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BackgroundThyroid nodules are a common medical problem worldwide. This study aims to investigate and elucidate the relationship between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3), and malignant thyroid nodules. MethodsThis prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a public specialist hospital in Saudi Arabia from February 2020 to February 2021. All thyroid nodules were scanned using ultrasound imaging, and the largest diameter was measured for each and classified according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) classification system. Thyroid function tests TSH, T3, and T4 were measured. Definitive diagnoses of thyroid nodules were given based on cytology. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare means, and cross-tabulation was used to correlate the variables in the study. ResultsA total of 222 patients participated in this study; 23.42% were male and 76.57% were females. The mean age was 44.73 ± 13.31 years (range: 18 to 85 years). The percentage of malignancy was 20.6%, 36.3%, and 91.2% in TIRADS 3, TIRADS 4, and TIRADS 5, respectively. A weak positive linear relationship was noted between nodule size and TSH (R 2 = 0.012). The study demonstrates that TSH increases in malignant nodules more than in benign nodules, while T4 and T3 are decreased in malignant nodules. ConclusionThe level of TSH increases in patients with malignant thyroid nodules more than in benign nodules, which can be used as a predictor of malignancy, while T4 and T3 reduced in malignant nodules with an ambiguous relationship.

Aims:The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal effect of adding nanoparticles with different concentrations into irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated the antifungal effect of MgO and ZrO2 nanoparticles by Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) and using the Agar-Well diffusion method after incorporation of different concentrations of nanoparticles into irreversible hydrocolloid impression material. Results: The results of this study showed that MIC and MFC of magnesium oxide nanoparticles were 0.2wt% and 0.3wt% respectively and for zirconium oxide nanoparticles were 5wt% and 10wt% respectively. Conclusions: The incorporation of MgO and ZrO2 into irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials acts as antifungal agents.

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Background Endocrinopathies and metabolic complications are common in beta thalassemia major patients receiving blood transfusions. Chelation therapy has a role in preventing or delaying such complications. However, patients may face difficulties adhering to chelation therapy for several reasons. Aim To evaluate endocrine complications in beta thalassemia major patients (2–30 years) in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and compare the onset of endocrine complications among compliant and noncompliant patients. Moreover, we assessed the barriers that hinder compliance with chelating therapy. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 89 patients (43 males and 46 females) aged 2 to 30 years attending different hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and medical histories. The questionnaires were completed by face-to-face interviews with the patients or their caregivers, and the required laboratory data were retrieved from the medical records of patients. Results The most prevalent abnormality was underweight detected in (40.9%) of patients, followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (37.7%), short stature (35.2%), hypothyroidism in (17.0%) and diabetes mellitus in (13.6%). A significant difference between those who were compliant with iron chelation therapy and those who were not in terms of the prevalence of short stature ( P value= 0.05 ) and hypothyroidism ( P value= 0.05 ). The percentage of patients who were not compliant with chelation therapy was 21.6% and 9.1% of patients were not taking them at all. Conclusion Despite the role of chelation therapy in the management of iron overload, the risk of secondary endocrine and metabolic complications remained considerable. Subclinical hypothyroidism and short stature were the most frequent endocrine complications encountered in this study.