BackgroundThe objectives of the study were to study the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among health college students (HS) and health care workers (HCWs) in the Najran Region of south-western Saudi Arabia and to study the students’ knowledge of occupational exposure to blood-borne viral infections.MethodsA cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 300 HS and 300 HCWs was conducted.ResultsAn overall seroprevalence of HBV of 1.7% and 8.7% was found among HS and HCWs, respectively. Two-thirds of HS (66.7%, 200) and 23.3% (70) of HCWs lack anti-HBs and are susceptible to HBV infection. An overall seroprevalence of HCV of 0% and 0.3% was found among the HS and HCWs, respectively. The present study indicates poor knowledge among HS and moderate knowledge among HCWs regarding occupationally transmitted blood-borne diseases, safe injection practices, and standard precautions to prevent occupationally transmitted blood-borne infections.ConclusionIt is mandatory to develop a structured program to raise awareness among HS, and current health colleges’ curricula should be upgraded to address these issues early. The HS should be considered new recruits to health services in terms of their initial screening for blood-borne infections and vaccination against HBV. The development of a novel continuing medical education and pre-employment awareness program for HCWs is recommended to address the following: blood-borne diseases transmitted occupationally, standard precautions to prevent occupationally transmitted blood borne infections, and safe injection practices.

Background. Cytokines, interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐6, interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ), tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), soluble CD23 (sCD23), and soluble IL‐2 receptors (sIL‐2R) are mediators of inflammation and immune response. Alterations in immune status of patients with various cancers may result in release of cytokines in circulation. The authors measured the circulating levels of IL‐4, IL‐6, IFN‐γ TNF‐α, sCD23, and sIL‐2R from patients with T‐cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (T‐CLL), T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T‐ALL) and peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (PTCL) to determine their importance in these T‐cell disorders. Methods. IL‐4, IL‐6, IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, sCD23, and sIL‐2R levels were measured from the serum samples by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay or bioassay methods. Results. IL‐4 levels were higher only in T‐CLL, whereas, IFN‐γ and sIL‐2R levels were higher in T‐CLL and T‐ALL. However, IL‐6, TNF‐α, and sCD23 levels were higher in PTCL. Conclusions. T‐cell‐derived IL‐4 and IFN‐γ in T‐CLL may act as an autocrine growth factor for proliferation of neoplastic T‐cells. The sIL‐2R levels in T‐CLL, T‐ALL, and PTCL are an indication of the degree of T‐cell or immune activation due to concomitant immunologic processes in these disorders. However, IL‐6, TNF‐α, and sCD23 levels may contribute to inflammatory response and provide evidence of monocyte/macrophage, T‐cell, or B‐cell aberrations in PTCL.

The study documented that 18 years after the national study, and after more than a decade of universal salt iodization in Saudi Arabia, the problem of iodine-deficiency disorders is still endemic in the Aseer region. Efforts should focus on fostering advocacy and communication and ensuring the availability of adequately iodized salt.

The incidence and pattern of thyroid diseases in Saudi Arabia are not well known due to the lack of a national registry. Few studies were reported describing the pattern from non-mountainous regions of Saudi Arabia. [1][2][3][4] Asir is a high altitude territory and the pattern of thyroid diseases might be different. Indeed, we were struck by the unexpectedly high prevalence of malignancy in patients who underwent thyroidectomy for presumably benign goiter. We therefore decided to conduct this review in order to evaluate the pattern of surgically treated thyroid disease in the Asir area and compare it with other studies. Patients and MethodsAsir Central Hospital (ACH) is a referral hospital for the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia. The Department of Pathology at ACH is the main central laboratory, which receives specimens from 17 peripheral hospitals in the area. Over a period of six-and-one-half years, from January 1987 through June 1993, 361 thyroid specimens were received. The histopathological reports together with the age, sex, and nationality of the patients were reviewed. Statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS/PC+ software package. Chi-square and Student's t-test were used at the 5% level of significance. ResultsAmong the 361 cases studied, 255 (70.6%) were Saudi nationals. The causes of goiter in surgically treated patients is shown in Table 1. The ages ranged from seven to 120 years (mean = 35.9±.13.8 years). Female patients constituted 81.7% of this series and the female to male ratio was 4.5:1. Multinodular goiter and adenoma (solitary nodule) constituted 68.3% of the cases, the latter being more common in young females (P<0.05). Toxic goiter was seen in 7.7% of patients and all of them either failed to respond or had recurrence after cessation of medical treatment. Autoimmune thyroiditis was seen in 23 (6.4%) patients, 16 of whom had Hashimoto thyroiditis (all except one were females) and the remaining seven patients had lymphocytic thyroiditis (two were males). In this series, there were three male patients (two Saudis and one Sudanese) who were diagnosed as dyshormonogenesis on the basis of high serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and diffuse hyperplasia on histopathological examination.Thyroid malignancy was found in 47 (13%) patients and the papillary carcinoma was the most common (65.9%) followed by thyroid lymphoma (21.3%); these findings are compared with other studies in Table 2. Four patients (40%) with lymphoma had an associated Hashimoto thyroiditis. The female to male ratio in patients with lymphoma was 4:1, the age range was 45 to 120 years (mean = 68.3 ± 22.3 years) and all were non-Hodgkin lymphoma.