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Tarek Saadi,1–3 Matti Waterman,1–4 Heba Yassin,3 Yaacov Baruch1,41Liver Unit, 2Department of Gastroenterology, 3Department of Internal Medicine A, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; 4The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, IsraelIntroduction: Metformin is a first-line drug choice for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2). Metformin-induced hepatotoxicity has rarely been reported. We report on a case of metformin-induced mixed hepatocellular and cholestatic liver injury in an elderly patient with DM-2 as well as review and summarize case reports of metformin hepatotoxicity available in English on the PubMed database.Case: After receiving metformin 850 mg/day for 2 weeks, a 78-year-old male presented with a 10-day history of abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice. Laboratory analysis showed severe hepatocellular and cholestatic hepatic injury. Other causes for acute liver injury were ruled out. Discontinuation of metformin treatment led to significant subjective improvement after 1 week, and all hepatic abnormalities resolved by 2 months.Conclusion: Metformin is an important drug for the treatment of DM-2, which is also used for treatment of patients with fatty liver. It can, however, induce hepatocellular and cholestatic hepatic injury; both physicians and patients should be aware of this potential side effect.Keywords: metformin, hepatocellular liver injury, cholestasis, hepatotoxicity

Tarek Saadi,1,2 Safie Khoury,3 Ella Veitsman,1 Yaacov Baruch,1,4 Ayelet Raz-Pasteur3,41Liver Unit, 2Department of Gastroenterology, 3Department of Internal Medicine A, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; 4The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, IsraelAbstract: We report on a case of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) due to Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) in an elderly patient with alcoholic cirrhosis. The patient presented with a 5 day history of fever, cough, and fatigue. Abdominal paracentesis revealed a very high neutrophil count (134,800 cells/µL). Secondary peritonitis and abdominal abscess were ruled out. Peritoneal fluid culture displayed the growth of H. influenzae. The patient was treated with ceftriaxone and showed signs of improvement. Eventually, the patient died due to septic shock caused by other organisms. H. influenzae is a very rare cause of SBP. This case report demonstrates that (1) H. influenzae should be considered a potential cause of SBP, and (2) a very high leukocyte count in ascitic fluid can be found in patients with SBP.Keywords: cirrhosis, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, Haemophilus influenzae

Objective - This study examines the relationship between diversification strategy and company economic performance in the Moroccan real estate sector. The research focuses on measuring the impact of diversification on technical and Scale efficiency using the Data Envelopment Analysis (D.E.A.) method. The objective is to provide empirical evidence regarding the performance differences between diversified and undiversified companies in the Moroccan real estate industry context. Methodology -Data was collected on sales, inventory, and personnel expenses to construct the input-output ratio from a sample of 60 companies in the Moroccan real estate sector. Diversified and undiversified firms were identified based on their business activities. The Data Envelopment Analysis (D.E.A.) method was then applied to measure these companies' technical and Scale efficiency. Findings - The results reveal that diversified companies in the Moroccan real estate sector exhibit significantly higher economic efficiency, around 40% compared to 31% for undiversified firms. Moreover, diversified firms demonstrate superior pure technical efficiency with a score of 47%, while undiversified firms lag at 36%. However, the two groups have no significant difference in scale efficiency. These findings highlight the positive impact of diversification on overall efficiency and suggest the potential benefits of adopting diversified strategies in the real estate industry. Novelty - This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the relationship between diversification and performance in the particular context of the real estate industry in Morocco. The findings of this study have practical implications. Managers and policymakers can utilize the results to understand the potential benefits of diversification and consider incorporating this strategy into their business models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family involvement is a critical component of patient-centered care that impacts the quality of care and patient outcome. Our aim was to develop a patient- and family-based communication model suitable for societies with extended families. Methods: A multidisciplinary team was formed to conduct a situational analysis and review the patterns of family involvement in our patient population. Patient complaints were reviewed also to identify gaps in communication with families. The team proposed a model to facilitate the involvement of the family in the patient's care through the improvement of communication. Results: A communication model was developed keeping the patient in the center of communication but involving the family through identifying the most responsible family member. To assure structured measurable contact, mandatory points of communication were defined. The model streamlines communication with the family but maintaining the patients’ rights and autonomy. Conclusion: Our proposed model of communication takes into account the importance of communication with the family in a structured way. The team believes that it is going to be accepted by patients who will be explored in the pilot implementation stage as the next future step.

Abstract Background Compliance with the clinical practice guidelines of sepsis management has been low. The objective of our study was to describe the results of implementing a multifaceted intervention including an electronic alert (e-alert) with a sepsis response team (SRT) on the outcome of patients with sepsis and septic shock presenting to the emergency department. Methods This was a pre–post two-phased implementation study that consisted of a pre-intervention phase (January 01, 2011–September 24, 2012), intervention phase I (multifaceted intervention including e-alert, from September 25, 2012–March 03, 2013) and intervention phase II when SRT was added (March 04, 2013–October 30, 2013) in a 900-bed tertiary-care academic hospital. We recorded baseline characteristics and processes of care in adult patients presenting with sepsis or septic shock. The primary outcome measures were hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were the need for mechanical ventilation and length of stay in the intensive unit and in the hospital. Results After implementing the multifaceted intervention including e-alert and SRT, cases were identified with less severe clinical and laboratory abnormalities and the processes of care improved. When adjusted to propensity score, the interventions were associated with reduction in hospital mortality [for intervention phase II compared to pre-intervention: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.71, 95% CI 0.58–0.85, p = 0.003], reduction in the need for mechanical ventilation (aOR 0.45, 95% CI 0.37–0.55, p

An experimental and theoretical investigation to evaluate the effect of diesel fuel produced in Iraq and blended with ethanol of four stroke single cylinder direct injection diesel engine was conducted. This study focused on the development of an empirical ignition delay equations based on engine experimental data and to analyse the dependency of ignition delay on equivalence ratio, engine brake power fraction, effect of engine speed, and cetane number .The experimental measurements was performed at compression ratio of 22:1 at engine speed ranging from 1100 to 2600 rpm with an increment of 500 rpm, and engine torque ranging from 2 to 10 N.m with an increment of 2 N.m. The experimental data from engine during test have been saved on the computerized program (ECA 100, VDAS) connected to the unit.The results show that the empirical equations of delay period are resulted as a function of ignition pressure, ignition temperature, fraction brake power with better agreement with the experimental data than an empirical equations of delay period which are resulted as a function of ignition pressure, ignition temperature, equivalence for all fuels at all speeds. E0 Basra has the highest value of the cylinder pressure with low speed at variable torque. E10 blended fuel has recorded the lowest value of ignition delay period in all speeds. The experiments also show that the ignition delay period has been found to be decreased with increase of cetane number, ignition pressure, ignition temperature, equivalence ratio, and the fraction brake power.

This paper summarizes the roundtable discussion in September 25, 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the World Sepsis Day held in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. The objectives of the roundtable discussion were to (1) review the chasm between the current management of sepsis and best practice, (2) discuss system redesign and role of the microsystem in sepsis management, (3) emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of the care of sepsis and that improvement of the care of sepsis is the responsibility of all, (4) discuss the bundle concept in sepsis management, and (5) reflect on the individual responsibility of the health care team toward sepsis with a focus on accountability and the moral agent.

This paper summarizes the roundtable discussion from the Second International Patient Safety Conference held in April 9-11, 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the roundtable discussion were to: (1) review the conceptual framework for building capacity in quality and safety in critical care. (2) examine examples of leading international experiences in building capacity. (3) review the experience in Saudi Arabia in this area. (4) discuss the role of building capacity in simulation for patient safety in critical care and (5) review the experience in building capacity in an ongoing improvement project for severe sepsis and septic shock.

A substantial number of patients with intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) suffer from coexistent cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), yet this clinical relation is poorly studied. We aim to study the clinical and radiological outcome of patients with coexistent dAVF and CVST based on different treatment modalities and to examine various other parameters in such patients. A search strategy was performed on the following search engines: PubMed, Wiley, Microsoft Academia, and Google Scholar. Analysis was performed using R software. Thirty-five articles met the inclusion criteria. Most studies (n = 30) used digital subtraction angiography alone to make the diagnosis. Treatment modality ranged from no treatment (n = 7) to a combination of anticoagulation, endovascular therapy, and surgery (n = 2). Radiological obliteration was achieved in the majority of patients (78%). However, there was no statistical significance between treatment modality and radiological outcome (P=0.651); 72% of patients achieved clinical improvement, with no statistical significance between clinical improvement and treatment modality (P=0.072). We did find a significant relationship between treatment modality and follow-up findings (P=0.023). When analyzing factors such as age, gender, grade, arterial supply, and time between dAVF and CVST development, we found no statistical significance. Additionally, there was no significant association between the grade of fistula and the treatment modality. The clinical relationship between dAVF and CVST is poorly studied. This is the first systematic review that aimed to study this relationship. Results from subsequent large-scale studies comparing to our findings are warranted., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present retrospective study was conducted in an aim to examine the differences between pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases referred to and those admitted directly to the hospital. For this purpose, pediatric patients who presented to a main trauma center with TBI between January, 2015 and December, 2019 were reviewed retrospectively, emphasizing whether they were admitted directly or referred from another center. Data collected included the demographic characteristics of the patients, as well as their presenting complaints and the cause of TBI. A total of 981 cases of pediatric TBI were admitted over the 5-year period. The average age of the patients was 58.1 months for the referred cases and almost 50 months for the patients directly admitted. The male sex accounted for 63.6% of all cases. The most common cause of injury was falling (63.5%). Nausea and vomiting were the most typical presenting symptoms, occurring more among the directly admitted cases (P-value ≤0.05). Mild TBI accounted for 85.3% of the cases, and the most common radiological diagnosis was skull fracture (37.4%) (P-value ≤0.004). The referred patients had a more extended hospital stay (P-value ≤0.001). On the whole, the present study identified 981 cases; the majority of these were direct admissions, and the majority of the severe cases were referred from other healthcare facilities. Further research is required on this topic as only a single hospital was covered herein, and patients were not followed-up after discharge. A multi-center analysis would cover a greater number of patients and would thus provide more substantial data on the topic., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Allawati et al.)

Glioma is the most prevalent type of primary brain tumor in adults. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in glioma is increasing and has exhibited promising results. The present study performed a systematic review of the applications of AI in glioma as regards diagnosis, grading, prediction of genotype, progression and treatment response using different databases. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the trends (main directions) of the recent applications of AI within the field of glioma, and to highlight emerging challenges in integrating AI within clinical practice. A search in four databases (Scopus, PubMed, Wiley and Google Scholar) yielded a total of 42 articles specifically using AI in glioma and glioblastoma. The articles were retrieved and reviewed, and the data were summarized and analyzed. The majority of the articles were from the USA (n=18) followed by China (n=11). The number of articles increased by year reaching the maximum number in 2022. The majority of the articles studied glioma as opposed to glioblastoma. In terms of grading, the majority of the articles were about both low-grade glioma (LGG) and high-grade glioma (HGG) (n=23), followed by HGG/glioblastoma (n=13). Additionally, three articles were about LGG only; two articles did not specify the grade. It was found that one article had the highest sample size among the other studies, reaching 897 samples. Despite the limitations and challenges that face AI, the use of AI in glioma has increased in recent years with promising results, with a variety of applications ranging from diagnosis, grading, prognosis prediction, and reaching to treatment and post-operative care., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Al-Rahbi et al.)

Background: The percentage of brain tumor incidence exceeds 50% in the geriatric population admitted at Khoula Hospital (a tertiary care hospital in Oman) as compared to the younger population, furthermore, geriatric patients impose a higher cost of healthcare in general. Therefore, geriatric tumor care is causing a significant burden on the healthcare service in Oman. For this reason, we have developed this study to identify the cost of care for this group., Methods: Medical data with their costs were collected retrospectively for 108 patients diagnosed with a brain tumor above the age of 65 years and admitted at Khoula Hospital between 2016 and 2019., Results: The two most common diagnoses in terms of incidence were Meningiomas (31.73%) and Glioblastomas (16.34%). Lymphoma peaked with regards to the cost, with an average cost of 8993.83 USD per diagnosis, followed by glioblastoma and then metastatic lesions (with 5039.18 and 4915.76 USD respectively). Of these surgeries, 82.61% were elective, most of which had a cost above or equal to the average. Emergency surgeries showed equal numbers above and below the average cost of surgeries (P< 0.05). The total costs of imaging were 73759.4 USD, with CT (35.8%) + MRI (32.9%) forming 68.7% of the total imaging costs. While laboratory investigation costs totaled 64110.93 USD., Conclusion: The cost of tumor care in Oman is variable based on multiple factors. The reported results represent useful information forming the basis for further analysis such as cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-utility analysis.