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Middle-East Journal of Family Medicine has progressed
to become the medium of interaction of researcher and
educator of family medicine in the region. The quality
and the number of papers has increased tremendously and
we are working on indexing the journal.
In this issue a study from Jordan reports
on the Prevalence of Otalgia in Patients with Temporomandibular
Disorders, and Response to Treatment. In this paper
the authors reviewed a total of 125 patients with a
diagnosis of some form of TMD. Their findings revealed
that the prevalence of otalgia in patients with TMD
is high.
The paper on the prevalence of hepatitis
B carriers revealed that 3.3 % of the sample studied
that were not vaccinated are HBs-Ag positive and only
one child (0.4) is positive from the vaccinated group.
The author concludes that the vaccine is effective in
reducing the carrier state, and we should concentrate
on the routine screening for all pregnant mothers as
apart of pre-natal care.
Dr Aydin S et al reports on PATIENT SATISFACTION
with shorter antibiotic treatment for HELICOBACTER PYLORI
ERADICATION . The authors stated that long-term regimens
are being replaced by short term regimens as the long-term
therapies cause more side effects and patient adjustment
is not easy. The aim of the study was to determine the
efficacy of a short-term therapy regimen and patient
satisfaction by conducting a telephone survey 18 months
after completion of the therapy regimen. They concluded
that their two day regimen appears to relieve symptoms
for a long time and it is considered to be effective
from our patients' viewpoints.
A second paper from Turkey reports on the total quality
management for Turkish primary care. In this paper the
authors discussed the development of total quality management
(TQM) within Turkish primary care.
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In a study from Dubai on 'Antibiotic sensitivity
profile of common bacterial pathogens in Dubai ' the
authors studied retrospectively the antibiotic sensitivity
profile of 107 culture positive samples collected over
a period of 17 months. The authors concluded that Antibiotics
like Co-trimoxazole and Gentamycin fared better than
newer antibiotics because of limited use.
Dr Mistik S et al reviewed the Change
in Medical Students' Opinions and Attitudes Towards
Mental Illness using a questionnaire comprising 19 questions
regarding opinions and attitudes towards mental illness.
A total of 308 students filled out the questionnaire.
It appears that there is stigmatization of mentally
ill patients even among the medical students, which
could be decreased with the addition of lessons on stigmatization
of mentally ill patients and more social intercourse
with the patients.
Dr Almustafa B et al discussed the safety
of vaccination practice in Saudi Arabia. In a well-designed
pre-stratified systematic random sample, 836 children
of less than 2 years were selected in 6 primary health
care (PHC) centers in Qatif district. Companions were
instructed to monitor adverse events for 3 consecutive
days following diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP)
immunization. The authors concluded that the incidence
and nature of AE following DTP are similar to those
of internationally reported figures. No cases of local
abscess were reported. This reflects a comparable safety
of vaccination practice in Saudi Arabia.
In addition this issue is rich with
news from the region and commentary about new developments
in the field.
Dr
Abdulrazak Abyad
Chief Editor
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