Global Risk Profile Verification in Patients with Venous Thromboembolism (GRIP VTE) in 5 Gulf countries.

BACKGROUND: The Global Risk Profile Verification in Patients with Venous Thromboembolism was the first prospective multicenter registry conducted in Arabian Gulf countries to explore the epidemiology of venous thromboembolic (VTE) disorders and to provide data on diagnosis and disease management. METHODS: Data on 242 patients with confirmed VTE were submitted between September 2003 and November 2003 from 28 contributing hospitals in the Arabian Gulf region. Differences between groups were assessed by the chi(2) test or Fisher exact test for categorical variables. The Student's t test was used for testing proportions. RESULTS: The frequency of VTE cases is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), 187 (77.27%); pulmonary embolism (PE), 35 (14.46%); and DVT with PE, 20 (8.26%). The most common symptoms of DVT and DVT/PE patients were calf pain (72%), calf swelling (63.8%), and localized tenderness (52.2%). The most common symptoms in patients with PE alone and DVT/PE were dyspnea (83.6%), thoracic pain (69.1%), and cough (40%). Risk factors for VTE were immobilization (41.3%), age >65 years (28.9%), a history of VTE (20.7%), and trauma (19%). Among surgical interventions, orthopedic procedures induced the greatest number of VTE cases, followed by general surgery and gynecological procedures. Low-molecular-weight heparins were chosen to treat 33.7% of DVT cases, whereas unfractionated heparin was used in 21.9% of cases. CONCLUSION: VTE remains a common problem in medical and surgical patients in the Arabian Gulf states. Recognition of the common risk factors is of extreme importance to implement the appropriate prophylactic strategy according to the published guidelines.

How much do the Arab females know about osteoporosis? The scope and the sources of knowledge.

Three hundred fifty-eight educated women, 172 with secondary school education (49%) and 186 (51%) with higher education, were consented for the study. Eighty-five percent were Arab females with an average age of 28.8 years. They expressed their knowledge on osteoporosis on one-one interview. A score of two or more correct items would qualify the respondents to indicate the source(s) of their knowledge. Highly educated women had significantly less 0-1 score (37/186, 20%) than the other subgroup (74/172, 44%, p = 0.001). They, on average, expressed 2.5 items of knowledge vs. 1.69 by the other subgroup (p = 0.002). A total of 245 females, then, became eligible to indicate the source of knowledge. Osteoporosis as a "disease of menopause women" (84%) followed by "disease of easily fractured bones" (64.5%) were the highest in the list in their perception collectively and individually. Items relevant to lifestyle habits, complications, and disease associations were identically not acknowledged. They, however, significantly differed in their response to two items: "a disease of low bone density" and the "role of immobilization and low exercise." Highly educated women appeared more respondent than the other group (p = 0.008 and p = 0.05, respectively). Both were dependent on the "visual media," "relatives," and the "medics" as main sources of information. "Reading books" and "listening to radio programs" on osteoporosis were never considered. The highly educated Arab females have excelled over others with secondary education in terms of frequency and averaging the items of knowledge on osteoporosis. They, however, were not different in the way they perceived osteoporosis as well as in indicating their sources of knowledge. The results reemphasize the lack of an international standard in the understanding of osteoporosis among different populations of females.