These findings demonstrate the practical difficulties of using anti-HBc as a surrogate marker for hepatitis C in areas endemic for hepatitis B virus.

To our knowledge, only a few epidemiological reports on the prevalence of hepatitis E antibodies in Saudi blood donors have been published. Men of several nationalities, donating blood at King Khalid National Guard Hospital (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) were selected (n = 593) for this study examining the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the local male donor population and testing the relationship of the antibody to HEV (anti-HEV) to donor characteristics using Odds Ratio (OR) and Chi-square statistic. The prevalence of anti-HEV in the group examined was 16.9 per cent (100/593). The seroprevalence for Saudi donors was 14.8 per cent compared with 33.3 per cent for non-Saudis of Middle Eastern origin. Donors who were 40 yr and over had significantly higher seroprevalence than those donors who were 30 yr or younger (OR = 2.5, p = 0.006). There was a significant association between anti-HEV and anti-HCV with donors who were positive to anti-HCV having about 5 times the risk of HEV than those who were anti-HCV negative (p = 0.02). These findings demonstrate the high seroprevalence rate of anti-HEV among male blood donors in Saudi Arabia.

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Background Most of hematology laboratories in Saudi Arabia utilize the reference intervals (RIs) provided by instrument manufacturers. This study aimed to define RIs of hematological parameters for adult population in the western region of Saudi Arabia and to explore their specific features from an international perspective. Method This study was conducted according to the harmonized protocol of IFCC Committee on RIs and Decision Limits. Blood samples collected from 409 healthy Saudi males and females adults were analyzed for complete blood count (CBC) by using Cell-Dyn Sapphire analyzer and for iron profile by using Architect analyzers. The needs for RIs partitioned by sex and age was based on standard deviation ratio (SDR) and/or bias ratio (BR). RIs were derived parametrically with/without application of the latent abnormal values exclusion method (LAVE). Results Based on thresholds of SDR≥0.4 and/or BR≥0.57, RIs were partitioned by sex for red-blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, red cell distribution width, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, iron, transferrin, ferritin, eosinophil, platelet, plateletcrit, etc. Partitioning by age was not necessary for any of the analytes. LAVE procedure caused appreciable changes in RI limits for most erythrocyte and iron parameters but not for leukocyte parameters. Comparable to other non-IFCC studies on CBC RIs, the RBC and hematocrit (Ht) ranges have shifted to a higher side in both genders. After applying the LAVE method, the male and female RIs for Hb were 4.56 to 6.22 ×106/μL and 3.94 to 5.25 ×106/μL respectively while RIs for Ht were 40.2 to 52.0% and 33.6 to 44.5% respectively. Conclusion LAVE method contributed to reducing the influence of latent anemia in deriving RIs for erythrocyte related parameters. Using the up-to-date methods, the RIs of CBC determined specifically for Saudis will help to improve the interpretation of test results in medical decision making.

No study has been published yet in the Arab world regarding response and outcome of imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This study evaluated a total of 122 patients with CML treated with imatinib between 2001 and 2012. Survival, hematologic, cytogenetic and molecular responses and adverse events were assessed. The 5-year overall survival (OS), event free survival (EFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were: 95.4 ± 2.3%, 81.4 ± 4.6% and 90.8 ± 3.2%, respectively. Significant differences in OS (p = 0.001), EFS (p = 0.001) and PFS (p = 0.001) were noted when patients were stratified by cytogenetic response. Survival by Sokal risk groups was not significant (p = 0.293). Complete hematologic response was achieved in 94 patients (93.1%), cytogenetic response in 84 (83.2%), major molecular response in 62 (61.4%) and complete molecular response in 34 (33.7%). This article presents the first evidence on the effectiveness of imatinib in patients with CML from Saudi Arabia and highlights similarities and differences in response patterns in published studies.