This is the second issue for 2006 and it is a rich edition, with papers from all over the region and the world. A study from Turkey described attitudes of patients with gynecological cancer and determined the type of complementary and alternative methods used by them. It was found that the most frequent alternative method used by patients after the diagnosis of cancer was herbal therapy ( 44.0%), special diet ( 24.0 %) and herbal therapy and special diet together ( 32.0%). The authors concluded that patients with gynecological cancer also believe that alternative interventions are not superior to medical therapy. but use alternative methods.

A paper from the department of pediatrics, Princess Haya hospital reports on
Microbiological study of urinary tract infection in children at Princess Haya hospital in the south of Jordan. In this paper data was collected on one hundred patients, ages 0-15 years of age, suffering from urinary tract infections. The data shows that the majority of bacterial urinary infections were in the 1-5 year-old age group (49%) and the lowest in the 0-1 year-old age group (5%). E.coli accounted for the vast majority of infections (72%). The authors concluded that the diagnosis of UTI in young children is important as it is a marker for urinary tract abnormalities. It was stressed that a child with a suspected UTI should have a urine culture and colony count performed in order to identify organisms for confirmation of diagnosis and recommend prompt treatment to reduce UTI related morbidity and mortality in children.

Dr Javid F, explores the current practice of general practitioner detection and management of cardiovascular risk in their patients. This was done through a retrospective audit of medical records. Among twelve CVD risk factors blood pressure was well monitored and recorded in 97% of the patients, blood sugar in 35%, Cholesterol in 25%, BMI/Weight in 12% of the patients. All other risk factors were recorded in less than 10% of patients. This audit shows that cardiovascular risk assessment by general practitioners in this health centre was less than optimal. The author stressed that in order to ensure optimal risk assessment and management of cardiovascular diseases, general practitioners should identify all people at significant risk of CVD and offer them comprehensive advice to reduce their risk.

Beyaztas FY et al presented a review of five case reports on child abuse. The authors stressed that child abuse and neglect has been recognized as an important public health problem in the west since the 1960s. They added that the risk factors setting up the stage for child abuse and/or neglect may be extra-familial or intra-familial. Economic, social, environmental, and cultural risk factors including poverty, low educational level, unemployment, violence, and substance abuse may lead to child abuse and neglect. In their paper, they present five cases diagnosed with child abuse and neglect, two of which had a fatal course. Therefore these cases should alert physicians in developing countries to be more diligent about the signs of child abuse and neglect.

Barnes G et al presented a case report on a 49-year-old male presents with a 2-month history of a painless mass in the upper part of the right neck. The authors reviewed in their paper, primary care management of adult lateral neck masses

A study from Iran evaluated the outbreak of cigarette smoking and age distribution of the first smoking experience among high school and pre-University students. The author stressed the fact that smoking is a worldwide health problems these days, and may lead to the death of human being even more than AIDS . He added that the prevalence of smoking among the people of developing countries is increasing. Cigarette smoking is addictive .

There are two papers in this issue related to ophthalmology surgery. Al-Nawaiseh B et al, investigated the relationship between central and branch vein occlusion and certain factors. A total number of 96 patients with retinal vein occlusion (52 branch, 44 central) were investigated for certain factors. Hypertension and smoking were significantly associated with BRVO while glaucoma, APC-R, factor V mutation, and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation (MTHFR) were significantly associated with CRVO. The authors concluded that there are variable risk factors for both central and branch retinal vein occlusion. Also it is important to investigate young patients for coagulation abnormalities. Jayousi NA et al , investigated the efficacy and safety of a low dose of droperidol for the prophylaxis of post operative nausea and vomiting following vitrectomy in diabetic patients. This was done through randomized placebo controlled double blinded study . 75% of the group receiving droperidol did not experience post operative nausea or vomiting while 41.7% of the control experienced it. The authors concluded that low dose droperidol is considered to be effective and safe in vitreoretinal surgery.