Migraine and tension-type headache among undergraduate medical, dental and pharmaceutical students of University of Aleppo: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Headache disorders are among the most common 10 causes of disability worldwide according to the global burden of disease survey 2010. Headache is also wildly common among universities students when compared with other populations. The purpose of this study is to assess headache prevalence among Aleppo University medical, dental and pharmaceutical undergraduate students.

Methods

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among medical, dental and pharmaceutical students at Aleppo University, Syria. We determined the type of headache according to the International Classification of Headache Disorder-III. The total number of participants was 2068. A χ² test was used to evaluate the association between the categorical outcomes. P<0.05 was considered significant.

Results

Out of 2068 participants, 1604 (77.6%) were medical students, 205 (9.9%) were dental students and 259 (12.5%) were pharmaceutical students. The effect on daily activities was higher in chronic tension headache (96.7%) and migraine without aura (94.6%) than migraine with aura (91.3) and episodic tension headache (85.1%). Out of 1191 who had a headache, only 188 (15.9%) had a medical consultation.

Conclusions

There was no a statistically significant difference in prevalence of tension headache and migraine according to faculties. There was a statistically significant difference in patients with migraine according to academic year, living with family and smoking. The effect on daily activities was higher in chronic tension-type headache and migraine without aura. There is a significant lack of medical consultation among students and most of them took over the counter analgesics depending on personal choice.

Left sided Richter type obturator hernia causing intestinal obstruction: A case report

Introduction

Although relatively rare, an obturator hernia is a significant cause of intestinal obstruction. It usually occurs in emaciated elderly females. Computed tomography is the imaging modality of choice to diagnose obturator hernias.

Case report

In this report we present a case of an elderly female who presented to the emergency department with features suggesting bowel obstruction. The patient was admitted to the hospital and was initially managed conservatively. Two days later the patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy and was diagnosed with a left sided Richter type obturator hernia. The hernia was successfully reduced and the necrotic bowel was resected with end to end anastomosis.

Discussion

An obturator hernia is a rare type of abdominal hernias which often occurs in very thin old females. Patients with obturator hernias usually present with symptoms of acute or intermittent small bowel obstruction. Mild symptoms without abdominal pain may be due to incomplete obstruction or Richter type hernia. Computed tomography is considered the gold standard diagnostic modality for obturator hernias. An early surgical intervention is the treatment of choice.

Conclusion

The clinical diagnosis of an obturator hernia is often difficult due to its nonspecific symptoms and infrequent signs. Yet early diagnosis is mandatory because its delay contributes to bowel necrosis and to the poor prognosis in these patients. Surgery remains the only effective management of this condition.

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Obturator hernias are a rare cause of intestinal obstruction.

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An obturator hernia usually occurs in very thin elderly females.

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Obturator hernias present with symptoms of intestinal obstruction.

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Computed tomography is the imaging modality of choice to diagnose obturator hernias.

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The only management of this condition is surgery through either laparotomy or laparoscopy.