Background: As acute stroke remains an important leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world, this study sought to survey the general public in four different countries, in four different continents to ascertain the level of knowledge of the public for the risk factors, and the signs and symptoms of stroke. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of the general public that was conducted via a self-administered online survey using the SurveyMonkey® platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Questions on identifying the risk factors, as well as the signs and symptoms of stroke were asked. A score was given to all subjects, and they were then asked to identify the life-style changes that they thought would reduce the risk of getting a stroke. Results: A total of 2000 subjects were recruited via the electronic search engine at the SurveyMonkey®, 500... Continue Reading

Objective: This study investigated the preferences and perception of the participants regarding patient services in Emergency Department (ED). Methods: A vast comprehensive survey, targeting a sample size of 597 participants in the Jeddah region, was conducted. The study aimed to understand the appeal and necessity of various features ranging from amenities in the waiting area, specialist care, medical staff professionalism, infrastructural modifications, and procedural changes in the ER departments. Results: A substantial number agreed on a free coffee/tea service (80%), free Wi-Fi (92.1%), long comfortable seats (84.9%), and a mobile charging station (92%). Interestingly, patients preferred health information on TV (52.5%). Understanding the need for additional amenities, 72% supported the idea of a dedicated play area for children. Almost 73.8% responded in favor of a valet parking service, and 69.9% recognized the importance of personal care services provided by medical staff and nurses. The survey further showed that the presence... Continue Reading

Background: The pursuit of emergency medicine (EM) as a career path among Saudi medical graduates is influenced by various factors and trends, especially considering of the Vision 2030 initiative. Students' attitudes and preferences toward medical specialties play a vital role in aligning medical education with workforce requirements and enhancing patient care. This study aims to explore these influences to better understand the motivations and preferences shaping medical students' decisions. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia between April and June 2023, targeting sixth year and internship medical students. A structured questionnaire captured demographic data, and perceptions of factors impacting EM career choice. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, employing descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and non-parametric tests. Results: Out of 764 participants, 44.4% expressed an interest in pursuing EM as a career. Exposure to EM courses, especially when presented by EM physicians, and participation in EM elective training positively... Continue Reading

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused an unprecedented healthcare crisis and warranted a need to use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for enhancing caller screening and triage within pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) specifically tailored to COVID-19 cases. This study aimed to analyze existing AI and ML models and assess their accuracy and precision. Methods: A comprehensive assessment of artificial intelligence (AI) applications used to improve EMS responses in the context of COVID-19 instances was done. The dataset produced by Mexican government was used. This dataset was assessed over different models encompassing logistic regression, random forest, gradient boosting, neural networks, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), Naive Bayes, and clustering (K-means). Results: Multiple models performance evaluation was done employing metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score to comprehensively assess the strengths and limitations of these models. Conclusion: The study's findings underline the complexities inherent in caller screening and triage for... Continue Reading

Background: Cardiac arrest remains a critical global health challenge, necessitating effective interventions to improve outcomes. Autopulse Mechanical Chest Compression has emerged as a potential adjunct to conventional manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the association between Autopulse use and various outcomes following cardiac arrest. Methods: A thorough literature review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Articles were evaluated for eligibility according to predefined criteria. The collected data was synthesized, and the findings were subsequently presented. Results: Sixteen studies were included in the study. A synthesis of diverse studies revealed nuanced perspectives on Autopulse Mechanical Chest Compression. Enhanced CPR success and improved survival rates in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were demonstrated, while potential drawbacks were suggested, warranting scrutiny of device design and implementation strategies. Meta-analyses on ROSC favored Autopulse, indicating a statistically significant advantage over Manual CPR (relative risk 1.43, 95%... Continue Reading

A substantial source of death and morbidity in chest trauma patients is damage to the chest wall. The radiologists' accurate diagnosis and description of any damage to the chest wall can help direct the right care for the patient. The improvement in patient treatment results from catastrophic intra-thoracic injuries being diagnosed quickly. The imaging method used in an emergency situation must arrive at the right diagnosis as soon as feasible. Imaging is a crucial component of post-chest trauma care for both the initial diagnostic evaluation and the follow-up evaluation of prospective treatments. The anterio-posterior chest radiograph continued to be the first step in the imaging work-up despite its well-known limitations. Computed tomography with adjunctive imaging, which is now more frequently done on multi-detector computed tomography equipment, provides an important information that is not immediately available on the traditional radiograph. This enables a clearer description of thoracic injuries linked to trauma.... Continue Reading

Background: Flecainide is an anti-arrhythmic medication with a narrow therapeutic index and a high mortality rate, when overdosed. Few cases of flecainide toxicity in neonates and children due to medication error have been reported in the literature. A case of an accidental flecainide overdose in a neonate in Oman was presented. Case Presentation: A 19-day-old newborn girl developed persistent supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT) after receiving nebulized albuterol for acute bronchitis. After unsuccessful treatment with adenosine, she was given flecainide 5.6 mg orally every 24 hours for resolution of the SVT. On day four of admission, the child inadvertently received 100 mg of flecainide orally due to a dose calculation error. The child developed wide complex tachyarrhythmia followed by pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Sodium bicarbonate IV bolus followed by an infusion was administered. The patient developed two additional episodes of pulseless VT that coincided temporally with two interruptions... Continue Reading

Background: Bilateral peritonsillar abscesses are a rare occurrence in children. Peritonsillar abscess is characterized by the pushing of the tonsils forward and toward the uvula. Untreated acute tonsillitis can lead to the development of peritonsillar abscesses as an early complication. Case presentation: The study presents a rare case report of a 5-year-old male with no prior medical conditions presented with a history of fever (38.5°) and a runny nose for the past 2 days. No abnormalities were observed in chest, cardiovascular, abdominal, or central nervous system examination. Nevertheless, the tonsils appeared to be pushed by a mass and the uvula deviated. Computed tomography (CT) revealed enlarged bilateral palatine tonsils with a few small peritonsillar abscesses measuring 0.7 cm. Thus, bilateral palatine tonsillitis with few peritonsillar small abscesses associated with multilevel cervical lymphadenopathy was diagnosed. Conclusion: The emphasis of the report is the importance of considering peritonsillar abscess as a differential... Continue Reading

Background: Dental needle aspiration is a rare complication of oral procedures given the advances in medical technology. Aspirations in general may also be asymptomatic, apart from the possible remote history of upper airway irritation at the time of induction. Clinicians should take a detailed history and examination, along with appropriate diagnostic imaging before discharging these patients from the emergency department. Case presentation: A young patient presented with an acute complaint of pain and coughing post-dental procedure. On arrival at the emergency department, she was vitally and clinically stable, without signs of respiratory distress. There were no complaints reported apart from minor throat pain. Imaging done in the emergency department revealed the presence of a 32 mm needle in the distal airway. She underwent emergency flexible bronchoscopy, and the foreign body was removed under direct visualization. The patient remained stable throughout the procedure and had an uneventful stay until discharge.  ... Continue Reading

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