Practice Pointers Muscle cramps affect between 50% and 60% of adults.1 Little is known about their pathophysiology, so many remedies are used empirically. A crystalline alkaloid powder extracted from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, quinine is well known for its use in treating malaria and providing the bitter flavor for tonic water. Quinine has been used by the Quechua of South Am...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to define the indicators predicting improved abdominal wall function after surgical repair of abdominal rectus diastasis (ARD). Preoperative subjective assessment quantified by the validated Ventral Hernia Pain Questionnaire (VHPQ) was related to relative postoperative functional improvement in abdominal muscle strength. METHODS Fifty-seven patients underg...

CASE HISTORY A 52-yr-old female presented with complaints of upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. There was no history of prior abdominal pain, abdominal distension and constipation. In June 2003, the patient had presented to her general practitioner with pain and swelling in multiple joints, both small and large. She was diagnosed to have seronegative rheumatoid arthritis and had receive...

The impact of oligofructose (OF) intake on stool frequency has not been clearly substantiated, while significant gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms have been reported in some individuals. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of OF on stool frequency and GI symptoms in healthy adults. In an 8-week, randomised, double-blind, parallel-arm study, ninety-eight participants were prov...

Mycetoma a worldwide disease frequently occurs in the tropics with the highest prevalence being in Africa. Madurella mycetomatis is the main causative organism of human eumycetoma in Sudan. The legs and feet were commonly the sites of the infection. A 22-year-old lady was presented with painful abdominal swelling around a previous caesarian section scar. A provisional diagnosis of obstructed in...

Results Our patients were 48% male and 52 % female, and those numbers are not different from those of the pertinent literature. The age was distributed according with the literature, similar to all tree groups: 42.8% were infants, 32.7% were children (3 to 13 years) and 24.5% were adolescents and adults. In anamneses of the GALT system, the abdominal pain was the most frequent complain, present...

Abdominal distension is a common but little understood symptom of the irritable bowel syndrome. The authenticity of the symptom was confirmed by appreciable increases in girth measurement during the day in 20 patients with the irritable bowel syndrome compared with 20 control subjects. Objective corroboration of this finding was shown in the group with the irritable bowel syndrome by a highly s...

BACKGROUND Abdominal drains have been placed prophylactically and removed in liver resection without robust evidence. The present study was designed to establish the optimal time for removal of such drains. METHODS Data on abdominal prophylactic drains were analysed in a consecutive series of patients who underwent liver resection for malignancy between 2006 and 2009. Bilirubin levels in drai...

72-year-old housewife complained of involuntary abdominal and back movement, which persisted for five years. She had a history of breast cancer and unruptured aneurysm on intracranial carotid artery. On neurological examination, she had persistent, irregular, occasionally jerky movement of the abdominal wall. The movement would stop when she spoke or took a deep breath. Head and whole spinal MR...