River water pollution in Lebanon: the country's most underestimated public health challenge.

Background: Due to the several interconnected crises that Lebanon has been facing for the past 4 years, many important social and environmental issues have been overlooked until more "pressing" ones are dealt with. Consequently, water pollution in Lebanon continues to worsen. Aim: This study aimed to describe the microbiological and chemical properties of the 10 main rivers in Lebanon and to assess their suitability for irrigation, while exploring some of the solutions to the problem. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the pollution level of water from 10 rivers in Lebanon in June 2023 and their suitability for irrigation. Samples were collected at 3°C and their quality parameters were measured. Statistical analysis was conducted using R statistical software version 4.0.2. Results: Compared to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines for safe irrigation water use, 4 out of the 10 samples had pH levels exceeding the permissible threshold, resulting in severe limitations on their usability. Three rivers had nitrate concentrations that exceeded the approved range, thus constraining their severe usage. Among the rivers, 60% had Escherichia coli levels higher than the permissible spectrum and 40% had faecal coliform counts exceeding FAO's upper limit recommendation. All water sources, however, had total dissolved solid levels that were within the recommended range. Conclusions: Polluted water can have a negative impact on human, wildlife and ecosystem health. Most of the assessed rivers in our study contained bacterial colonies, above the maximum recommended internationally. There is therefore an urgent need to address pollution issues in Lebanese waters to make them suitable for irrigation and other uses.

Outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients boarding in the emergency department of a tertiary care center in a developing country: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Boarding of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED) has long been known to compromise patient care and affect outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple hospitals worldwide experienced overcrowded emergency rooms. Large influx of patients outnumbered hospital beds and required prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the ED. Our aim was to assess the ED LOS effect on mortality and morbidity, in addition to the predictors of in-hospital mortality, intubation, and complications of critically ill COVID-19 ED boarder patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study, investigating 145 COVID-19-positive adult patients who were critically ill, required intensive care unit (ICU), and boarded in the ED of a tertiary care center in Lebanon. Data on patients who boarded in the emergency from January 1, 2020, till January 31, 2021, was gathered and studied. RESULTS: Overall, 66% of patients died, 60% required intubation, and 88% developed complications. Multiple risk factors were associated with mortality naming age above 65 years, vasopressor use, severe COVID pneumonia findings on CT chest, chemotherapy treatment in the previous year, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, prolonged ED LOS, and low SaO2 < 95% on triage. In addition, our study showed that staying long hours in the ED increased the risk of developing complications. CONCLUSION: To conclude, all efforts need to be drawn to re-establish mitigation strategies and models of critical care delivery in the ED to alleviate the burden of critical boarders during pandemics, thus decreasing morbidity and mortality rates. Lessons from this pandemic should raise concern for complications seen in ED ICU boarders and allow the promotion of health measures optimizing resource allocation in future pandemic crises.

Is there a relationship between Eustachian tube dysfunction and nasal septal deviation in a sample of the Lebanese population?

BACKGROUND: The Eustachian tube (ET) is considered an organ by itself due to its specific functions. An ET Dysfunction (ETD) is discussed when this tube is unable to ventilate the middle ear properly. Clinically, the patient reports usually some aural fullness, "popping", "under water" sensation as if the ear is clogged. This condition is common affecting at least 5% of the adult population. It can impair quality of life and become disabling. On the other side, the prevalence of nasal septal deviation (NSD) is believed to be around 22.83% in the adult population. Nasal septal deviation is thought to cause a decline in the middle ear ventilation according to certain authors. The primary outcome is to define the predictive value of the side of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (ETD) symptoms vis-à-vis the side of nasal septal deviation (NSD) in patients having the two conditions concomitantly. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2018 and September 2019. Overall, 60 consecutive subjects (total of 120 ears), randomly seen at the Otorhinolaryngology Outpatient Clinics at the Eye and Ear International Hospital, Lebanon, all year-round were enrolled and tested without any geographic preferences. The Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ) -7 questionnaire was used to evaluate ETD. RESULTS: A significantly higher ETD score was found in males compared to females, in those with left septal deviation compared to right and in those who have symptoms on the left compared to right side. Frequent exposure to higher changes in altitude (commute from home to workplace) was also significantly associated with higher ETD scores (r = 0.265), whereas higher Left Tympanometric peak pressure (TPP in daPa) on tympanometry was significantly associated with lower ETD score (r = - 0.467). Furthermore, 25 patients who had symptoms on the left side had also a septal deviation to the left side (86.2%), whereas 29 (93.5%) patients who had the symptoms on the right side had septal deviation to the right side (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our data highlighted the importance of altitude and geographic distribution of patients especially in a population exposed to barotrauma on a daily basis like the Lebanese population. Tympanometry, on the other hand, failed to correlate with patient reported symptoms and thus needs further evaluation. The reported ETD symptoms of the patient correlates to the side of NSD.