigational techniques will broaden the diagnostic and therapeutic landscape. This article presents the characteristic features of common and rare laryngotracheobronchial pathologies seen with virtual bronchoscopy.

Introduction traumatic spinal fracture is a painful and disabling injury associated with poor long-term functional outcome. The objective of the present study was to assess the frequency of spinal fractures in road traffic accident (RTA) victims, their management, mortality rate and associated injuries. This study reveals and adds useful insights to the literature from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in terms of incidence of RTA-related spinal fractures, including their management and mortality rate. Methods a cross-sectional study was conducted at King Khalid Hospital and Prince Sultan Center for Health Services (KKH & PSCHS) in AlKharj, KSA from September 2016 to June 2017. A total of 120 patients suffering from spinal/vertebral fractures due to RTAs were included in this study. The data was collected from patients' charts, including age, gender, region or distribution of the spinal fracture, associated fractures, number of fractures, degrees of shock, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), treatment modalities, along with the management of spinal fractures, days of hospital stay, referral and discharges or deaths. Results the mean age of patients was 29.21. The most common anatomic region of the fracture was the cervical region (35%). Injuries associated with traumatic spinal fracture were predominated by clavicular fractures. More than half of the victims (58.30%) had a cervical brace applied before leaving the hospital. 29.20% patients required posterior stabilization with pedicle screws. Anterior corpectomy, grafting and plating was done to 4.30% patients. Conclusion traumatic spinal fractures require prompt diagnosis and timely management in order to improve the outcome.

Background:Every minute, an accident occurs in Saudi Arabia, causing 39,000 injuries and 7,000 deaths annually. Facial trauma or maxillofacial trauma (MFT) is a frequent presentation of road traffic accidents (RTAs), ranging from simple nasal fractures to gross or severe maxillofacial injuries.Methods:A total number of 237 patients were included in this prospective study from May 2013 to January 2018. The following medical details were recorded for each case, gender, age, fracture location, the presence of scalp laceration, the presence of brain damage, type of brain damage, shock degree, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), number of units used for blood transfusions for documentation of patient survival rate. We followed up the patients in their first appointment after 21 days of patient discharge from the hospital.Results:Majority of the patients were young male adults. A total of 59.1% of patients had cerebral damage, 38% (n = 90) of patients had at least, one scalp laceration, 43.5% (n = 103) of patients had some degree of shock, whereas 27.8% of the recruited patients needed at least 1 unit of blood transfusion. A total of 14.3% of the patients died as a result of their injuries, and the survival rate was 85.7%.Conclusions:Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is having a high incidence of RTAs leading to high mortality rate. Therefore, it requires a sound evaluation of the risk factors for RTAs and establishment of guidelines to decrease the incidence of road traffic injuries and reduce health-care burden. Road safety campaigns focused on young population can help reduce RTAs and subsequent mortalities. Prompt arrival at the hospital, early diagnosis, and timely management of maxillofacial fractures and brain damages by skilled physicians will lower mortality rate in KSA..