Pattern of community and hospital acquired pneumonia in Egyptian military hospitals

AbstractBackgroundCommunity-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common infectious diseases addressed by clinicians. CAP is an important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.Aim of the workThe aim of this study was to identify the causative bacteria, antibiotic sensitivity and antibiotic resistance of community and hospital acquired pneumonia in a group of Egyptian military hospitals.Patients and methodsThis study included 239 patients who were admitted to five major Egyptian Military Hospitals (Kobbry El kobba, El-Maadi, Masr Elgadida, El-Galaa and Ghamra) during the period from March 2012 to August 2012 and were selected due to suspicion of developing pneumonia either community or acquired due to hospital stay according to clinical, laboratory and/or radiological evidence.ResultsThis study consists of (239) patients, (187) patients were CAP and (52) patients were HAP divided in five hospitals. The obtained results showed insignificant relationship between type of organisms and concomitant illness of these patients with the highest incidence in patients below 60years (71.6% in CAP and 44.2% in HAP), patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs (40.1% in CAP and 22.3% in HAP) and diabetics (40.4% in CAP and 40.3% in HAP).ConclusionOur study showed that Gram positive organisms were the most prevalent in CAP especially Streptococcus pneumonia followed by Staphylococcus aureus, while Klebsiella was the most prevalent Gram negative organism. On the other hand our study showed that Gram negative organisms were the most prevalent in HAP especially Klebsiella followed by Pseudomonas aerginosa, while Staphylococcus haemolyticus was the most prevalent Gram positive organism

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

CT perfusion in hepatocellular carcinoma: Is it reliable?

Background: Ninety percent of hepatic cancers are hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) which have an unfavorable prognosis. HCC is a hypervascular tumor supplied mainly by the hepatic artery. It has a higher blood supply than the surrounding hepatic tissue due to neovascularization. Computed tomography with perfusion imaging (CTP) is a non invasive tool which quantifies the blood flow parameters of HCC and compares it to the surrounding tissue. Purpose: To prove that CTP is a valuable diagnostic tool in diagnosis of HCC and posttherapeutic assessment. Patients and methods: One hundred and twenty-six HCC patients with 150 focal lesions are enrolled this study. Perfusion parameters are quantified and results are compared to those of triphasic CT. Results: CTP detected 141 lesions with 94% sensitivity and 40% specificity with elevated arterial perfusion (AP) and perfusion index (PI) with low portal flow (PF). It missed 5 lesions because of their hypovascularity and 4 lesions following radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and trans arterial chemo embolization (TACE). Conclusion: CTP is a safe and specific imaging tool for diagnosis and assessment of therapeutic interventional procedures in HCC

Reciprocal ST segment changes in acute inferior myocardial infarction: Clinical, hemodynamic and angiographic implications

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of reciprocal ST segment depression on the presenting electrocardiogram in patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction. Design and setting: A prospective, randomized, controlled single center study done in the critical care department, Cairo university Hospital. Subjects: Forty consecutive patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction were enrolled in this study divided into two groups, 20 patients with reciprocal ST depression (group 1) and 20 patients without such depression (group 2). Interventions: All patients were investigated with serial ECG, cardiac biomarkers, echocardiography and coronary angiography. Results: There was no significant difference in the proportion of coronary disease risk factors in patients in group 1, versus those in group 2. Patients in group 1 had significant higher degree ST elevation (in inf. Leads) than patients in group 2, higher levels of peak total CPK and CKMB was also seen. In addition patients in group 1 developed complication more frequently than those in group 2. Although no statistically significant difference between the two groups was seen as regard the ejection fraction sought by echocardiography, it did show a higher incidence of mitral regurge in group 1 [14 (70%)] versus 6 (30%) in group 2 with P value of 0.01. In group 1 left anterior descending artery lesions was significantly more frequent than in group 2 with P value < 0.001, also multivessel disease was significantly more frequent in group 1. Conclusion: The significance of reciprocal ST depression on the electrocardiogram during the course of inferior MI remains uncertain, opinion is divided as to whether it is a benign electrical phenomenon or a sign of a greater myocardial necrosis and more frequent left coronary artery disease, from our study we support the latter opinion. This simple ECG finding may be used to differentiate high risk patients for a more aggressive approach

Conventional MR in rotator cuff pathology. Is it sufficient?

Background: Magnetic resonance (MR) provides detailed information for the depiction of shoulder lesions. It allows a unique anatomical and tissue characterization providing a detailed evaluation of the rotator cuff (RC) and the surrounding bones. Purpose: Our objective is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of MR in depiction of lesions encountered in shoulder impingement and rotator cuff (RC) degenerative lesions compared to shoulder arthroscopy. Patients and methods: This study included 28 patients with shoulder impingement for which conventional MR was done followed by arthroscopy. The results of MR were compared to the results of surgical repair. Results: MR was highly accurate in the diagnosis of full-thickness (FT) tears of the RC, showing 100% accuracy, 100% sensitivity, and 100% specificity. MR was capable of comprehensive evaluation of FT tears. MR had a high accuracy (96%) in the diagnosis of partial-thickness (PT) RC tears. It showed 100% specificity and 100% positive predictive value (PPV) with no false positive cases. MR revealed high specificity (100%) in the diagnosis of biceps abnormalities. It identified all the 20 negative cases that were confirmed surgically. Conclusion: Conventional MR plays an adequate role in evaluation of different lesions encountered in shoulder impingement and RC degenerative disorders