Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Irbid governorate, Jordan.

Overweight and obesity is an escalating health problem in both developed and developing countries. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 13-16 years in Irbid governorate, Jordan, and to compare the prevalence by sex, residential area and socioeconomic status. In a cluster random sample of 1355 school students the prevalence of overweight and obesity (body mass index > or = 85th percentile) was 24.4% (15.7% overweight and 8.7% obese) and was significantly higher among female students, students who lived in urban areas and those with working parents. This high prevalence of overweight is a serious concern for public health in Jordan.

Gallbladder carcinoma in Jordan.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite advances in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, the prognosis of gallbladder carcinoma is still poor. The purpose of this study is to look for peculiarities of primary gallbladder carcinoma in Jordan regarding its incidence, clinical and pathological aspects. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective study over a period of 19 years comprising 66 patients was reviewed; only patients treated primarily in our hospital were included. There were 40 females and 26 males (ratio of 3:2). RESULTS: The main presenting symptom was abdominal pain in 54 patients (82%); correct preoperative diagnosis was made in only 20% of cases. Cholecystectomy alone was the most commonly performed operation (32 cases), cholecystectomy in combination with biliary bypass and/or hepatic resection (16 cases), biopsy of the gallbladder was performed in 12 cases and bypass with T-tube drainage in 6 cases. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were encountered in 48% and 18% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and clinicopathological aspects of gallbladder cancer in Jordan seem to resemble that in the west, albeit with a lower age incidence. Diagnosis remains difficult and the outcome is still poor in the majority of cases.

Esophageal foreign bodies.

OBJECTIVE: A retrospective review was performed on 180 patients from 1975 to 1997 to evaluate the diagnosis, and management of esophageal foreign bodies. METHODS: All patients except two were symptomatic and 145 of them were younger than 14 years of age. Plain films were performed in every patient with a suspected esophageal foreign body (EFB). In all patients, rigid esophagoscopy was done under general anesthesia once the diagnosis of impacted EFB is made. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of the foreign bodies were coins. In children, the majority of impacted esophageal foreign bodies were located at the level of the cricopharyngeus muscle while in adults the site of impaction was the lower esophageal sphincter. The most common symptoms were vomiting and or regurgitation. Of the 180 EFBs encountered, 169 were extracted endoscopically, five were pushed into the stomach, five were not found, and one patient needed cervicotomy. There were no deaths in this series. Predisposing factors were found in 15 patients. Fifteen patients (8.3%) had benign strictures. In ten patients (5.5%), minor complications were encountered, none of which were esophagoscopically related. Alternative diagnostic and therapeutic modalities are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: All patients with a history of suspected foreign body ingestion should have direct endoscopic examination. If the EFB is not detected a thorough radiographic examination, including CT scan, should be performed to detect a possible intra- or extraluminal object. Preservation of the airway is regarded to be the most important consideration in esophageal foreign body management.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: what are the factors determining difficulty?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The experience in laparoscopic cholecystectomy is increasing, more difficult cases are performed even by the junior surgeons. This policy has led the investigators to look for methods to identify potentially difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODOLOGY: A prospective study was performed to find out the factors that determine technical difficulty in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Two hundred and twenty-seven patients (170 females and 57 males) with symptomatic gallbladder stones were recruited for this study from June 1995 to September 1997. The overall difficulty score as a dependent variable was based on the following operative parameters: duration of surgery, bleeding, dissection of gallbladder wall, adhesions, spillage of bile, spillage of stones and difficulty of gallbladder extraction. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the significance of the following potential difficulty variables (Independent) in predicting the variation in the overall difficulty score: age, sex, body mass index, gallbladder size, common bile duct diameter, gallbladder wall thickness, liver size and the presence of adhesions. RESULTS: Gallbladder wall thickness, presence of adhesions, liver size and gallbladder size were found to be significant predictors of the variation in overall difficulty score (Adjusted R2 = 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the above-mentioned four difficulty factors are important, however, experience of the surgeon plays a major role in reducing difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy and consequently decreasing it's complications.

Selective use of perioperative ERCP in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Management of common bile duct stones in the era of laparoscopic surgery is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety, feasibility, success rate and short-term results of the selective use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODOLOGY: A prospective study comprising 300 consecutive patients with either symptomatic or complicated gallbladder stones was performed between January 1994 and November 1996. Depending on clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic criteria, 73 patients (24.3%) underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with or without endoscopic sphincterotomy. The procedure was successful in 71 patients (97%) either preoperatively in 62 patients (21%) or postoperatively in 9 patients (3%). RESULTS: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was positive in 37 cases (52%), endoscopic sphincterotomy and stone extraction was performed in 35 cases and endoscopic sphincterotomy alone was performed in 2 cases for benign papillary stenosis. The overall predictive value for the presence of common bile duct stone was 52%, the predictive value for patients with jaundice, dilated common bile duct together with elevated liver enzymes was 73.3%. Complications of perioperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were encountered in 4 patients (5.5%) with no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the combination of perioperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a useful approach for the management of choledochocholelithiasis.

Management of gallbladder stones during pregnancy: conservative treatment or laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) during pregnancy is still controversial, we report our experience in the management of 42 pregnant patients suffering from symptomatic gallbladder stones. METHODOLOGY: Between June 1993 and July 1998, we performed 1700 LC's. During this period we dealt with 42 pregnant patients who had symptoms of gallbladder stones. Following an initial period of conservative management, only 16 patients underwent LC during pregnancy and 26 patients responded to medical management and were operated upon later on after delivery. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were operated upon successfully during pregnancy, 2 in the 1st trimester, 10 in the 2nd trimester and 4 in the 3rd trimester. No complications occurred and all patients carried on their pregnancies to term and delivered healthy babies. CONCLUSIONS: From our experience and from the review of the literature on this subject, LC during pregnancy is safe, however the indications should be restricted to patients with complications or to those suffering from repeated and persistent symptoms not responding to medical management.

Cavernous hemangiomas of the liver: are there any indications for resection?

A total of 163 patients with cavernous hemangiomas of the liver were managed at Paul Brousse Hospital between 1970 and 1992. The tumor was smaller than 4 cm in 54 patients and larger than 10 cm in 38 patients. The diagnostic sensitivities of the imaging procedures were as follows: ultrasonography 61%; angio-computed tomography scanning 77%; angiography 85%; magnetic resonance imaging 92%. The tumor was diagnosed during the evaluation of abdominal pain in 87 patients. Forty-seven patients had associated disorders that proved to be responsible for the symptoms. Fourteen patients with incapacitating symptoms underwent specific treatment of their tumor: resection (n = 8), embolization (n = 5), or hepatic artery ligation (n = 1). Seven of these patients are still symptomatic, indicating that the hemangioma was in fact not responsible for their symptoms. Twenty-five patients were given oral analgesic medications; in 21 the symptoms diminished or became infrequent. Unresected hemangiomas did not significantly increase in size, nor have they become complicated or symptomatic. These results indicate that resection of liver hemangiomas is rarely required, and such treatment should be carefully balanced against the risk inherent in liver surgery.

Preoperative ultrasonography and prediction of technical difficulties during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

A prospective study was carried out to investigate the value of preoperative ultrasound findings for predicting difficulties encountered during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Altogether 160 consecutive patients with symptomatic gallbladder (GB) disease (130 females, 30 males) referred to the Jordan University Hospital were recruited for the purpose of this study. All patients underwent detailed ultrasound examination 24 hours prior to LC. The overall difficulty score (ODS), as a dependent variable, was based on the following operative parameters: duration of surgery, bleeding, dissection of Calot's triangle, dissection of gallbladder wall, adhesions, spillage of bile, spillage of stone, and difficulty of gallbladder extraction. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the significance of the following preoperative ultrasound variables (independent) for predicting the variation in the ODS: size of the GB, number of GB stones, size of stones, location of GB stones, thickness of GB wall, common bile duct (CBD) diameter, and liver size. Only thickness of GB wall and CBD diameter were found to be significant predictors of the variation in the ODS (adjusted R2 = 0.25). We conclude that the preoperative ultrasound examination is of value for predicting difficulties encountered during LC, but it is not the sole predictor.