Comparison of Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation With High-Flow Nasal Cannula, Face-Mask, and Helmet in Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure in Patients With COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: For COVID-19-related respiratory failure, noninvasive respiratory assistance via a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), helmet, and face-mask noninvasive ventilation is used. However, which of these options is most effective is yet to be determined. This study aimed to compare the three techniques of noninvasive respiratory support and to determine the superior technique. DESIGN: A randomized control trial with permuted block randomization of nine cases per block for each parallel, open-labeled arm. SETTING AND PATIENTS: Adult patients with COVID-19 with a Pa o2 /F io2 ratio of less than 300, admitted between February 4, 2021, and August 9, 2021, to three tertiary centers in Oman, were studied. INTERVENTIONS: This study included three interventions: HFNC ( n = 47), helmet continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP; n = 52), and face-mask CPAP ( n = 52). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The endotracheal intubation rate and mortality at 28 and 90 days were measured as the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Of the 159 randomized patients, 151 were analyzed. The median age was 52 years, and 74% were men. The endotracheal intubation rates were 44%, 45%, and 46% ( p = 0.99), and the median intubation times were 7.0, 5.5, and 4.5 days ( p = 0.11) in the HFNC, face-mask CPAP, and helmet CPAP, respectively. In comparison to face-mask CPAP, the relative risk of intubation was 0.97 (95% CI, 0.63-1.49) for HFNC and 1.0 (95% CI 0.66-1.51) for helmet CPAP. The mortality rates were 23%, 32%, and 38% at 28 days ( p = 0.24) and 43%, 38%, and 40% ( p = 0.89) at 90 days for HFNC, face-mask CPAP, and helmet CPAP, respectively. The trial was stopped prematurely because of a decline in cases. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory trial found no difference in intubation rate and mortality among the three intervention groups for the COVID-19 patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure; however, more evidence is needed to confirm these findings as the trial was aborted prematurely.

The dialysis outcomes and practice patterns study phase 5 in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Design and study methods.

The Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) is an international prospective cohort study of the relationships between hemodialysis (HD) care practices and HD patient outcomes. The DOPPS began in 1996, in the United States, and has since expanded to 21 countries, collecting detailed data from >75,000 HD patients, with >200 scientific publications, focused on describing HD practices associated with improved HD patient outcomes. The goal of DOPPS is to help HD patients "live better and live longer." Starting in 2012, the DOPPS was able to expand to all six of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The DOPPS study design consists of selecting HD facilities for study participation in each country to represent the different types of HD facilities and geographic regions within each GCC country. Within each study site, HD patients were randomly selected for detailed data collection to represent the HD practices within each participating HD facility. Altogether, 41 HD facilities have participated in the GCC-DOPPS Phase 5 study including 20 facilities from Saudi Arabia, nine from the United Arab Emirates, four each from Kuwait and Oman, two from Qatar, and one from Bahrain. Herein, we provide a detailed description of the study design and methods, data collection, study management, scientific investigator oversight and guidance, and study governance and support for the GCCDOPPS Phase 5 study.

Successful Salvage Treatment of Resistant Acute Antibody-Mediated Kidney Transplant Rejection with Eculizumab.

Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) jeopardises short- and long-term transplant survival and remains a challenge in the field of organ transplantation. We report the first use of the anticomplement agent eculizumab in Oman in the treatment of a 61-year-old female patient with ABMR following a living unrelated kidney transplant. The patient was admitted to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in 2013 on the eighth day post-transplantation with serum creatinine (Cr) levels of 400 µmol/L which continued to rise, necessitating haemodialysis. A biopsy indicated ABMR with acute cellular rejection. No improvement was observed following standard ABMR treatment and she continued to require dialysis. Five doses of eculizumab were administered over six weeks with a subsequent dramatic improvement in renal function. The patient became dialysis-free with serum Cr levels of 119 µmol/L within four months. This case report indicates that eculizumab is a promising agent in the treatment of ABMR.

Epidemiology, risk factors, and consequences of obstructive sleep apnea and short sleep duration.

We will review the epidemiology, risk factors, and consequences of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and short/long sleep duration. Obstructive sleep apnea is a disease characterized by recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is common, with moderate to severe disease present in approximately 9% of middle aged men and 4% of women. The prevalence of OSA in certain patient populations (such as elderly patients, hypertensive patients, patients with coronary disease, and prebariatric surgery patients) is even greater. There are a number or risk factors for disease including obesity, male sex, and family history. Obstructive sleep apnea negatively impacts quality of life and is also associated with a number of adverse safety and health consequences including cardiovascular disease and motor vehicle crashes. Short habitual sleep duration can result in excessive daytime sleepiness and reduced neurocognitive function. Sleep loss may have long-term health consequences and may lead to premature death, cardiovascular disease, and the development of diabetes.

Paradoxical embolization in an adult cystic fibrosis patient.

Cystic fibrosis patients with an implantable venous access device (IVAD) and a patent foramen ovale (PFO) are at an increased risk of developing paradoxical embolism. A 33-year-old patient who had a cerebrovascular accident in the above setting is described. She had been anticoagulated because she had thrombosis of the tip of the indwelling catheter, and her PFO was closed percutaneously followed by replacement of her IVAD. She made a full neurological recovery. Echocardiography and prophylactic closure of the PFO, when present, as primary prevention for paradoxical embolism may be warranted in cystic fibrosis patients before placement of an IVAD.