Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Despite the importance of radiology in the diagnosis and management of patients, studies suggest that medical graduates exhibit a minimal level of radiology knowledge. This study aimed to assess the satisfaction of Kuwait's medical students with the radiology teaching and their confidence in their knowledge regarding basic radiological principles, as well as their views and suggestions for adequate teaching time and pattern of radiology teaching at the undergraduate level. ⋯ Radiology is an essential part of modern medicine. Adequate exposure to radiological techniques and adequate time to radiological teaching must be allocated to students during their undergraduate medical curriculum to improve the proper management of patients.
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Observational Study
Impact of Preoperative Neutrophil-Lymphocyte and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratios on Long Term Survival in Patients with Operable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an extremely poor prognosis. The outcomes of patients with cancer are determined not only by tumor-related factors but also by systemic inflammatory response. The objective of the study was to identify whether the preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with the prognosis of PDAC of the pancreas head after curative pancreatoduodenectomy. ⋯ NLR and PLR measurements cannot provide important prognostic results in patients with resectable PDAC.
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Establishing a pediatric COVID-19 registry in Kuwait (PCR-Q8) was deemed imperative during the pandemic to study children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) focusing on mode of presentation, therapeutic interventions, disease severity, and early outcomes. This manuscript describes the rapid establishment of the PCR-Q8 registry showcasing an infrastructure of the development process and presents the results of the pilot phase. ⋯ We anticipate the development of PCR-Q8 to be a stepping-stone for more in-depth investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in Kuwait and for the establishment of other registries.
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Observational Study
Prevalence of Delirium in End-of-life Palliative Care Patients: An Observational Study.
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of delirium, using the Assessment Test for Delirium and Cognitive Impairment (4AT) in end-of-life palliative care patients. ⋯ Our study confirms that delirium is common in cancer and noncancer palliative care patients. Further research on delirium in end-of-life palliative care patients should consider the complexity of palliative care of this population as well as of the characteristics of the settings.
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Fingertip-reactive hyperemia-peripheral artery tonometry (RH-PAT) is an emerging novel noninvasive method for evaluating endothelial function. We aimed to evaluate endothelial function with fingertip-reactive hyperemia by RH-PAT in symptomatic patients undergoing elective coronary angiography and to assess the relationship between the degree of endothelial dysfunction (ED) and the presence and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). ⋯ RH-PAT is an objective and highly reproducible test with superior diagnostic accuracy for the evaluation of ED. We found significant correlations between ED and the presence and the severity of CAD.