Ferritin, blood urea nitrogen, and high chest CT score determines ICU admission in COVID-19 positive UAE patients: A single center retrospective study.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. Since then, additional novel coronavirus variants have emerged challenging the current healthcare system worldwide. There is an increased need for hospital care, especially intensive care unit (ICU), for the patients severely affected by the disease. Most of the studies analyzed COVID-19 infected patients in the hospitals and established the positive correlation between clinical parameters such as high levels of D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and ferritin to the severity of infection. However, little is known about the course of the ICU admission. The retrospective study carried out at University Hospital Sharjah, UAE presented here reports an integrated analysis of the biochemical and radiological factors among the newly admitted COVID-19 patients to decide on their ICU admission. The descriptive statistical analysis revealed that patients with clinical presentations such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (p<0.0001) at the time of admission needed intensive care. The ROC plot indicated that radiological factors including high chest CT scores (>CO-RADS 4) in combination with biochemical parameters such as higher levels of blood urea nitrogen (>6.7 mg/dL;66% sensitivity and 75.8% specificity) and ferritin (>290 µg/mL, 71.4% sensitivity and 77.8% specificity) may predict ICU admission with 94.2% accuracy among COVID-19 patients. Collectively, these findings would benefit the hospitals to predict the ICU admission amongst COVID-19 infected patients.

Human herpes simplex virus-6 (HHV-6) detection and seroprevalence among Qatari nationals and immigrants residing in Qatar.

Background: Human herpes simplex virus-6 (HHV-6) is the causative agent of exanthema subitum. Transmission mainly occurs through salivary secretions, yet blood transfusions and organ transplantations have also been reported as routes of transmission. Studies of seroprevalence of HHV-6 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and other parts of Asia are scarce. As such, this study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of HHV-6 among healthy blood donors in Qatar. Methods: In total, 620 healthy blood donors from different nationalities residing in Qatar, mainly from the MENA region and Southeast Asia, were tested using a commercial anti-HHV-6 immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. In addition, HHV-6 DNA from randomly selected samples was tested and quantified using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: Anti-HHV-6 IgG was detected in 71.7% (445/620) [95% confidence interval (CI) 68.2-75.3%] of the tested samples, while 24.3% (61/251) (95% CI 20.0-29.6%) had detectable HHV-6 viraemia. Only 22.5% of individuals with positive IgG status had detectable HHV-6 DNA in their blood, indicating a weak association between viraemia and IgG positivity (P=0.08). Furthermore, no significant difference was associated between HHV-6 viraemia and demographic characteristics, except for nationality. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HHV-6 in Qatar was found to be similar to rates reported in other parts of the world.

Peripheral blood cell anomalies in COVID-19 patients in the United Arab Emirates: A single-centered study.

Introduction: In this study, we aimed at exploring the morphologic and quantitative abnormalities in the peripheral blood counts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Methods: A cohort of 131 COVID-19 patients was recruited at University Hospital Sharjah (UHS), UAE. Their peripheral blood smears were examined for morphological evaluation. Also, their clinical laboratory investigations and radiological findings were retrieved from the medical records. Our cohort consisted of 63 males and 68 females with an age of 63.6 ± 18.6 years. Results: The presence of atypical lymphocytes was observed in around 80% of the recruited COVID-19 patients. Further, monocytes with toxic cytoplasmic vacuoles were identified in 55% of the cases. Neutrophil-associated changes, including pseudo-Pelger-Huët, bands, and long nuclear endoplasm, were reported in around 25-35% of the patients. RBCs associated changes such as microcytic and hypochromic RBCs, as well as targetoid, dacrocytes, ovalocytes, echinocytes/burr cells, and schistocytes, were described. According to disease severity, RBCs chromicity was found to be significantly different between stable and critical patients. COVID-19 patients with CO-RADS 5 showed a similar change in RBCs as well as a decrease in the neutrophils with hypogranular cytoplasm. Conclusion: Peripheral blood smear assessment in COVID-19 patients could provide information about the disease state and pulmonary involvement.

Risk factors associated with lower extremity amputation in Sudanese individuals with diabetes: The need for improvement in primary health care system.

BACKGROUND: Lower extremity amputation (LEA) in individuals with diabetes is a serious health issue with a considerable physical and social burden. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with LEA in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional health facility-based study that recruited 315 diabetes individuals with foot ulcers from the diabetes center in Khartoum, Sudan. Direct interviewing of subjects was used to obtain data, using a standardized validated questionnaire. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used in data analysis. RESULTS: 69.5% of the diabetic participants were aged 50 years old or more, and 71.1% were males. Most of the subjects (48.2%) were diabetics for a duration of >10 years, while more than one third (37.5%) of them were diabetic for 5-10 years. The majority (89.5%) had type 2 DM, while only 10.5% were type 1 DM. Two hundred forty-five patients had a left lower foot ulcer; 55.1% of the patients' ulcers were present in the toes, while 21.6% were in the foot sole. The overall prevalence of lower limb amputation was 17.1%. Individuals with diabetes patients with LEA had a higher incidence of hypertension (P = 0.000), retinopathy (P = 0.000), nephropathy (P = 0.002), ulcer size >2.5 cm (P = 0.000), and neuropathy (P = 0.000) through Chi-square analysis. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that amputation was significantly associated with retinopathy (P = 0.000), size of ulcer (P = 0.000), and neuropathy (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of LEA was 17.1%. The primary risks factors associated with amputation were presence of neuropathy and ulcer size >2.5 cm. Presence of retinopathy predispose diabetic individuals to amputation. Amputation is associated with disability and psychological problems; therefore, there is an urgent need for more improvement in preventative measures and primary health care system in low resource setting country like Sudan in order to decrease diabetes complications, especially patient's education about diabetes management by primary care physicians.