Successful Use of Neurovascular Plug for Embolization of Scalp Arteriovenous Fistula: A Novel Technique.

PURPOSE: We report a case of a pediatric patient developing a delayed-onset scalp arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and pseudoaneurysm managed with a new technique. TECHNIQUE: A 10-year-old boy presented to the outpatient clinic complaining of a growing pulsatile mass in the right side of the skull after head trauma 6 months ago. He had no neurological deficits. Imaging studies revealed scalp AVF with pseudoaneurysm. The arterial feeding was from the right temporal artery, while the blood was drained into the superior sagittal sinus and the facial vein. The fistula was occluded successfully by a microvascular plug (MVP). Follow-up angiography 1 year later showed that the AVF was no longer seen with complete embolization of pseudoaneurysm, total occlusion of the abnormal vessels, and the absence of MVP migration. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of successfully using MVP to treat scalp AVF. The MVP is a novel technique with its unique ability to achieve rapid, safe, effective, and permanent vascular occlusion through a single device. Besides, the possibility of delayed-onset traumatic vascular injuries should be considered in a patient with head or facial trauma.

Ventriculo-femoro-caval shunt: a salvage surgery.

Ventriculo-femoral vein shunts have been described in few case reports as an alternative for treating complex cases of hydrocephalus in which other accesses are discarded. To our best knowledge, only 6 cases have been reported in the literature to date. We present a case of a 2-year-old female patient with hydrocephalus secondary to neonatal sepsis and meningitis. Patient was operated with various types of shunting procedures, such as ventriculo-peritoneal (V-P) shunt, ventriculo-atrial (V-A) shunt, ventriculo-pleural (V-PL) shunt, ventriculo-vesical shunt, ventriculo-superior sagittal sinus (V-SSS) shunt, and ventriculo-caval (V-C) shunt. All previous procedures were unsuccessful in treating the hydrocephalus. Finally, right ventriculo-femoro-caval shunt procedure was performed. Distal catheter was inserted into the right femoral vein and passed toward inferior vena cava under fluoroscopy guidance. The early postoperative period was uneventful. Late postoperative complications consisting of few periods of shunt dysfunction and distal obstruction were managed as an outpatient with injection for diluted heparin in the shunt valve, resulting in recovery of the shunt function. This was the management until the age of 4 when the femoral vein shunt was removed and right ventriculo-pleural shunt was placed. The patient tolerated this surgery and long-term follow-up showed good neurological status without episodes of shunt dysfunction.

Effects of Elemental Mercury Vapor Inhalation on Arterial Blood Gases, Lung Histology, and Interleukin-1 Expression in Pulmonary Tissues of Rats.

We investigated the effects of elemental mercury vapor inhalation on arterial blood gases (ABGs), lung histology, and interleukin-1 (IL-1) expression in pulmonary tissues in rats. A total of 42 Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into three groups. Rats in the first group were used as the control (CG). A short-term group (STG) and a long-term group (LTG) were exposed to 500 µg/m3 of mercury vapor 2 hrs/day for 21 days and 65 days, respectively. After exposure periods were completed, arterial blood samples were obtained, and ABGs were measured. Lung tissue sections were prepared for histology evaluation and immune-stained to detect IL-1 expression. There was a significant decrease in body weight in both STG (15%) and LTG (22%) compared with the CG. In the LTG, six out of 14 (43%) rats died, including two males and four females, while none of the rats in the STG died during the experiment. In both STG and LTG, a significant acid-base imbalance was characterized by a significant decrease in blood pH values and a significant increase in PCO2 values. Both PO2 and SpO2 blood values were significantly decreased in the STG and LTG, while no changes were observed in HCO3 values in all groups. Histological evaluation of lung tissues revealed severe lesions characterized by pulmonary emphysema and inflammatory cellular infiltrate. IL-1 expression in lung tissues was not significantly different between exposed rats and control subjects. These results indicate significant alterations in blood acid-base status characterized by severe respiratory acidosis with hypoxemia and no evidence of compensatory alkalosis in rats after exposure to short- and long-term elementary mercury vapor.

Cranioplasty for Skull Defect With Polypropylene Abdominal Wall Mesh.

ABSTRACT: Cranioplasty is a routine procedure in the practice in neurosurgery and craniofacial surgery. For the closure of the cranial defect, it may be difficult or impossible to split the bone sufficiently to obtain enough bone for complete closure of the defect in younger children. Thus, sometimes there is the need to use allografts, which may not be widely available in rural practice. We present 2 cases of cranioplasty with widely available and used polypropylene abdominal wall mesh. To add rigidity to the construct, the mesh was organized in a multilayered fashion. Postoperative follow-up showed good functional and cosmetic results.

Castleman Disease: An Unusual Cause of an Isolated Neck Mass.

ABSTRACT: A 15-year old female patient was complaining from swelling in the left side of the neck since 3 months. Physical examination showed palpable and mobile left supraclavicular neck mass in the carotid triangle, uvula deviation to the left side and normal vocal cords position and function. Neck imagings showed well-defined, well-encapsulated left neck mass in the left carotid sheath pushing the internal jugular vein anteriorly and the common carotid artery posteriorly. The mass was extending from the level of C4 superiorly and the supraclavicular region inferiorly. Patient was operated with left anterior approach and circumferential dissection and enucleation was performed. Post-operative period was uneventful and devoid of any complications or deficits. Histopathological examination revealed Castleman disease.

Utility of leucocytes, inflammatory markers and pancreatic enzymes as indicators of gangrenous cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND: Acute cholecystitis is an emergency condition. If not promptly diagnosed and properly managed, the complication of gangrenous cholecystitis may develop, which may be a life-threatening complication. OBJECTIVES: The study aims to examine various characteristics and physiological parameters in patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis to evaluate if significant predictive factors exist for the differential diagnosis of gangrenous cholecystitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study included patients with acute cholecystitis diagnosis, who presented to 'blinded for peer review' from 1 January 2010 to 1 January 2017. Parameters evaluated included liver function tests, complete cell count, C reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), amylase and lipase levels, as well as medical history, and presenting clinical signs. Cases were divided according to whether or not there was a histopathological diagnosis of gangrenous cholecystitis. RESULTS: A total of 186 (54.5%) female and 155 (45.5%) male cases were examined. Patients with gangrenous cholecystitis tended to be male, showed a significantly higher white cell count, higher neutrophil percentage, lower lymphocyte percentage and higher ESR compared with patients without gangrenous cholecystitis. However, serum amylase and lipase demonstrated no differential diagnostic utility CONCLUSION: Male patients with a high ESR level, high total leucocyte count with a relative high proportion of neutrophils and a low proportion of lymphocytes were found to be at increased risk of the presence of gangrenous cholecystitis.

Isolated Retrodental Epidural Hematoma Without Dens Fracture.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic spinal epidural hematomas (TSEDH) are rare, with the reported incidence being < 1% of all spinal injuries. Causes of TSEDHs include vertebral fractures, obstetrical birth trauma, lumbar punctures, postsurgical bleeding, epidural anesthesia, and missile injuries. The retrodental location has not been reported as a location for spontaneous epidural hematoma. CASE REPORT: A 4-year-old boy was admitted to our Emergency Department after falling down and experiencing head trauma. Glasgow Coma Scale score was 15/15 with no neurologic deficit. Brain computed tomography scan showed isolated hyperdense hematoma in the retrodental area without any fractures in the skull or cervical vertebrae. Brain and cervical magnetic resonance imaging showed a retrodental acute hematoma that was isointense in T1-weighted sequences and hypointense in T2-weighted sequences. The hematoma was in the epidural space with possible odontoid process intracapsular origin. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Isolated retrodental epidural hematoma without dens fracture is an extremely rare pathology and finding, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to be reported in the literature. Emergency physicians should consider this pathology for any patients presenting for head trauma with head hematoma.

Delayed Supratentorial Intracerebral Hemorrhage After Posterior Fossa Acoustic Neuroma Surgery.

A 72-year-old female patient was complaining from gradual loss of hearing in the left ear, left facial palsy with gait imbalance. Neuroimaging showed left cerebellopontine angle extra-axial mass and was diagnosed as acoustic neuroma. She was operated with left retromastoid suboccipital and gross total excision of the tumor was achieved. Early postoperative period was uneventful and brain computed tomographic (CT) scan in the postoperative day 1 showed gross total resection of the tumor without complications, and patient was discharged at the postoperative day 4. In the postoperative day 7, the patient showed decrease level of consciousness and brain CT scan showed a small hematoma in the anterior part of the left temporal lobe, which was evolved to large intraparanchymal hemorrhage with midline shift in postoperative day 9.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head after single steroid intra-articular injection.

Femoral head avascular bone necrosis (AVN) is the loss of blood supply to the bone tissue of femoral head that results in cellular death. This condition causes a significant limitation in patient daily life activities and has a poor functional outcome. Long-term steroid intake was established as a cause of AVN. However, few cases reported femoral head AVN post-single steroid intra-articular injection. We review all cases of AVN that results from single intra-articular steroid injection and present a case of femoral head AVN developed in a 78-year-old male. The patient, who was not known to have any medical illness, presented complaining of mild left hip pain for 4 months with long distant ambulation and weight standing. He was diagnosed to have left hip joint osteoarthritis for which he received intra-articular steroid injection 2 months prior visiting our orthopedics center. MRI of the pelvis revealed AVN of the femoral head. He underwent total hip arthroplasty. The pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of AVN. To best of our knowledge, this is the fifth case of AVN of femoral head AVN after single intra-articular steroid injection. We reviewed all cases of AVN of femoral head after single steroid injection. Intra-articular steroid injection can cause femoral head AVN, and the patient receiving these injections should be aware about this rare but significant complication that results in poor functional outcome and significant morbidity.

Clivus Intraosseous Meningioma Mimicking Chordoma.

A 78-year-old woman with progressive worsening vertigo and new onset of diplopia. Neurological examination revealed bilateral abducens nerve paralysis and gait disturbance with truncal ataxia. Neuroimaging revealed a mass lesion within the clivus with brain stem compression. The patient was operated with provisional diagnosis of clivus chordoma by neuro-navigation-guided extended endoscopic endonasal approach. Subtotal resection of the tumor was achieved with no intra- or postoperative complications. Histopathologic examination revealed intraosseous meningioma (WHO grade I). To the authors' best knowledge this is the first case reporting clivus site of intraosseous meningioma.

Modified Bilateral Pi Craniectomy Technique for Reduction Cranioplasty: Novel Technique.

OBJECTIVE: Severe hydrocephalic macrocephaly can cause significant morbidity in infants due to positioning difficulties, skin breakdown, and poor cosmesis. Many surgeons over the past decades have described a variety of surgical techniques of reduction cranioplasty. In this article, the authors describe a novel technique for skull reduction cranioplasty with modified bilateral Pi craniectomy. METHODS: Anterior coronal and posterior lambdoid bone cuts are performed to extend inferiorly toward the sqamous bone. Last bone cuts are made connecting the parasagittal burr holes bilaterally, thus isolating and de-roofing of the sagittal suture. Bilateral peninsular bone flaps are reduced medially aiming to approximate the upper borders of both flaps. Edges of frontal and occipital bone can be resected and shaved to achieve smooth round contour of the reconstruct. The final reconstruct can be fixated with metal meshes. RESULTS: In our technique, modified bilateral Pi craniectomy is simple and effective reduction cranioplasty technique, as the technique does not require bone graft resection and reconstruction of the grafts making the time of the surgery short with decreased possible complications. Also, the amount of bone resection, bone bending, and shaving of the bone edges can be controlled and adjusted during the. An important issue is that this technique avoids posterior skull reconstruction which is more risky, as many patients are bed ridden with secondary compressed and flat occiput. CONCLUSIONS: Modified bilateral Pi craniectomy is a simple and effective technique for cranial vault reduction, especially in flat-occiput cases. Good understanding of the structural abnormality and the pathophysiological mechanisms of the possible complications is very important for performing proper surgical reconstruction.

Scalp Arteriovenous Malformation Resection With Novel Technique of Endovascular and Surgical Devascularization.

A 26-year-old female patient referred to our emergency service with complaint of increase headache and swelling of the left upper eye led. External examination of the head revealed left frontal scalp and left eye led swelling, which was soft and pulsatile. Brain computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging showed left frontal soft tissue and left periorbital swelling with crowded left intraorbital contents. Brain CT angiography showed vascular mass lesion in the left frontal subcutaneous lesion. Six-vessel cerebral angiography showed left frontal scalp arteriovenous malformation (AVM) supplied from the right and left superficial temporal arteries from the external carotid artery and from the left supraorbital artery arising from the ophthalmic artery of the internal carotid artery. By endovascular technique, bilateral superficial temporal arteries were occluded with Onyx 18 (Micro-Therapeutics, Inc., Irvine, CA). The patient was operated after 2 days. Left eye-brow incision was performed and the supraorbital artery was exposed, ligated, and cut. Left fronto-temporal skin incision was performed and the AVM totally excised. No intraoperative nor postoperative complications seen. Follow-up cerebral angiography showed total resection of the AVM.

Incidence, Characteristics, and Survival Trend of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Following In-hospital Compared to Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest in Northern Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the cornerstone intervention to optimize the survival rates. OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this study was to determine and compare the incidence, characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of CPR in a referral university hospital following in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Northern Jordan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study of adults referred to King Abdulla University Hospital who received CPR between January 2014 and January 2015. Data were obtained from the medical recorded of included patients. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors associated with survival to discharge. RESULTS: A total of 79 OHCA and 257 IHCA were included in the study. The overall survival rate for OHCA was 2.97%. The survival rate increased to 4.3% if CPR performed before arriving the hospital. Only 22% of the OHCA cases had CPR performed mainly due to lack of knowledge and skills of bystanders. The survival rate for IHCA was 14.88%. In this study, patient survival was not associated with age, smoking habit, diabetes mellitus, cancer status, hypertension, or heart failure. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to describe the incidence and outcome of adult IHCA and OHCA in Jordan. The findings will serve as a benchmark to evaluate future impact of changes in service delivery, organization, and treatment for OHCA and IHCA. Furthermore, findings will urge the regulatory bodies to establish well-structured Emergency Medical Service system. Educational programs at the national level to improve public awareness of CPR intervention are crucial to improve survival rates.

CT-based generation of synthetic-pseudo MR images with different weightings for human knee.

Synthetic MR images are generated for their high soft-tissue contrast avoiding the discomfort by the long acquisition time and placing claustrophobic patients in the MR scanner's confined space. The aim of this study is to generate synthetic pseudo-MR images from a real CT image for the knee region in vivo. 19 healthy subjects were scanned for model training, while 13 other healthy subjects were imaged for testing. The approach used in this work is novel such that the registration was performed between the MR and CT images, and the femur bone, patella, and the surrounding soft tissue were segmented on the CT image. The tissue type was mapped to its corresponding mean and standard deviation values of the CT# of a window moving on each pixel in the reconstructed CT images, which enabled the remapping of the tissue to its MRI intrinsic parameters: T1, T2, and proton density (ρ). To generate the synthetic MR image of a knee slice, a classic spin-echo sequence was simulated using proper intrinsic and contrast parameters. Results showed that the synthetic MR images were comparable to the real images acquired with the same TE and TR values, and the average slope between them (for all knee segments) was 0.98, while the average percentage root mean square difference (PRD) was 25.7%. In conclusion, this study has shown the feasibility and validity of accurately generating synthetic MR images of the knee region in vivo with different weightings from a single real CT image.

MicroRNA profiling in dogs undergoing induced ischemic heart infarction: An experimental study.

Background and Aim: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in various biological functions. According to many studies, miRNA expression is tissue-specific, strongly controlled throughout embryogenesis, and over- or under-expressed in numerous disorders, including cardiovascular pathologies. This study aimed to screen, characterize, and profile many induced biomarkers (miRNAs) in dog serum before and after experimentally inducing a regional myocardial infarction (MI) by occluding the coronary arteries under general anesthesia. Materials and Methods: A preclinical experimental animal study recruited 12 healthy canine dogs. The selected canine dogs were anesthetized with 1 mg/kg xylazine and 15 mg/kg ketamine before undergoing femoral arterial catheterization under fluoroscopic supervision. Commercial assay kits were used to purify total RNA and miRNA before the occlusion and 2 h after the occlusion according to the manufacturer's guidelines, and the samples were stored in RNase/DNase-free water at -80°C. Data were analyzed by GraphPad Prism 5.0 software (GraphPad Prism, San Diego, CA) SPSS, and GenEx software (www.multid.se) or (REST V3). Results: Among 325 transcribed genes, 20 were identified in 2 h. After MI, 14 biomarkers were negative, indicating downregulation, and 6 (3-F08, 3-B10, 4-A11, 1-A06, 2-E01, 3-F10) were positive, indicating upregulation. Polymerase chain reaction assay results showed a normalized fold-change in gene expression in the test sample. Fold values >1 represented a biologically significant change. Conclusion: Profiling of miRNAs before and after MI in a dog model revealed upregulation of six previously unidentified biomarkers (3-F08, 3-B10, 4-A11, 1-A06, 2-E01, and 3-F10), indicating various miRNA regulatory patterns.

Ischemic stroke demographics, clinical features and scales and their correlations: an exploratory study from Jordan.

Aims: The authors aimed to assess the ischemic stroke risk factors and scales. Materials & methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with acute ischemic stroke (from January 2017 to December 2018). The scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission and discharge and of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI) scale post-month of the stroke were collected. Results: Out of 376 patients, 359 were included, with a mean (standard deviation) age of 67.8 (12.2) years and male predominance (56.2%). Hyperlipidemia and hypertension were the most prevalent comorbidities (91.1% and 80.5%, respectively). The NIHSS, BI and mRS scores were worse among women, with no significant effects for comorbidities. The NIHSS scores at admission and discharge were significantly correlated with the post-month BI and mRS scores. Conclusion: The study findings suggest a complex interplay of gender, strict control and prevention of the modifiable stroke risk factors, as well as the association of neurological deficits' intensity with the functional outcomes.

Knee Pain and Limping as Presenting Symptoms of Metastatic Thyroid Cancer.

BACKGROUND Most thyroid nodules are fortunately benign; however, up to 15% of thyroid nodules turn out to be malignant. Follicular thyroid cancer is the second most common type of thyroid malignancy, originating from the follicular cells lined by cuboidal epithelium, with a peak incidence between the ages of 40 and 60 years. The feature that differentiates follicular carcinoma from adenoma is the presence of capsular invasion. While distant metastases occur in 10% to 15% of patients with follicular thyroid cancer, only 2% to 13% of patients with thyroid cancer develop bone metastases. Metastasis to the knee in thyroid cancer is extremely rare. This report describes a rare case of limping and knee pain as presenting symptoms of metastasis of follicular thyroid cancer to the knee joint observed during clinical practice and addresses its implications. CASE REPORT A 60-year-old woman presented with right knee swelling, disabling pain, and difficulty with walking in the last 3 months. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a large mass, and a computed tomography scan-guided biopsy confirmed it to be a distant metastasis of follicular thyroid cancer. The patient underwent total knee replacement and thyroidectomy and was postoperatively treated with radioactive iodine therapy. She was in good condition at her 1-year follow-up, with no recurring pathology. CONCLUSIONS This case reports on the metastasis of follicular thyroid cancer to the knee, which is exceedingly rare. However, it should be considered in the differential diagnoses of lytic bone lesions, as early diagnosis and management yield a more favorable prognosis for patients.

Generation of Synthetic-Pseudo MR Images from Real CT Images.

This study aimed to generate synthetic MR images from real CT images. CT# mean and standard deviation of a moving window across every pixel in the reconstructed CT images were mapped to their corresponding tissue-mimicking types. Identification of the tissue enabled remapping it to its corresponding intrinsic parameters: T1, T2, and proton density (ρ). Lastly, synthetic weighted MR images of a selected slice were generated by simulating a spin-echo sequence using the intrinsic parameters and proper contrast parameters (TE and TR). Experiments were performed on a 3D multimodality abdominal phantom and on human knees at different TE and TR parameters to confirm the clinical effectiveness of the approach. Results demonstrated the validity of the approach of generating synthetic MR images at different weightings using only CT images and the three predefined mapping functions. The slope of the fitting line and percentage root-mean-square difference (PRD) between real and synthetic image vector representations were (0.73, 10%), (0.9, 18%), and (0.2, 8.7%) for T1-, T2-, and ρ-weighted images of the phantom, respectively. The slope and PRD for human knee images, on average, were 0.89% and 18.8%, respectively. The generated MR images provide valuable guidance for physicians with regard to deciding whether acquiring real MR images is crucial.

Predicting mortality and morbidity in emergency general surgery patients in a Jordanian Tertiary Medical Center: a retrospective validation study of the Emergency Surgery Score (ESS).

OBJECTIVE: The Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) is a predictive tool used to assess morbidity and mortality rates in patients undergoing emergent surgery. This study explores the ESS's predictive ability and reliability in the Jordanian surgical population. DESIGN: A retrospective validation study. SETTING: A tertiary hospital in Jordan. PARTICIPANTS: A database was created including patients who underwent emergent surgery in King Abdullah University Hospital from January 2017 to June 2021. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Relevant preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative variables were retrospectively and systematically gathered, and the ESS was calculated for each patient accordingly. In addition, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the correlations between the ESS and postoperative mortality and morbidity along with intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. RESULTS: Out of total of 1452 patients evaluated, 1322 patients were enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The mean age of the population was 47.9 years old. 91.9% of the patients were admitted to the surgical ward through the emergency department, while the rest were referred from inpatient and outpatient facilities. The mortality and postoperative complication rates were 3.9% and 13.5%, respectively. Mortality rates increased as the ESS score gradually increased, and the ESS was evaluated as a strong predictor with a c-statistic value of 0.842 (95% CI 0.743 to 0.896). The postoperative complication and ICU admission rate also increased with reciprocal rises in the ESS. They were also evaluated as accurate predictors with a c-statistic value of 0.724 (95% CI 0.682 to 0.765) and a c-statistic value of 0.825 (95% CI 0.784 to 0.866), respectively. CONCLUSION: The ESS is a robust, accurate predictor of postoperative mortality and morbidity of emergency general surgery patients. Furthermore, it is an all-important tool to enhance emergency general surgery practices, in terms of mitigating risk, quality of care measures and patient counselling.

Clinical and electrocardiogram presentations of patients with high serum potassium concentrations within emergency settings: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Elevated potassium level is a common and reversible peri-arrest condition. Diagnosis and management of hyperkalemia in a short time is critical, where electrocardiogram (ECG) alterations might be helpful. We aimed to investigate the role of clinical features and ECGs in early diagnosing and treating hyperkalemia. METHODS: Prospectively, adult patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) from July 2019 to March 2020 with hyperkalemia (serum potassium ≥5.5mmol/L) were included. History was obtained, and laboratory investigations and ECGs were performed at the presentation and before initiating hyperkalemia therapy. Hyperkalemia severity was divided into mild (5.5-5.9mmol/L), moderate (6.0-6.4mmol/L), and severe (≥6.5mmol/L). A cardiologist and emergency physician blinded to laboratory values, study design, and patients' diagnoses interpreted ECGs and presenting symptoms independently to predict hyperkalemia. RESULTS: Sixty-seven hyperkalemic patients with a mean (±SD) serum potassium level of 6.5±0.7mmol/L were included in this study. The mean age was 63.9±15.1, and 58.2% were females. Hyperkalemia was mild in 10.4%, moderate in 40.3%, and severe in 49.3%. Almost two thirds of patients (71.6%) had hypertension, 67.2% diabetes, and 64.2% chronic kidney disease. About one-quarter of patients (22.4%) were asymptomatic, while fatigue (46.3%), dyspnea (28.4%), and nausea/vomiting (20.9%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Normal ECGs were observed in 25.4% of patients, while alterations in 74.6%. Atrial fibrillation (13.4%), peaked T wave (11.9%), widened QRS (11.9%), prolonged PR interval (10.5%), and flattening P wave (10.5%) were the most common. Peaked T wave was significantly more common in severe hyperkalemia (87.5%) than in mild and moderate hyperkalemia (12.5%, 0.0%, respectively) (p=0.041). The physicians' sensitivities for predicting hyperkalemia were 35.8% and 28.4%, improved to 51.5% and 42.4%, respectively, when limiting the analyses to severe hyperkalemia. The mean (±SD) time to initial hyperkalemia treatment was 63.8±31.5 min. Potassium levels were positively correlated with PR interval (r=0.283, p=0.038), QRS duration (r=0.361, p=0.003), peaked T wave (r=0.242, p=0.041), and serum levels of creatinine (r=0.347, p=0.004), BUN (r=0.312, p=0.008), and CK (r=0.373, p=0.039). CONCLUSIONS: The physicians' abilities to predict hyperkalemia based on ECG and symptoms were poor. ECG could not be solely relied on, and serum potassium tests should be conducted for accurate diagnosis.