OBJECTIVE To assess the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) in rural Lebanon. DESIGN A cross-sectional study on a sample of households with at least one child aged 0-2 years. In a one-to-one interview, participants completed an adapted Arabic version of the HFIAS. In order to evaluate the validity of the HFIAS, basic sociodemogr...

Background. A stray bullet injury is defined as an accidental firearm injury occurring outdoors by an anonymous attacker. Stray bullet injuries are rare, but not uncommon in certain parts of the world. In Pakistan, 165 patients with stray bullet injuries were recorded between 2006 and 2010. Objectives. In Lebanon, gunshots may occur during politicians’ speeches, funerals and after exam results ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Juniperus excelsa is an important woody species in the high mountain ecosystems of the eastern Mediterranean Basin where it constitutes the only coniferous species found at the tree line. The genetic diversity within and among J. excelsa populations of the eastern Mediterranean Basin is studied in the light of their historical fragmentation. METHODOLOGY Nuclear microsatell...

Objective: This study is a reassessment of the prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorders in a general population from South Lebanon conducted one year after the July war in 2007, and was thereafter compared to an assessment conducted one year pre-war in 2005 on the same population. This study aims to (1) assess for PTSD, depression and general health in South Lebanon 1 year after the m...

Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) is a genetically heterogeneous metabolic disorder that is transmitted in an autosomal recessive manner. According to clinical data, MSUD prevalence in Lebanon is expected to be higher than the International prevalence because of consanguineous marriage. Novel mutations are still getting detected by using DNA sequencing for mutation analysis in MSUD patients. In ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the medical and compensation costs of work-related injuries in insured workplaces in Lebanon and to examine cost distributions by worker and injury characteristics. METHODS A total of 3748 claims for work injuries processed in 1998 by five major insurance companies in Lebanon were reviewed. Medical costs (related to emergency room fees, physician consultations, tests, an...

INTRODUCTION Infection with and antifungal resistance of Candida species have been on the rise globally. Relevant data on these pathogens are relatively few in our region, including Lebanon, thus warranting this study. METHODOLOGY This retrospective study of Candida spp. profiles and their in vitro antifungal susceptibility was based on analysis requests for 186 Candida non-albicans and 61 C....

BACKGROUND Lebanon suffers from a large scale emigration of physicians coupled with an oversaturation of the physician job market. Lebanon is currently witnessing an expansion of its medical education capacity with the establishment of new private medical schools, raising the fears of a worsening market oversaturation. DISCUSSION The neighboring Arabian Gulf countries are suffering from a ser...

AIM This paper, based on the experience of the first author as an expatriate nurse, aims to describe and discuss some aspects of collaboration that contributed to the building of clinical practice when implementing an operating theatre programme in the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) hospitals in Lebanon. BACKGROUND The operation theatre programme lasted for 8 months: 6 months in 2008 a...

When addressing urban water problems, it is no longer adequate to consider issues of water supply, demand, disposal, and reuse independently. Innovative water management strategies and opportunities for water reuse can only be properly evaluated in the context of their interactions with the broader water system. An integrated linear deterministic optimization model is applied to Beirut, Lebanon...