Biomedical subjects

Ami-Hai E Rubin

Publications and source records attributed to Ami-Hai E Rubin.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Sarcoidosis in residents of northern Israel of Arabic and Jewish origin: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: This study describes the features of sarcoidosis among Arab patients and compares it to Jewish patients residing in northern Israel. METHODS: All new cases of biopsy-confirmed sarcoidosis diagnosed between 1980 and 1996 in northern Israel were divided into two groups according to their ethnic origin: Jewish (n = 72) and Arabic (n = 48). Disease parameters were recorded and compared. RESULTS: Arabs and Jews had similar incidence rates that increased from 0.2/10(5) in 1980 to 2/10(5) per year in 1996. The peak incidence was in the sixth and seventh decades and the female/male ratio was 2 and 1.4 for Arabic and Jewish patients, respectively. Jewish patients had higher proportion stage II-IV pulmonary disease (78% vs. 51.2%) while their Arabic counterparts had higher proportion of stage I disease (70.8% vs. 41.7%). The proportion of extra-thoracic organ involvement was similar. Different disease phenotype indicated differed diagnostic procedures; higher proportion of mediastinoscopy for stage I disease among Arabic patients (47.9% vs. 20.8%, P = 0.015) and trans-bronchial biopsy for stage II-IV pulmonary disease among Jewish patients (25% vs. 8.35%, P = 0.05). Corticosteroids were used in a non-significantly higher proportion of Jewish patients (56.9% vs. 43.8%, P > 0.05). Of six sarcoidosis-related deaths (5%), five occurred in Jewish patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study has documented different forms of presentation, clinical manifestation, severity and prognosis of sarcoidosis present among patients of Arabic and Jewish origin residing in the area of northern Israel.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Difficult-to-control asthma and obstructive sleep apnea.

This study tested the hypothesis that asthma can promote obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by looking at the prevalence of OSA among patients with difficult-to-control asthma receiving long-term oral corticosteroid (CS) therapy and examined some possible etiological factors. The study design was a prospective cohort study and was conducted in the pulmonary outpatient clinic of a tertiary care center in Haifa, Israel. Twenty-two consecutive patients with severe unstable asthma, 14 on continuous and 8 on bursts of oral CS, in addition to their standard therapy for a mean of 8.9 +/- 3.3 years, underwent a night polysomnography in a sleep laboratory regardless of sleep complaints. A standard questionnaire was completed upon attending the sleep laboratory. The OSA was defined as respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of > or = 5 and typical complaints. The correlation between RDI to asthma and morphometric parameters was tested. All but one patient had OSA [95.5% prevalence], with mean RDI of 17.7 +/- 2.5. The RDI values were significantly higher in the continuous CS therapy subgroup (21.4 +/- 3.4 vs. 11.1 +/- 1.6, p < 0.05]. The study group had above normal neck circumferences and body mass index. The former increased by 12.1% +/- 3.1% % to 29.8% +/- 1% during the oral CS therapy interval but had no significant effect on RDI as a covariant. This study showed an unexpectedly high prevalence of OSA among patients with unstable asthma receiving long-term chronic or frequent burst of oral CS therapy. It may be assumed that prolonged and especially continuous oral CS therapy in asthma increases airway collapsibility.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed2002

Sarcoidosis in northern Israel; clinical characteristics of 120 patients.

BACKGROUND: As the clinical features of sarcoidosis vary among patients from different ethnic groups and geographic areas, local reports are of great interest. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The files of 120 patients (72 females, 48 males), 65% of Jewish and 35% of Arab origin, with a mean age at diagnosis of 49.7 +/- 11.1 years, with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis, and residents of northern Israel were evaluated and disease parameters recorded. RESULTS: The mean annual incidence between 1980-1996 was 0.8/100,000. Most patients presented with pulmonary symptoms of at least one month's duration. Thoracic and extra-thoracic involvement was found in 90% and 47% of patients, respectively. Radiographic stage 0,1,2,3,4 disease was found in 9.2, 31.7, 18.3, 37.5 and 3.3% of the patients respectively. Sixty-two patients received medical therapy, mostly for pulmonary involvement. The majority of patients recovered without sequelae. Six patients died from sarcoidosis during the follow-up period (cardiac: 2, pulmonary: 4), providing a 5% mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcoidosis in northern Israel is a fairly uncommon condition that occurs mainly in older patients with female predominance. Patients in this area have a higher incidence of clinically significant pulmonary involvement necessitating medical therapy as compared to other parts of the world.

Adolescent↗