Missed Gastric Injuries in Blunt Abdominal Trauma : Case report with review of literature

Hollow viscus injuries of the digestive tract are an uncommon occurrence in blunt abdominal trauma. We report a 39-year-old male who was hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian and admitted to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2015. He underwent an exploratory laparotomy which revealed injuries to the distal stomach, liver and descending colon. Postoperatively, the patient was febrile, tachycardic and hypotensive. Abdominal examination revealed distention and tenderness. The next day, a repeat laparotomy identified a gastric injury which had not been diagnosed during the initial laparotomy. Although the defect was repaired, the patient subsequently died as a result of multiorgan failure. Missed gastric injuries are rare and are associated with a grave prognosis, particularly for trauma patients. Delays in diagnosis, in addition to associated injuries, contribute to a high mortality rate

Online Teaching Strategies of Language skills during Pandemic:A Case of Self-Efficacy of Teaching Faculty in Qatar Universities

COVID-19 caused teaching to shifted online which emanated challenges for both teachers and students. To overcome such challenges, self-efficacy plays a vital role. The major objective of this study was to investigate the self-efficacy of teaching staff during the time of COVID-19. The population was a total of over 1100 the university instructors, out of which a sample of 212 (Female=62, Male= 150) participants was administered. The research data was collected through Likert scale after given a training of using various online teaching strategies with language skills for three days. The factors including in this scale were students’ engagement, classroom management, and instructional strategies with 22 statements. Descriptive and Infrential statistics were assessed by using AMOS software. The findings of this research revealed that the respondents showed a high level of self-efficacy towards teaching during pandemic; and that online teaching was challenging for both pre-service teachers and experienced teachers. Further, there was a significant difference found among the demographic variables of the study regarding students’ engagement, classroom management and instructional strategies with language skills. Further, the qualitative results revealed no significant difference about the demographic characteristics of the respondents regarding self-efficacy through online teaching. There was a significant difference found in mean score where female score was greater than male score. This research is expected to make a great contribution for the development of the self-efficacy of the teaching faculty for the successful completion of teaching-learning process through online teaching

Insomnia in chronic renal patients on dialysis in Saudi Arabia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have shown that insomnia is a common sleep disorder among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of insomnia in Saudi patients with ESRD who are on maintenance dialysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out over a period of five months in two hemodialysis centers in Saudi Arabia. To assess the prevalence of insomnia, we used the ICSD-2 definition. We also examined the association between insomnia and other sleep disorders, the underlying causes of renal failure, dialysis duration, dialysis shift, and other demographic data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 227 enrolled patients, insomnia was reported by 60.8%. The mean patient age was 55.7 ± 17.2 years; 53.7% were male and 46.3% were female. Insomnia was significantly associated with female gender, afternoon hemodialysis, Restless Legs Syndrome, high risk for obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and excessive daytime sleepiness (<it><b>P-values: </b></it>0.05, 0.01, < 0.0001, < 0.0001, and < 0.0001, respectively). No significant association was found between insomnia and other variables, including BMI, smoking habits, underlying etiology of renal failure, dialysis duration, association with hemoglobin, ferritin, and phosphorus or dialysis adequacy as measured by the Kt/V index.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Insomnia is common in dialysis patients and was significantly associated with other sleep disorders. Greater attention needs to be given to the care of dialysis patients with regard to the diagnosis and management of insomnia and associated sleep disorders.</p

Missed Gastric Injuries in Blunt Abdominal Trauma: Case report with review of literature

Hollow viscus injuries of the digestive tract are an uncommon occurrence in blunt abdominal trauma. We report a 39-year-old male who was hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian and admitted to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2015. He underwent an exploratory laparotomy which revealed injuries to the distal stomach, liver and descending colon. Postoperatively, the patient was febrile, tachycardic and hypotensive. Abdominal examination revealed distention and tenderness. The next day, a repeat laparotomy identified a gastric injury which had not been diagnosed during the initial laparotomy. Although the defect was repaired, the patient subsequently died as a result of multiorgan failure. Missed gastric injuries are rare and are associated with a grave prognosis, particularly for trauma patients. Delays in diagnosis, in addition to associated injuries, contribute to a high mortality rate

An integrated systems model for understanding experiences of academic leadership development in Qatar

While leadership development is acknowledged as essential for institutional growth in the higher education sector, it remains poorly understood and under researched both empirically and theoretically. Although knowledge in this area is growing in western contexts, there is little published data from the Arabic speaking world. This article addresses this gap by reporting on a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funded research project which aimed to explore academic middle leaders’ experiences of leadership and leadership development in Qatar. Drawing on semi structured interviews with 17 academic middle leaders, an integrated systems model for understanding leadership development in Qatar is proposed, based on three inter-related systems: intrapersonal, relational, and institutional. This model has clear implications for future leadership development policy and practice, which it is argued needs to acknowledge the nuanced and complex leadership behaviours and interactions that are required to run academic departments successfully

Supports and constraints to middle leadership development in higher education: a Q-methodology study

Middle leadership development in a Higher Education context can be understood as a complex endeavor, influenced by interactions and interrelations within multiple systems. We explored the perspectives of thirty-five male and female middle leaders on the conditions influencing their leadership development at one university in Qatar. Q methodology was applied to collect and analyze data quantitatively and qualitatively. A 40-statement Q-sample was developed based on a proposed conceptual framework inspired by complexity thinking, and consisting of three dimensions; intrapersonal, relational and institutional. Q factor analysis revealed four significantly different viewpoints regarding the conditions that participants perceived were most influential for their leadership development, namely (1) institutional goals, (2) a culture of trust, (3) senior leadership support, and (4) personal ambitions. Despite the differences in viewpoints, three common constraints to leadership development were also identified. The study has implications for middle leadership development, with its distinctive methodological, theoretical and contextual contributions

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis: Beware of the great masquerade a case report

Basidiobolomycosis is rare infection caused by the saprophytic fungus Basidiobolus ranarum. Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis is an infrequent, albeit, increasingly reported, emerging form of the disease and typically affects immunocompetent individuals with potentially grave sequelae if unrecognized. Acquaintance with this exceptionally rare fungus and its potential for presenting as gastrointestinal mass masquerading as colonic malignancy is critical for timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and successful clinical outcome.We report a case of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis masquerading as colonic malignancy in a 29-year-old Omani patient successfully treated with combination of surgery and prolonged azole antifungal therapy. Keywords: Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis, Abdominal mass, Itraconazole, Voriconazole, Oma

The role identities of women middle management academic leaders in STEM Higher Education

Despite a growing number of women entering STEM-related professions and higher education, they remain underrepresented in taking up the role of middle management leaders. Once in their roles, they face multiple challenges in their attempt to balance numerous demands on their time and efforts. Working in a male-dominated culture increases the pressure on women middle management leaders to perform at a similarly high caliber. This study adopted a life history approach to narrative inquiry to explore the role identities of three female middle management leaders in one university in Qatar. Using the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity as a theoretical model, participants took part in a semi-structured interview during which they recounted their stories of past, present, and future. The findings of this study captured the rich, complex, dynamic, and contextualized nature of how the participants negotiated their identity formation in their academic leadership roles through their discursive practices of gender and leadership highlighting the values and beliefs of motherly care, trust and respect. With the self-perception of goal orientation, they engaged themselves in actions that enabled collegial support and encouraged colleagues to act. Despite a lack of structured professional training for leadership preparation, they generally replied on their prior experiences and efforts as strategies for leadership in doing. Family support was also considered a resource for balancing heavy workload for academic leadership and life commitments. The study concludes with ways to better support women academic leaders

Thromboprophylaxis and mortality among patients who developed venous thromboembolism in seven major hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) during hospitalization is a serious and potentially fatal condition. Despite its effectiveness, evidence-based thromboprophylaxis is still underutilized in many countries including Saudi Arabia. Objective of the Study: Our objectives were to determine how often hospital-acquired VTE patients received appropriate thromboprophylaxis, VTE-associated mortality, and the percentage of patients given anticoagulant therapy and adherence to it after discharged. Methods: This study was conducted in seven major hospitals in Saudi Arabia. From July 1, 2009, till June 30, 2010, all recorded deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) cases were noted. Only patients with confirmed VTE diagnosis were included in the analysis. Results: A total of 1241 confirmed VTE cases occurred during the 12-month period. Most (58.3%) of them were DVT only, 21.7% were PE, and 20% were both DVT and PE. 21.4% and 78.6% of confirmed VTE occurred in surgical and medical patients, respectively. Only 40.9% of VTE cases received appropriate prophylaxis (63.2% for surgical patients and 34.8% for medical patients; P 0.05). Appropriate thromboprophylaxis was associated with 4.11% absolute risk reduction in mortality (95% confidence interval: 0.24%–7.97%). Most (89.4%) of the survived patients received anticoagulation therapy at discharge and 71.7% of them were adherent to it on follow-up. Conclusion: Thromboprophylaxis was underutilized in major Saudi hospitals denoting a gap between guideline and practice. This gap was more marked in medical than surgical patients. Hospital-acquired VTE was associated with significant mortality. Efforts to improve thromboprophylaxis utilization are warranted