Publications by authors named "Safa Alshaikh"

Background: Cervical cancer remains a global health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, including Bahrain, where human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause.

Aim: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of cervical cytology (pap smear) and molecular HPV detection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in identifying cervical abnormalities among women in Bahrain.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed 320 pap smear samples from the Salmaniya Medical Complex laboratory.

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A 37-year-old man who presented with upper abdominal pain was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. He underwent an open appendicectomy. The intraoperative findings included only an acutely inflamed appendix.

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Objective: Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance cytology (ASC-US) is a challenging and equivocal diagnosis for pathologists in cervical Pap smears. The data on ASC-US cervical cytology in Bahrain are deficient. This study reviewed and identified the reporting rates, high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing results, histopathologic follow-up findings, and the cytologic progression of patients diagnosed with ASC-US in Bahrain.

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Schwannoma is a type of peripheral nerve sheath tumor that is often found in the head and neck. Schwannomas in the digestive system, particularly the colon and rectum, are exceptionally rare, and they are mostly non-malignant and asymptomatic although sometimes patients can present with symptoms similar to those observed in patients with other gastrointestinal tumors like abdominal pain, fullness, nausea, vomiting, and change in bowel habits. For diagnosis and treatment, surgical resection along with biopsy is the gold standard.

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Introduction: Psoriasis is a prevalent, complex, immune-mediated illness. There is some evidence in the literature supporting the involvement of the Wnt signaling pathway in psoriasis. No previous studies have focused on the association between the Wnt signaling pathway and vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in psoriasis.

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Introduction: Hashimoto thyroiditis is the most common cause of chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland. Ultrasound is the modality for detection, while fine needle aspiration is the gold standard method for diagnosis. Serologic markers, such as antithyroidal peroxidase antibody (TPO) and antithyroglobulin antibody (TG), are usually elevated.

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Background: Most of the foot and ankle soft tissue tumors are benign. Although lipomas are the most common soft tissue tumors, intra-articular lipomas are an extremely rare entity. The majority of described cases of intra-articular lipomas occur in the knee joint.

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Abdominal pain is a common clinical presentation that can be caused by a variety of conditions ranging from self-limited to serious pathologies. It may be the first symptom of an occult malignancy, especially in elderly patients or in the presence of systemic manifestations such as weight loss, fever, fatigue, and anorexia. However, functional gastrointestinal disorders, vascular pathologies, renal diseases, genitourinary illnesses, and chronic infections should also be considered as possible causes of abdominal pain.

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Background: Body fluid cytology (BFC) is an important tool in the diagnosis and staging of malignancy and is aided by the judicious use of immunohistochemistry (IHC). The aim of this study was to determine the usage rates of IHC stains in BFC, their type and indications, and their diagnostic impact. We also attempted to estimate the optimal rate of IHC use in BFC by comparing the entire laboratory's and each individual cytopathologist's IHC use rates with their respective indeterminate and malignant diagnosis rates.

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Background: Thyroid gland nodules are common and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is the gold standard for screening those nodules. The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytolopathology standardized reporting thyroid nodules aspirations, but atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (Bethesda category III) was the most controversial category. The aim of our study is to review our institutional experience and analyze the clinical implications of making a diagnosis of AUS/FLUS (Bethesda category III).

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To determine the spectrum of various types of lymphoma in Bahrain according to the latest World Health Organization classification criteria.  Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for all new lymphoma cases diagnosed at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Bahrain during the period from January 2010 to December 2015.  Results: Two hundred and twenty-one new cases of lymphoma in Bahraini patients were diagnosed in the study period.

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Background: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of thyroid is the initial screening test for thyroid nodules. The Bethesda system classifies thyroid FNAC into six categories. Each category is linked to a malignancy risk and has a recommended clinical management.

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Splenic lymphangiomas are exceedingly rare benign neoplasms that occur mainly in children. They are commonly seen in the neck and axillary region. Abdominal lymphangiomas accounts for less than 5% of cases.

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Background: Acute appendicitis in a neonate and premature baby is still considered a rare entity as diagnosis is always made after surgical exploration for acute abdominal findings mimicking necrotizing enterocolitis. Our reported case is a premature baby who had a perforated appendix with no evidence of peritonitis.

Case Presentation: We describe the case of a premature Bahraini girl born at 29 weeks of gestation by spontaneous vaginal delivery to a 39-year-old G6P5 mother.

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Mediastinum and retroperitoneum are exceedingly rare sites for metastatic prostate cancer to occur. Here, we present the case of a 67-year-old male patient with incidental findings of mediastinal and retroperitoneal masses which were found to be due to metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma based on histopathology and immunohistochemical studies and later on supported by the significantly elevated Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels. Prostate cancer should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of elderly men presenting with metastatic epithelial tumors even in unusual sites.

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More than a century has passed since the first description of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) as a clinicopathologic entity. HT is an autoimmune disease in which a breakdown of immune tolerance is caused by interplay of a variety of immunologic, genetic, and environmental factors. Thyrocyte injury resulting from environmental factors results in expression of new or hidden epitopes that leads to proliferation of autoreactive T and B cells.

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