ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To identify clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19. METHODS: Eighty-eight children (0-14 years) with COVID-19 who were admitted to Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from April to June 2020 were recruited. RESULTS: Mean age was 5.74 ± 4.7 years with 41 (49.4%) males and 42 (50.6%) females. The length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 to 17 days. The main source of infection was infected family members. Mean values of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were noticeably above normal. Degree of severity and length of stay was significantly correlated with lymphopenia (r= -0.36; p=0.001), whereas it was positively correlated with absolute neutrophil count and with high inflammatory markers, such as CRP, LDH, and others. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19 will improve understanding of this disease's presentation and will help put rapid and proper management strategies into place to face this pandemic. A high index of suspicion is needed for cases presenting with multi-system inflammatory disease, which represented 5.7% of the included study population.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/diagnosis , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/diagnosis , Adolescent , Asymptomatic Infections , Biomarkers/blood , C-Reactive Protein/metabolism , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/therapy , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Ferritins/blood , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/blood , Length of Stay , Lymphopenia/complications , Male , Pandemics , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Saudi Arabia/epidemiology , Severity of Illness Index , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/complications , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/epidemiology , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/therapyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in Saudi children with sickle cell disease at a tertiary hospital in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) using nocturnal polysomnography. Methods: A prospective cross-section study was conducted between 2012 and 2016 in 65 children aged between 2-14 years at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, KSA with sickle cell disease. Patients answered a pediatric sleep questionnaire with the help of an accompanying caregiver and underwent polysomnography in the same night. Results: The final sample included 65 children. Median age was 8.1 years. There were 32 boys (49.2%) and 33 girls (50.8%). Mean hemoglobin was 8.6 (p=0.37) and mean body mass index was 15.6 (p=0.36). The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea was 80% (52 patients) using an apnea hypopnea index cutoff of ≥1 and 7.7% (5 patients) using an apnea hypopnea index cutoff of ≥5. Results from the pediatric sleep questionnaire were snoring (73.8%), apnea (32.8%), and bedwetting (46%). Conclusion: Obstructive sleep apnea is common in children with sickle cell disease.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Sickle Cell/complications , Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/epidemiology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Polysomnography , Prevalence , Saudi Arabia/epidemiology , Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/complications , Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/physiopathology , Tertiary Care CentersABSTRACT
Congenital protein C deficiency is an inherited coagulation disorder associated with an elevated risk of venous thromboembolism. A Saudi Arabian male from a consanguineous family was admitted to neonatal intensive care unit in his first days of life because of transient tachypnea and hematuria. Laboratory investigations determined low platelet and protein C deficiency. Direct sequencing of PROC gene and RNA analysis were performed. Analysis of factor V Leiden (G1691A) and factor II (G20210A) mutations was also done. Novel homozygous splice site mutation c.796+3A>T was detected in the index case and segregation was confirmed in the family. RNA analysis revealed the pathogenicity of the mutation by skipping exon 8 of PROC gene and changing the donor splice site of the exon. Detection of the molecular cause of protein C deficiency reduces life threatening and facilitates inductive carrier testing, prenatal and preimplantation genetic diagnosis for families.
