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Year : 2017 | Volume
: 23
| Issue : 2 | Page : 128-129 |
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Is solitary rectal ulcer syndrome uncommon in Saudi Arabia? Response to letter |
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Abdulaziz AI Ghulayqah1, Ehab Abu-Farhaneh1, Fahad Al Sohaibani1, Majid A Almadi2, Hadeel Al Mana3
1 Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Pathology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Date of Web Publication | 29-Mar-2017 |
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How to cite this article: AI Ghulayqah A, Abu-Farhaneh E, Al Sohaibani F, Almadi MA, Al Mana H. Is solitary rectal ulcer syndrome uncommon in Saudi Arabia? Response to letter. Saudi J Gastroenterol 2017;23:128-9 |
How to cite this URL: AI Ghulayqah A, Abu-Farhaneh E, Al Sohaibani F, Almadi MA, Al Mana H. Is solitary rectal ulcer syndrome uncommon in Saudi Arabia? Response to letter. Saudi J Gastroenterol [serial online] 2017 [cited 2021 Mar 3];23:128-9. Available from: https://www.saudijgastro.com/text.asp?2017/23/2/128/203361 |
Sir,
We thank Dr Zahra et al. for their interest in our paper, and we agree with the points raised regarding our recent publication on solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS).[1] Although limiting the inclusion of cases to those with proven pathology samples might restrict the study population and hence might not represent the true spectrum of the disorder, at the same time not doing so would misclassify cases and introduce another bias into the study. Furthermore, although anecdotal, we know that gastroenterologists in the region are reluctant to make a diagnosis of an SRUS without histological proof given that it can mimic other pathologies, even when the clinical presentation is thought of as “classical.”
However, we disagree with the title of the letter as it appears to imply that we were attempting to estimate the prevalence of the disease, which is not the case. Neither the study setting, a tertiary care center, nor the absence of a clear catchment area allow for the determination of the true prevalence of this disease. We also share the same view of Dr. Zahra et al. that the study population being from a tertiary care center might represent a difficult to treat population and again might not be a proper representation of the disease. Nonetheless, identification of this entity from secondary care centers would be unusual given the healthcare resources and distribution of qualified healthcare providers with adequate support that would allow for such a study to be conducted.
Fortunately, SRUS are relatively uncommon and are treatable with limited long-term health effects in the majority of the cases.
References | |  |
1. | AlGhulayqah AI, Abu-Farhaneh EH, AlSohaibani FI, Almadi MA, AlMana HM. Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome: A single-center case series. Saudi J Gastroenterol 2016;22:456-60.  [ PUBMED] [Full text] |

Correspondence Address: Fahad Al Sohaibani Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/sjg.SJG_42_17

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