Oman medical journal
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Oman medical journal · May 2012
Predictive value of a 4-hour accelerated diagnostic protocol in patients with suspected ischemic chest pain presenting to an emergency department.
Currently recommended risk stratification protocols for suspected ischemic chest pain in the emergency department (ED) includes point-of-care availability of exercise treadmill/nuclear tests or CT coronary angiograms. These tests are not widely available for most of the ED's. This study aims to prospectively validate the safety of a predefined 4-hour accelerated diagnostic protocol (ADP) using chest pain, ECG, and troponin T among suspected ischemic chest pain patients presenting to an ED of a tertiary care hospital in Oman. ⋯ A 4-hour ADP using chest pain, ECG, and troponin T had high specificity and negative predictive value in predicting 30-day MACE among low probability ACS patients discharged from ED. However, 30-day MACE in ADP negative patients was relatively high in contrast to guideline recommendations. Hence, there is a need to establish ED chest pain unit and adopt new protocols especially adding a point-of-care exercise treadmill test in the ED.
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Burnout is a common work-related syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and diminished feelings of personal accomplishment. Burnout influences the performance and efficiency of the healthcare professionals and therefore the quality of the care provided. This study aims to assess the burnout rates and potential determinants in pediatrics. ⋯ At least one third of practicing pediatricians suffer from burnout syndrome. Specific strategies should be developed and implemented to limit and prevent professional burnout.
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Oman medical journal · Jul 2014
Case ReportsAcute esophageal necrosis: an uncommon cause of hematemesis.
Acute esophageal necrosis or black esophagus is an uncommon clinical entity, diagnosed at the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with the presence of strikingly black necrotic esophagus. Very often no definite etiology will be identified even though a large list of potential associations has been postulated. ⋯ Only about a hundred cases of acute esophageal necrosis have been described in medical literature till this date. We report a case of acute esophageal necrosis in an elderly female who had presented with hematemesis.
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Oman medical journal · Jan 2009
Predictors of positive chest radiography in non-traumatic chest pain in the emergency department.
To determine predictors associated with positive chest x-ray finding in patients presenting with non-traumatic chest pain in the Emergency Department (ED). ⋯ This study found that patients with non-traumatic chest pain are likely to have a normal chest x-ray if they were young, not tachypnoeic or short of breath, and had no significant past medical history. A larger study is required to confirm these findings.
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Oman medical journal · Apr 2008
Use of ventilator bundle to prevent ventilator associated pneumonia.
To determine if the knowledge and awareness of "ventilator bundle" helped in the prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia and other outcome variables in the patients admitted to our AICU. ⋯ Introducing the concept of "ventilator bundle" helped us to reduce the incidence of VAP, reduce the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleed. It reduced the mean duration of ventilation in both the medical and surgical patients who developed VAP. The effect on decreasing the length of stay was seen in the surgical patients only.