Benghazi University Medical Journal

Awareness and knowledge of glaucoma among adult ophthalmic patients Attending Central Eye Clinic/Benghazi

Safa J. Elhoni — 2024-12-30

Background:The risk of blindness caused by glaucoma is higher when individuals lack awareness and understanding of the condition. Delay in the diagnosis of glaucoma is also a significant factor contributing to blindness. The level of awareness of glaucoma in the Libyan population is not known.
Aim: to determine the level of glaucoma awareness among Libyans and provide baseline data for better allocation of public health resources.
Material and methods:The study was conducted at the Out-Patient Ophthalmology Clinic affiliated with Benghazi Teaching Eye Hospital. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire during the first week of January 2024. The collected data was tabulated, coded, and analyzed using the SPSS program for Windows 7, version 23, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:hundred eighty-five participants were interviewed, with a mean age of 47.8,12.34 (range from 35-80) years. Out of which 156 (84.3%) had heard about glaucoma, but only 32 (17%) were aware of glaucoma based on the study's definition of awareness, 50% were in the age group30-39 years (P= 0.04), 69% were female (P=0.02), 72% were government employees (P=0.04), 91%were not diabetics (P= 0.03)and 47% got their information from family and friends (P<0.001). Regarding knowledge of glaucoma, 34.3% of the aware participants had good knowledge, 59.5% had average knowledge, and 6.2% had poor knowledge.
Conclusion: awareness of glaucoma among attendants in the Ophthalmology Clinic Benghazi is low (17%), with half of those aware being in the age group of 30-39 years, with females being more aware than males. The primary source of information for them was family and friends (47%). To address this issue, effective educational campaigns and media strategies are needed to raise awareness levels and prevent blindness caused by glaucoma.
WAwareness, Glaucoma, knowledge, blindness, Libya.

Dimension and morphological variation of the sella turcica in Libyan adults in Benghazi using CT scan

Rodina Hani — 2024-12-30

Background: The sella turcica is a significant anatomical structure used to assess sellar and parasellar pathologies, as well as in orthodontic procedures. Normal sellar anatomy varies significantly between different populations. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge about the sella turcica among the Libyan community.
Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and assess the correlation between sellar dimensions and morphological variants with gender.
Results: Data from computed tomography of 146 Libyan adults (66 females and 80 males) aged from 18 to 70 years was analyzed using SPSS. The mean length, depth, and anteroposterior diameter were 9.924±2.001mm, 8.575±1.651mm, and 12.502±1.912mm, respectively. The round shape was the most common, found in 54.8% of subjects, followed by oval (32.2%) and flattened (13%). When assessing whether gender plays a role in the size and shape of the sella turcica, there was no statistically significant difference between males and females in relation to all sellar measurements and shapes.
Conclusion: The results of this study can be used as a reference standard for the Libyan population in various medical specialties, including radiology, neurosurgery, forensic medicine, and orthodontics. This can aid in the early diagnosis of pathologies, leading to better management and follow-up. Additionally, the findings can serve as a basis for further international research investigations.

Estimation of Eyeball Volume using computed tomography in a sample of Libyan population

Seleema Alshokri — 2024-12-30

Background: A few ocular illnesses that change the eye’s dimensions may cause visual anomalies such as myopia, hypermetropia, presbyopia,macrophthalmia, microphthalmia, and astigmatism. In accordance, the knowledge of eyeball volume is mandatory; its significant is quite clear in understanding illnesses such as Coats’ disease, phthisis bulbi, and persistently hyperplastic primary vitreous that are linked to decreased ocular volume.
Aim: This study aims to evaluate eyeball volume using computed tomography in a Libyan population to be used as a reference in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and macular edema screening programs.
Patients & Methods: This is a retrospective study of the CT medical records of 100 consecutive subjects aged 20 to 80 years who were scanned in the diagnostic radiology department of the National Cancer Center, of Benghazi (NCCB) for different causes during the period from December 2023 to April 2024.
Results: This study included 100 patients; 63 (63%) were males, and 37 (37%) were females. The mean age was 43.12 ± 25.24 years for males and 41.24 ± 31.73 years for females. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean age between both sexes. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean eyeball volume for both sexes concerning age. The right eyeball volume was higher for both males and females.
Conclusion: Ocular volume correlated positively with the age of the patients, and males had slightly larger eyeballs compared to females. This data might be useful in ophthalmological, oculoplastic, and neurological practice. The right eyeball volume was higher on the right for both males and females.

Histopathological study of lung cancer: Rate of different types of bronchogenic carcinoma of follow up cases in Benghazi Medical Centre

Ramzi Al-Taleb — 2024-12-30

Introduction: Lung cancer has transformed from a relatively rare disease to a worldwide health problem and a major global health concern. It is the second most common cancer in both men and women, after prostate and breast cancer respectively. It has become the leading cause of cancer-related death.
Aim: This study is conducted to shed the light on the rate of different types of lung cancer among patients who were diagnosed and treated at Benghazi Medical Center.
Material and methods: The current study was a retrospective study, carried on 269 Case of confirmed primary lung cancer diagnosed between the years 2015, to 2018. Data was collected from the Oncology Department of Benghazi Medical Center. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23, and was plotted into tables and figures by Microsoft Excel 2010.
Results: This study revealed that the common age group of patients was between 61–70 years, with a mean age of 62.3±3.75 (SD) years. The disease was more common in males than females. Most of the patients were active smokers, and about 92.9% of the patients have no past medical history of respiratory diseases. Non-small cell carcinoma was the commonest type of lung cancer (71.4%), out of which adenocarcinoma represented 54% of the cases. Almost all (92.9%) cases were presented with stage IV of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, which meant that the cancer was already metastasized to distant organs. In about 72.5% of the cases, the tumor was in the right side of the lung, in the upper region. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean age of males and females. Also, there was a significant relationship between the adenocarcinoma subtype of NSCLC (None Small Cell Lung Cancer) and patients with no past respiratory diseases.
Conclusion: lung cancer is an aggressive malignant tumor which was very common among smoking Libyan males and usually associated with high mortality rate.

Prevalence of Depression in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis attending Rheumatology clinic of Benghazi Medical Center

Neama Boshalla — 2024-12-30

Introduction: Depression is a common co-morbidity in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients, potentially affecting the severity of the disease. Aim: The study aims to assess the prevalence of depression in Libyan patients with RA and to evaluate their depressive symptoms and depression scores.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the Rheumatology Clinic of Benghazi Medical Center. It includes RA patients attending the clinic over six months, using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depressive symptoms.
Results: The study analyzed 157 patients, aged 17 to 71 (mean age 42.9 years), predominantly female (female to male ratio of 12.1:1). Most patients had secondary or university education 74 patients (47.1%). Over half had no co-morbidities, and 87.3% were receiving RA treatment. A family history of RA was noted in 32.5% of patients. Depression scores revealed: Minimal depression in 12.7% (no treatment needed), Mild depression in 20.4% (treatment based on clinical judgment), Moderate depression in 29.3% (treatment based on clinical judgment). Moderately severe depression in 19.7% (treatment with antidepressants or therapy). Severe depression in 17.8% (treatment with antidepressants with or without therapy). The mean depression score was 12.3, with no significant associations found with age, sex, residence, disease duration, family history, or Body Mass Index (BMI).
Conclusion: In conclusion, RA patients exhibit a high prevalence of depression, which significantly impacts their quality of life and disease outcomes. The presence of co-morbidities further complicates management. Addressing the mental health of RA patients should be an integral part of their overall care plan.

Skin manifestation of diabetes at Benghazi Diabetic centre

Salma Alsunousi — 2024-12-30

Background: Diabetes mellitus is more than just popular endocrine disturbance or malfunction; it is an extending disorder which has a burden on different age groups and socioeconomic populations. The persistent hyperglycaemia contributes to the onset of cutaneous manifestations in diabetes mellitus. Skin signs of this endocrine disease generally appear after the primary disease has developed but may appear coincidentally
with its onset, or even precede diabetes by many years. Observing the skin signs of diabetes is crucially important as it can add to adequate disease control. An active workup for many initial changes, such as xerosis, hyperkeratosis or the various skin infections and actively early managing them could be greatly valuable to reduce dangerous untreatable late side effects of diabetes.
In this study we aimed to study the pattern of different cutaneous manifestations associated with diabetes mellitus.
Objective: To evaluate the most common skin manifestation of diabetes, and their relations to age, sex, diabetes duration, fasting blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin and making comparisons with other studies.
Methods: This study was conducted between April 2023 and June 2023, and this study included cases attending Benghazi Diabetic Centre and the Diabetic clinic of Benghazi Medical Centre.
Results: Fungal infections were the most common skin manifestations, Females outnumber the males, values of two types of diabetes were similar, the peak of age ranged between (44-53), and the glycaemic profile was unsatisfactory.
Conclusion: Fungal infections are the most common skin manifestation in this study and they are more related to females than males with accelerated sugar levels.

Implementation of Curriculum Strategies For Medical Education

Ibrahim Betelmal — 2024-12-30

In a world where medical knowledge is expanding, how we teach physicians is as important as what we teach. An integrated curriculum can bridge basic sciences and clinical practice and help develop soft skills such as critical thinking. By integrating disciplines, we prepare future doctors to address the challenges of modern healthcare systems.