Adolescent endocrinology in Saudi Arabia
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M A Abdullah1, H S Al-Salhi, M A Anani
1Department of Pediatrics, Security Forces Hospital, PO Box 3643, Riyadh 11481, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Objective:
The importance of providing special health care services for adolescents has been recently stressed. In Saudi Arabia, adolescents have no special services. In this study, we describe our first 5 years experience of an adolescent endocrinology clinic in Security Forces Hospital. We believe it is the first clinic with this objective in the Kingdom.
Methods:
An adolescent endocrinology clinic was run by a team composed of pediatric endocrinologist, diabetic nurse educator, clinic nurse and a dietician in collaboration with other supportive staff and consultants from other disciplines. The methodology of setting up, staffing and running the clinic is described.
Results:
About 223 cases were registered over 5 years. The most common problems were short stature 53 (24%), diabetes mellitus 49 (22%), obesity 40 (18%), thyroid disorders 28 (13%), delayed puberty 20 (9%) and rickets (8%). The clinic was well accepted by parents and their families. We learned a lot on how to handle these problems locally.
Conclusion:
Based on our experience, we recommend establishing special health care services for adolescents both at the primary care, as well as secondary and tertiary care levels.
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