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Background: The widespread use of pesticides in public health protection and agricultural pest control has caused severe environmental pollution and health hazards, especially in developing countries, including cases of severe acute and chronic human poisoning. Diabetic ketoacidosis is an uncommon manifestation of acute pesticide poisoning. Suicidal pesticide poisoning by injection is also an unusual way to take poison. We report a severe pesticide mixture poisoning case with diabetic ketoacidosis in an adult with improved outcome after supportive treatment and large doses of atropine. Case presentation: A 30-year-old unmarried Moroccan Arab male with a previous history of active polysubstance abuse and behavior disorders had ingested and self injected intravenously into his forearm an unknown amount of a mixture of chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin. He developed muscarinic and nicotinic symptoms with hypothermia, inflammation in the site of the pesticide injection without necrosis. Red blood cell cholinesterase and plasma cholinesterase were very low (<10%). By day 3, the patient developed stroke with hypotension (80/50 mmHg) and tachycardia (143 pulses /min). Laboratory tests showed severe hyperglycemia (4.49 g/dL), hypokaliemia (2.4 mEq/L), glycosuria, ketonuria and low bicarbonate levels (12 mEq/L) with improvement after intensive medical treatment and treatment by atropine. Conclusion: Suicidal poisonings with self-injection of insecticide were rarely reported but could be associated with severe local and systemic complications. The oxidative stress caused by pyrethroids and organophosphates poisoning could explain the occurrence of hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sleep deprivation among training physicians is of growing concern; training physicians are susceptible due to their prolonged work hours and rotating work schedules. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-perceived sleepiness in emergency training physicians, and to establish a relationship between self-perceived sleepiness, and quality of life. Methods: Prospective survey in Ibn Sina University hospital Center in Morocco from January to April 2011 was conducted. Questionnaires pertaining to socio-demographic, general, and sleep characteristics were completed by training physician who ensured emergency service during the month preceding the survey. They completed the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) which assessed the self-perceived sleepiness, and the EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) scale which assessed the general quality of life. Results: Total 81 subjects (49 men and 32 women) were enrolled with mean age of 26.1 ± 3.4 years. No sleepiness was found in 24.7% (n = 20), excessive sleepiness 39.5% (n = 32), and severe sleepiness in 35.8% (n = 29) of training physicians. After adjusting for multiple confounding variables, four independent variables were associated with poorer quality of life index in training physician; unmarried (ß −0.2, 95% CI −0.36 to −0.02; P = 0.02), no physic exercise (ß −0.2, 95% CI −0.39 to 0.006; P = 0.04), shift-off sleep hour less than 6 hours (ß −0.13, 95% CI −0.24 to −0.02; P = 0.01), and severe sleep deprivation(ß −0.2, 95% CI −0.38 to −0.2; P = 0.02). Conclusion: Nearly two third of training physicians had suffered from sleepiness. There is an association between poor quality of life and severe sleepiness in unmarried physicians, sleeping less than 6 hours in shift-off day, and doing no physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Withdrawing and withholding life-support therapy (WH/WD) are undeniably integrated parts of medical activity. However, Emergency Department (ED) might not be the most appropriate place to give end-of life (EOL) care; the legal aspects and practices of the EOL care in emergency rooms are rarely mentioned in the medical literature and should be studied. The aims of this study were to assess frequency of situations where life-support therapies were withheld or withdrawn and modalities for implement of these decisions.Method: A survey of patients who died in a Moroccan ED was performed. Confounding variables examined were: Age, gender, chronic underlying diseases, acute medical disorders, APACHE II score, Charlson Comorbidities Index, and Length of stay. If a decision of WH/WD was taken, additional data were collected: Type of decision; reasons supporting the decision, modalities of WH/WD, moment, time from ED admission to decision, and time from processing to withhold or withdrawal life-sustaining treatment to death. Individuals who initiated (single emergency physician, medical staff), and were involved in the decision (nursing staff, patients, and families), and documentation of the decision in the medical record.Results: 177 patients who died in ED between November 2009 and March 2010 were included. Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment was applied to 30.5% of all patients who died. Therapies were withheld in 24.2% and were withdrawn in 6.2%. The most reasons for making these decisions were; absence of improvement following a period of active treatment (61.1%), and expected irreversibility of acute disorder in the first 24 h (42.6%). The most common modalities withheld or withdrawn life-support therapy were mechanical ventilation (17%), vasopressor and inotrops infusion (15.8%). Factors associated with WH/WD decisions were older age (OR = 1.1; 95%IC = 1.01-1.07; P = 0.001), neurological acute medical disorders (OR = 4.1; 95%IC = 1.48-11.68; P = 0.007), malignancy (OR = 7.7; 95%IC = 1.38-8.54; P = 0.002) and cardiovascular (OR = 3.4;95%IC = 2.06-28.5;P = 0.008) chronic underlying diseases.Conclusion: Life-sustaining treatment were frequently withheld or withdrawn from elderly patients with underlying chronic cardiovascular disease or metastatic cancer or patients with acute neurological medical disorders in a Moroccan ED. Religious beliefs and the lack of guidelines and official Moroccan laws could explain the ethical limitations of the decision-making process recorded in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a relevant outcome measures in intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to evaluate HRQL of ICU patients 3 months after discharge using the Arabic version for Morocco of the EuroQol-5-Dimension (EQ-5D), and to examine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire., Results: The Arabic version for Morocco of the EQ-5D was approved by the EuroQol group. A prospective cohort study was conducted after medical ICU discharge. At 3-month follow up, the EQ-5D (self classifier and EQ-VAS) was administered in consultation or by telephone. EQ-VAS varies from 0 (better HRQL) to 100 (worst HRQL). An unweighted scoring for EQ5D-index was calculated. EQ5D-index ranges from -0.59 to 1. Test-retest reliability of the EQ-5D was tested using Kappa coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Criterion validity was assessed by correlating EQ-VAS and EQ5D-index with the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Construct validity was tested using simple and multiple liner regression to assess factors influencing patients'HRQL. 145 survivors answered the EQ-5D. Median EQ5D-index was 0.52 [0.20-1]. Mean EQ-VAS was 62 ± 20. Test-retest reliability was conducted in 83 patients. ICCs of EQ5D-index and EQ-VAS were 0.95 and 0.92 respectively. For EQ-5D self classifier, agreement by kappa was above 0.40. Significant correlations were noted between EQ5D-index, EQ-VAS and SF-36 (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, factors associated with poorer HRQL for EQ5D-index were longer ICU length of stay (β = -0.01; p = 0.017) and higher educational level (β = -0.2; p = 0.001). For EQ-VAS men were associated with better HRQL (β = 6.5; p = 0.048)., Conclusions: The Arabic version for Morocco of the EQ-5D is reliable and valid. Women, high educational level and longer ICU length of stay were associated with poorer HRQL.