SUMMARY. Total serum cholesterol was measured in 1320 normal Saudi children aged 0-14 years. The result was 3·88 (0'83)mmoIlL [mean (SD)] and there was no statistical difference between girls and boys. Results were lowest in the 0-4 year age group and highest in the 5-9 year age group. Percentile values were established for three age groups and compared with those published for American children; no statistical differences were observed. Unlike other developing countries Saudi children do not have lower serum cholesterol than their western counterparts. We believe that these findings reflect changing dietary habits and increasing affluence in Saudi Arabia.
Sinusitis is considered one of the most common diseases in childhood, though no actual figures are quoted in the medical literature. This study, which was conducted in an ambulatory care facility at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, a referral center for all of Saudi Arabia, revealed a prevalence rate for sinusitis of 8.5% among new patients seen during 1988. The most common presenting symptom was cough (54%), while persistent rhinorrhea accounted for only 15% of the presenting symptoms. The most frequent predisposing factor was allergy (26%), followed by hypertrophied adenoids (25%) and septal deviation (13%). Other important factors, such as the low relative humidity in Riyadh, are also discussed.Ziad S. Rafii, Sinusitis in Saudi Children. 1990; 10(5): 504-507 Sinusitis is a common problem in children and is one of the most common diseases of children.1-3 It is more prevalent than generally recognized and may even be found in newborns. 4 It is often missed, however, because pediatricians frequently do not recognize or treat sinus disease properly.1 Also, many radiologists cannot interpret sinus x-ray studies in young children, on the assumption that sinuses are not developed prior to the age of two years, though maxillary sinus cavities are usually roentgenographically visible by 2 to 3 months of age.5 Children with chronic rhinorrhea are frequently dismissed as being "just allergic."6 Sinusitis is considered common in Saudi Arabia, 7 but it is difficult to find any mention of a specific incidence in any literature on the topic. 8 Most authors just state that sinusitis is common in children. 1,7,9,10 This study was undertaken to reveal the prevalence of sinusitis among Saudi children, particularly in the Riyadh area. Patients and MethodsIncluded in the study were all patients with a positive radiological diagnosis of sinusitis seen by me in an ambulatory care facility, at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from January through December 1988. X-ray studies were considered positive if there was opacification of one or more sinuses, an airfluid level in the maxillary sinuses, or mucosal thickening of greater than 4 mm.Patients with chronic or recurrent symptoms underwent more studies, including assessments for immunoglobulins, IgG subclasses, IgE, sweat chloride, and nasal smear for eosinophils and polymorphonuclear cells. The nasal smear was repeated following therapy if the first was negative for eosinophils. Patients with middleear effusion had tympanometric studies. Most patients were from Riyadh and the rest came from various regions within the Kingdom. Depending on the duration of symptoms, all patients received a two-to three-week course of amoxicillin, except for two patients who were allergic to penicillin and were given trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. A follow-up x-ray study was taken 3 to 4 weeks after the beginning of therapy and was clear in all but four patients. These four patients received a second course of treatment with a different antibioti...
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