Impact of diabetes mellitus and co-morbidities on mortality in patients with COVID-19: A single-center retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM) on clinical outcomes of patients admitted with COVID-19 infection. METHODS: We carried out a single center, observational, retrospective study. We included adult patients with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted to a tertiary hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from April 2020 to December 2020. Electronic medical records were reviewed for demographics, clinical status, hospital course, and outcome; and they were compared between the patients with or without DM. RESULTS: Out of 198 patients included in the study, 86 (43.4%) were diabetic and 112 (56.5%) were non-diabetic. Majority of the patients were males 139 (70.2%) with a mean age of 54.14±14.89 years. In-hospital mortality rate was higher in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients (40 vs. 32; p=0.011). The most common comorbidity was hypertension (n=95, 48%) followed by ischemic heart disease (n=35, 17.7%), chronic kidney disease (n=17, 9.6%), and bronchial asthma (n=10, 5.1%). CONCLUSION: The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is higher among diabetic patients; particularly, those with preexisting co-morbidities or geriatric patients. Diabetic patients are prone to a severe clinical course of COVID-19 and a significantly higher mortality rate.

Profile of the Gut Microbiome Containing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in ICU Patients.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is a risk to public health worldwide and causes epidemic outbreaks in hospitals. The identification of alterations in the gut microbial profile can potentially serve as an early diagnostic tool to prevent harmful bacterial colonization. The purpose of this study was to characterize the gut microbiota profile of CRE-positive stool samples using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and to compare it with that of healthy control groups at King AbdulAziz University Hospital. Our results demonstrate that compared to the control group samples, the CRE-positive and CRE-negative group samples were less diverse and were dominated by a few operational taxonomic clusters of Enterococcus, Sphingomonas, and Staphylococcus. An analysis of samples from CRE-positive patients revealed Pseudomonas as the most abundant taxon. The existence of Pseudomonas in clinical samples undoubtedly indicates the development of resistance to a variety of antimicrobial drugs, with a less diverse microbiota. In our study, we found that the co-occurrence patterns of Klebsiella, Parabacteroides, Proteus and Pseudomonas differed between the CRE-negative and control stool groups.

Anaesthesia and Critical Care Department at a Major Academic Centre's Adaptation to Face the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The new novel coronavirus is having a major impact on healthcare systems internationally. Hospitals are struggling to manage the sudden influx of critical patients. Anaesthesiologists and critical care physicians are front liners in the fight against COVID-19 and carry the highest risk of getting infected. Due to the rapid response of the Saudi government to the WHO's early warning, we were fortunate at our hospital to see a slower rise in COVID-19 cases allowing us some time to prepare. We had to make room for the expected rise in highly infectious and critical patients, while at the same time protecting non-COVID-19 patients, staff and trainees. Additionally, the team continued to provide essential and specialized care to all patients in the hospital and maintain its academic and non-clinical services within the university. This review presents the different protocols, challenges and lessons learned during the development of a COVID-19 anaesthesia and critical care department plan in a major teaching hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Our ultimate aim is to share our experience with other similar institutions.

Prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among operating room and critical care staff at a tertiary teaching hospital: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among operating room and critical care staff. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 319 Healthcare workers employed in the operation theater and intensive care unit of King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), a tertiary teaching hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between August 9, 2020 and November 2, 2020. All participants completed a 20-item questionnaire on demographic data and COVID-19 risk factors and provided blood samples. Antibody testing was performed using an in-house enzyme immunoassay and microneutralization test. RESULTS: Of the 319 participants, 39 had detectable COVID-19 antibodies. Five of them had never experienced any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, and only 19 were previously diagnosed with COVID-19. The odds of developing COVID-19 or having corresponding antibodies increased if participants experienced COVID-19 symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-7.5) or reported contact with an infected family member (OR, 5.3; 95% CI, 2.5-11.2). Disease acquisition was not associated with employment in the ICU and involvement in the intubation of or close contact with COVID-19 patients. Of the 19 previously diagnosed participants, 6 did not possess any detectable COVID-19 antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare workers may have undiagnosed COVID-19, and those previously infected may not have long-lasting immunity. Therefore, hospitals must continue to uphold strict infection control during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interrater reliability and agreement of a 0 to 10 uterine tone score in cesarean delivery.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading source of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide with uterine atony identified as the underlying cause in up to 80% of cases. Several measures have been utilized to report uterine tone. The most commonly reported measure is a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale, but this scale has not been tested for reliability or agreement between different raters. OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the interrater reliability and agreement of the 0 to 10 visual numeric rating scale of uterine tone during cesarean delivery. A secondary purpose was to obtain estimates of scale responsiveness and minimal clinically important difference. STUDY DESIGN: Between August and November of 2018, obstetricians used a 0 to 10 numeric rating score to independently rate uterine tone at 3 and 10 minutes after cesarean delivery by palpation of the uterus. Of note, "0" represented "no tone" and "10" represented excellent tone. Each obstetrician independently and blinded to the other's score pointed to a numeric rating scale held by the anesthesiologist through a clear sterile drape. Intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess interrater reliability and agreement, respectively. Standardized response mean and standard error of measurement were used to obtain estimates of responsiveness and minimal clinically important difference, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 82 and 84 pairs of scores were collected at 3 and 10 minutes, respectively, from pairs of 62 unique obstetricians. The mean±standard deviation difference in scores between rater 1 and rater 2 was 0.4±1.4 at 3 minutes and 0.1±1.1 at 10 minutes. Intraclass correlation coefficients for a future single rater (intraclass correlation coefficient [1, 1]) at 3 and 10 minutes were 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.77) and 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.73), and for the average between 2 future raters (intraclass correlation coefficient [1, 2]), they were 0.80 (95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.87) and 0.76 (95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.84), indicating good and excellent reliability, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis estimated 95% limit of agreement between raters of -2.4 (95% confidence interval, -3.0 to -1.9) to 3.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.6-3.7) at 3 minutes and -2.1 (95% confidence interval, -2.5 to -1.7) to 2.4 (95% confidence interval, 2.0-2.8) at 10 minutes, consistent with good interrater agreement at both time points. The standardized response mean from 3 to 10 minutes after delivery was 1.1 (n=81). Standard error of measurement was 1.0 (95% confidence interval, 0.9-1.1) at 3 minutes and 0.8 (95% confidence interval, 0.7-0.9) at 10 minutes. CONCLUSION: The 0 to 10 numeric rating scale for uterine tone demonstrated good to excellent interrater reliability with 1 and 2 raters, respectively, and good interrater agreement. The scale was responsive to within-parturient change in tone, and preliminary estimates of the minimal clinically important difference were obtained. The 0 to 10 numeric rating scale for uterine tone may be a reliable, standardized tool for future research in reporting degree of uterotonic contraction during cesarean delivery.

Considerations and Recommendations for Obstetric Anesthesia Care During COVID-19 Pandemic - Saudi Anesthesia Society Guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China late 2019 and became a pandemic causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite its lower mortality rate compared to the other coronaviruses, it has a higher human-to-human transmission rate. Anesthesiologists may benefit from a review of the current evidence related to the obstetric patient with COVID-19. METHODS: We reviewed the literature for relevant articles as well as experts' opinions from related medical societies' websites. CONCLUSION: There are several anesthetic considerations in the care of pregnant women with COVID-19 due to their unique physiological changes. We provide considerations and recommendations for departmental and institutional leadership as well as the obstetric anesthesia providers. These recommendations may apply and can be edited, for future droplet or airborne based pandemics. The rapidly evolving literature makes it important to get updates directly from the relevant medical societies' websites.

Spontaneous adrenal hemorrhage and preeclampsia: A case report.

Spontaneous Adrenal Hemorrhage is a rare disease. It's one of the rare causes of abdominal pain late in pregnancy. I present a case with near term Spontaneous Adrenal Hemorrhage and concurrent severe preeclampsia, aiming to address the anesthetic considerations and management of such challenging presentation.