Search

Background: The dreadful consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic put an unprecedented pressure on health-care services in Morocco. Lung cancer (LC) patients represent a vulnerable population highly affected by the pandemic. Studies on lung cancer diagnosis during an epidemic are lacking. We analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer diagnosis in the region of Marrakech-Safi where lung cancer incidence continues to rise. Materials and Methods: We compared the clinical features of newly diagnosed lung cancer cases in the Mohammed VI University Hospital Center between March and December 2020 with lung cancer cases diagnosed during the same period in the past 3 years and the year after. Results: A total of 352 patients were diagnosed with lung cancer from March through December, 2017–2021. During the pandemic, the number of lung cancer hospitalization dropped by 36% from the previous years, moreover the number of bronchoscopies and other biopsies performed decreased significantly in 2020 (p < 0.000).Lung cancer patients in Group2 had a significant longer pre-hospital delay with a mean of 7, 02±2,06 months and higher performance status score 3-4 (64,6%) compared to the other Groups 1,3 (p < 0.000).In the second and third groups more lung cancer patients seems to be exposed to second-hand smoke comparing to the first group with (27,4%) in 2017-2019 vs (52,1%) and (69,2%) in 2020 and 2021 respectively(p < 0.000). However no differences concerning tumor staging has been described between the 3 groups with most patients being classified as stage IVA-IVB through all the years (2017-2019: 73,9% vs. 2020: 85,4% vs 2021: 80,8%, p=0,151). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible of a significant decrease in newly diagnosed LC cases with less bronchoscopies and biopsies being performed. No significant difference has been noted regarding tumor staging but LC patients seemed to have higher performance status score in 2020.

Artificial Intelligence has become an essential part of our lives. It has without a doubt made life much easier and practical whether on a global scale such as economical and political development or on a smaller scale such as our day-to-day lives. The last half-decade marked the beginning of the development of robots that have the ability to perform human tasks. Originally, it was expected that the main disadvantage of AI technology would be related to the loss of work prospects since humans would be replaced by machines that are able to operate in a more efficient matter. While this concern is certainly valid, there is a far more severe issue at hand which is none other than the military's use of AI. Governments, journalists, and tech leaders argue that developing and using intelligent and autonomous weaponry is unquestionably a fatal mistake that might lead to catastrophic consequences; it is particularly problematic if these technologies end up in the hands of the wrong individuals. These experts and scholars argued that these weapons could eventually lead to more damage and destruction and could possibly result in a third world war. Thus, they attempted to explore the moral and, most significantly, legal ramifications of these autonomous weapons. As a result, a new formula had to be introduced; this formula is Meaningful Human Control. In fact, the ultimate goal is to make Meaningful Human Control a legal requirement under International Law in order to allow it to serve as a potential solution for a number of moral and legal challenges that these fully autonomous weapons raise. This paper seeks to understand and elaborate on the benefits and the challenges that come with the integration of meaningful human control in the use of autonomous weapons systems.

Background:Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is a rare infiltrative chronic lung disease characterized by deposition of spherical calcium phosphate microliths called calcospherites within the alveoli with predominance in lower and mid zones. Etiology and pathogenesis is not fully understood. Case presentation: We report a case of 58 year old female patient presenting with progressive shortness of breath and chronic bronchitis over a period of 4 years. Physical examination revealed she had signs of chronic respiratory failure. Chest radiograph showed dense micronodular opacities giving classical sandstorm appearance. High resolution computed tomography showed diffuse microcalcifications, bilateral ground glass attenuation and septal thickening with calcification along the interlobar septa and subpleural regions. Conclusion: According to our research this is the 15thcase of PAM that has been declared in Morocco. Given the rarity of this entity, the purpose of this study was to increase knowledge of this disease among pulmonologists, in order to provide timely diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis is the leading cause of exudative lymphocytic pleural effusion. OBJECTIVE To determine the predictive factors and assess the diagnostic performance of biomarkers for exudative lymphocytic tuberculous pleural effusion found in our practice. METHODS Case-control study from 01 January 2015 to 30 August 2019, including patients admitted to the day-hospital facility for pleural biopsy. Histopathology of pleural biopsy fragments was the gold standard for assessing the diagnostic performance of the biomarkers studied (pleural adenosine deaminase, geneXpert and pleural fluid culture). RESULTS One hundred and nine patients were included. The average age was 35.7±18.1 years. In all, 72.5% of them were diagnosed with tuberculosis. After multivariate analysis, only patients aged under 35 years old were found to be at risk for exudative lymphocytic tuberculous pleural effusion (adjusted odds ratio: 9.18 [1.99; 42.28], P=0.004). Histopathology was suggestive of tuberculosis in 84.8% of cases (P

Infection with the new coronavirus has been declared an international health emergency. Its curative treatment is unknown and is the subject of several clinical trials. In addition, the concomitant association of COVID-19 with tuberculosis and the human immunodeficiency virus, hitherto never described, is potentially fatal. We report the illustrative case of a 32-year-old patient who presented this trifecta of infections and who did well under treatment with chloroquine and anti-mycobacterial drugs. This patient arrived at the ER with respiratory discomfort that had been evolving over a month with symptoms of flu and deterioration of her general condition. A chest CT scan revealed an aspect of lung miliary tuberculosis with isolation of Koch's bacilli in the sputum. A polymerization chain reaction (PCR) was positive for COVID-19 on a nasopharyngeal swab. HIV serology was positive. The course was marked by a spectacular clinical improvement and two negative COVID-19 PCR controls at the end of treatment (at days 9 and 10). Anti-tubercular drugs (especially, rifampin) are powerful enzyme inducers that can reduce the effectiveness of chloroquine in our patient. This therapeutic success may be linked to the effect of anti-tubercular drugs against SARS ncov-2, especially rifampin, inhibiting the formation of messenger RNAs of SARS ncov-2 or to the synergistic effect of chloroquine and rifampin. Researchers should explore the effect of these drugs on SARS ncov-2.

Background The 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused a global distress. However, its psychological impact on patients is unclear. We aim to determine the mental health status and explore related factors of anxiety and depression among patients with (COVID-19). Methods and main outcome measures This is a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among COVID-19 patients at the Mohammed VI University Hospital Centre in Marrakech over a period of four months. We assessed symptoms of depression and anxiety using the Arabic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) on admission. The significance threshold used for any data comparison test was the value of p

Introduction L’adenosine desaminase pleurale (ADA) est un test diagnostique utile dans le diagnostic des pleuresies tuberculeuses, mais son seuil exact de positivite et sa precision dans la prise de decision clinique ne sont pas clairs. Objectif Determiner la valeur seuil de positivite la plus discriminante. Methodes Il s’agit d’une etude comparative allant du 1er janvier 2015 au 30 aout 2019, ayant inclus les patients admis a l’hopital du jour pour biopsie pleurale. L’histopathologie des fragments biopsiques pleuraux etait le gold standard pour evaluer la performance diagnostique de l’adenosine desaminase pour des differentes valeurs seuils de positivites definies. Resultats Au total, 109 patients âges en moyenne de 35,7 ± 18,1 ans etaient inclus. Le diagnostic de tuberculose etait retenu pour 72,5 % d’entre eux. L’histopathologie etait evocatrice de la tuberculose pour 84,8 % des cas (p Conclusion Dans le contexte de la tuberculose dans les pays a endemicite tuberculeuse l’ADA pleural peut etre utilise comme biomarqueur de la pleuresie serofibrineuse en considerant la valeur d’ADA pleurale superieure a 70 UI/mL comme valeur seuils de positivite.