The incorrect carriage of schoolbags and heavy bags may result in back pain (BP) in adolescents. Our objective was to assess the problem of BP and associated factors among adolescents. This was a cross-sectional study targeting intermediate and secondary school adolescents in Abha City, Saudi Arabia. An anonymous questionnaire for BP was used. Student body weight and the weight of their full schoolbag were measured. The study included 876 adolescents. An overall prevalence of BP of 39.4% (95% CI: 35.3–43.7) was found. Upper BP (UBP), middle BP (MBP), and lower BP (LBP) amounted to 14.5%, 13.4%, and 11.5%, respectively. Associated significant factors with MBP were carrying the bag on one side compared to on the back (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.20–3.73) and being at intermediate level compared to secondary (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.04–2.40). On the other hand, gender and schoolbag weight/body weight percent were not found to be significantly associated with MBP. None of the studied factors were significantly associated with overall BP, UBP, or LBP. BP is a prevalent among adolescents in southwest Saudi Arabia. One-sided schoolbag carriage is a significant associated factor for middle back pain. Parents and teachers should encourage students to consider the correct way to carry schoolbag.

Here, we report a case of systemic lupus erythematosus in a 13-year-old girl who developed the disease 3 years after thymectomy performed for the treatment of myasthenia gravis. The presenting symptoms were fever, generalized fatigability, bilateral loin pain, weight loss, arthralgia, hair loss, and recurrent painless mouth ulcers. Laboratory findings revealed proteinuria, hematuria, anemia, leucopenia, a high titer of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-dsDNA, and decreased complement (C3 and C4) levels. There was minimal ascitis and pericardial effusion. Renal biopsy showed lupus nephritis class IV. The diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus was established based on the clinical and laboratory findings. The activity of systemic lupus erythematosus was controlled by pulsed treatment with methyl prednisolone followed by long-term oral glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive therapy. This study highlights the immune system derangement following thymectomy. It also examines the relevant literature.

This study aimed to assess the penile length-somatometric parameters relationship in healthy Egyptian men. Two thousand physically normal men (22-40 years) were subjected to measurement of stretched penile length, glans penis, testis size, index finger, weight, height, span, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference and waist/hip ratio. The mean stretched penile length of the studied subjects was 13.84 ± 1.35 cm (range 12-19 cm), and the mean glans penis length was 2.6 ± 0.4 cm (range 1.7-3.8 cm). Penile length demonstrated positive significant correlation with glans penis length, index finger length, BMI and significant negative correlation with waist/hip ratio. On the other hand, penile length demonstrated nonsignificant correlation with age, weight, height, waist circumference, span or testicular size. It is concluded that the penile length-somatometric parameters relationship in healthy Egyptian men is mostly related to glans penis and index finger lengths.

Warts are common benign proliferations of the skin that are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and can be classified into different types (flat, filiform, plantar, and genital). 1 A number of immunotherapeutic agents had been successfully used in treating warts including imiquimod, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, HPV vaccine, interferon, systemic zinc, cimetidine, and levamisole. 2 It is worth mentioning that despite resistance of warts to treatment especially in adults and immune-suppressed patients, success of treatment usually depends on the host's immune status, virus type, duration, and number of lesions. 3 Recently, studies shed light on the potential role of vitamin D in the regulation of both adaptive and innate immunity. 4 Additionally, it plays a key role in antimicrobial innate responses by characterizing an autocrine vitamin D pathway in human monocytes/ macrophages after