Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) Gene Mutation: A First Report in Children

Genetic hyperchylomicronemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of lipoprotein metabolism estimated to affect approximately one per million individuals. We report a case with a rare mutation identified. It’s a genetic chylomicronemia in a Moroccan newborn baby, with massive hypertriglyceridemia and clinical signs of acute pancreatitis. She was a newborn female, first-degree of consanguineous parents. She was hospitalized for hypertriglyceridemia, complicated by acute pancreatitis; serum was noted to be milky. The genetic study found a mutation of the Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) gene: homozygous pathogenic variant c.1019-3C > A. She enjoyed good health, developed well and the triglyceride was maintained at a concentration o

Health professional stress during COVID-19 pandemic

WHO declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, caused by SARS-CoV-2, to be a pandemic on March 12, 2020. In Morocco, the first case was reported in March 2nd 2020. The mental health of general population, medical and nursing staff especially has been greatly challenged. The aim of the present article is to explore the stress status of medical and nursing staff associated with exposure to the COVID-19. The medical staff was asked to complete a self-reported questionnaire anonymously. In University Hospital Mohamed VI, in Marrakesh, Morocco. During May 2020. In total, 120 valid questionnaires were collected. Among them, there were 57 residents (47,5%), 30 internes (25%), 22 nurses (19%) and others: medicine students and technical staff. The age was between 23 and 60 years. 15% of professional lived alone, 85% with their family, 74% lived with an old person or with a person having a chronic disease. In our study: the severity of symptoms in 36% of the asked professional, deaths among health professionals in 15%, death of a family member in 14%, the rapid spread of pandemic in 90%, the lack of knowledge in 83%, and finally contamination risk especially if comorbidity associated in 2%. Further risk factors: feelings of being inadequately supported by the hospital in 42%, fear of taking home infection to family members or others in 80%, being isolated, feelings of uncertainty and social stigmatization in 43%. The psychological presentation was the nightmare 19 in %, the insomnia in 48%, the somatization in 18%, the irritability in 22%, the aggressiveness in 14%, the nervousness in 70% and the drowsiness in 5%. During the vulnerability of the individual’s conditions during and after the COVID-19, psychological intervention should be done and a mental health support for the health professional

Study of Bacterial Contamination of Mobile Phones and Stethoscopes in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Mobile phones and stethoscopes used in neonatology units could be colonized by potentiel bacteria pathogens. It can be a vector of severe nosocomial infections and multi-drug-resistant pathogens. The aim of this study is to evaluate the microbial contamination of mobile phones and stethoscopes, used by medical and paramedical staff. The study was conducted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Mohamed VI University Hospital, Marrakech (Morocco) in April 2016. The bacteriological study was made on 17 mobile phones and 13 stethoscopes. Samples were taken from all surfaces of mobile phones and stethoscopes, with a sterile swab. Bacterial contamination rate of all mobile phones and stethoscopes was 100%. The cultures of bacteria isolated were polymorphic. Among the bacteria isolated, six multi-resistant bacterial strains were isolated at the mobile phones (35%), corresponding to 4 Klebsiella pneumoniae and 2 strains of E. coli. A strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae multidrug-resistant (7.7%) was found on a stethoscope. This study shows that mobile phones and stethoscopes could be involoved in the transmission of severe nosocomial infections, with multidrug-resistance. As part of the prevention of such risks, we must educate the medical staff, users of mobile phones on the importance of hand washing and use of hydro-alcoholic solutions after each use of mobile phones and stethoscopes

Management of Severe COVID-19 in Pregnancy

The scarcity of data concerning pregnant patients gravely infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) makes their management difficult, as most of the reported cases in the literature present mild pneumonia symptoms. The core problem is laying out evidence on coronavirus’s implications on pregnancy and delivery, as well as vertical transmission and neonatal mortality. A healthy 30-year-old pregnant woman, gravida 6, para 4, at 31 weeks of gestation, presented severe pneumonia symptoms promptly complicated with premature rupture of membranes (PROM). A nasopharyngeal swab returned positive for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). The parturient underwent a cesarean delivery. This paper is an attempt to outline management of the critical condition of COVID-19 during pregnancy