Thrombolysis for massive pulmonary embolism in the presence of recent neurosurgery: a case report

A young man developed massive pulmonary embolism after two weeks of head trauma and brain surgery for temporal lobe contusion and evacuation of intracerebral hematoma. He was thrombolysed with tissue plasminogen activator as a life saving measure, as he was haemodynamically unstable for emergency pulmonary thromboembolectomy. He improved quickly after thrombolysis without any untoward bleeding. Later, he underwent insertion of an inferior vena cava filter to prevent recurrence

Thrombolysis for massive pulmonary embolism in the presence of recent neurosurgery- A case report

A young man developed massive pulmonary embolism after two weeks of head trauma and brain surgery for temporal lobe contusion and evacuation of intracerebral hematoma. He was thrombolysed with tissue plasminogen activator as a life saving measure, as he was haemodynamically unstable for emergency pulmonary thromo-embolectomy. He improved quickly after thrombolysis without any untoward bleeding. Later, he underwent insertion of an Inferior vena caval filter to prevent recurrence

Medical admissions and the role of patient non-compliance

Study the admission patterns of medical inpatients over a period of one month, to find out the sources of these admissions, their reasons and their appropriateness. Design and Setting: A prospective study analysis of medical admissions at the Accident and Emergency Department [AE], Salmaniya Medical Centre, Bahrain was carried out to evaluate the frequency and reasons for medical admissions and any attributable causes for repeated admissions in some patients. Eighty six percent of all medical admissions were through the AE and 14% through the general and private clinics. Sixty six percent of medical admissions through the AE were first acute admissions and 34% were repeat admissions for exacerbations of chronic illnesses. 67.8% of repeat admissions were due to unavoidable reasons like intractable or progressive disease or the onset of precipitating events like infections. However nearly one third [28.2%] of repeat admissions and thus 9.5% of total admissions were related to non-compliance with medication on the part of the patient. The 9.5% of total medical admissions related to noncompliance are potentially avoidable. This could be achieved by patient health education, and increased coordination between the hospital the local health centres and the social welfare offices

Talent and medicine

The medical profession is not different from other workforce sharing with them all common interests, hobbies and talents. The majority of these activities are unrelated to medicine. Many are musicians, performers, artists, writers, critics, astronomers, photographers, etc not to mention their excellence in the world of sports. On the other hand there are also instances when the practice of these activities take the form of applied interpretation of what they know in human pathobiology and the concerned function. Thus some maybe historians of clinical practice, clinical pharmacologists of locally used herbs, or clinical therapists of locally practiced folk medicine. This section of the Bahrain Medical Bulletin will be devoted to "Talents in the Medical Profession" to show and exchange with others common interests and applied experience. Contributors are therefore welcomed to submit their presentation. This issue contains two pieces of poetry demonstrating a unique gentle talent; one is a reflection of the practice of smoking among doctors and the other about obesity