An unexpected location of pleural catheter in a hepatic vein: A case report.

Pleural catheters are widely used for patients with pleural effusions. Several complications with limited morbidity have been reported. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of a pleural catheter insertion into the hepatic vein, passed through the inferior vena cava, and the tip reaching the right atrium, which may be reduced using additional imaging during thoracocentesis.

Cerebrovascular disease in patients with COVID-19 infection: a case series from Lebanon.

COVID-19 has been associated with a variety of multi-organs complications, with an increasing proportion of patients presenting with neurologic manifestations. There is still an uncertainty in the relationship between stroke and COVID-19. Therefore, in this study, the authors report 18 cases of acute stroke occurring in the setting of COVID-19 infection, including 11 ischaemic strokes and 7 haemorrhagic strokes and identified in a Lebanese tertiary hospital. In this case series, patients with ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke had elevated markers of inflammation and coagulation. Ischaemic stroke patients were treated with different regimens of anti-platelets, anticoagulants, and thrombolytic therapies. Death was the most common outcome observed and was associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection.

Postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis: a case report.

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is a rare condition most frequently seen in the immediate postpartum period. Typical symptoms include pelvic pain, fever, and abdominal mass. Although a rare diagnosis, OVT can potentially cause fatal complications; thus, early recognition and prompt treatment is important. Case presentation: We present a case of a 30-year-old lady, G4P3A0, previously healthy, who presented at 29+3 weeks to the hospital for preterm premature rupture of membrane. The patient had a Cesarean section (C-section), which was complicated with uterine atony and massive bleeding controlled by emergent intrauterine balloon tamponade and uterine artery embolization. The next day, the patient complained of new-onset right lower quadrant abdominal pain, for which she had an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan that showed OVT. Thus, she was started on anticoagulants, and discharged home. Conclusion: OVT is a rare disorder that has been described as occurring mainly during the postpartum period, after pelvic surgery, or in women with gynecological malignancies. Clinical features of OVT include fever, abdominal pain and tenderness, and a palpable abdominal mass. Diagnosis can be obtained using CT, magnetic resonance (MR), or ultrasound (US) Doppler. Treatment includes a combination of anticoagulants and antibiotics. Mortality is low nowadays.

The Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing Hospitalizations During the Delta Wave: A Patient-Population Study at a Major Referral Center.

Background and objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has turned into a deadly global pandemic since its first discovery in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 have been introduced to the public and have been shown to reduce the severity of the disease and related mortality rates. COVID-19 vaccination was first introduced in Lebanon in mid-February 2021. In this study, we analyzed the effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19-related hospitalization during the Delta wave at a major referral center in Lebanon. Methods This patient-population study was conducted on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between July 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) in Beirut, Lebanon. Data were collected directly from the patients or from digitized records and included demographic characteristics (age, sex, and comorbidities), vaccination status, oxygen requirement, and outcomes. National vaccination data were collected from the daily bulletin provided by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS Statistics Version 19.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 289 patients were included in the study, of whom 90.3% were unvaccinated and 9.7% were vaccinated with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen. Only 4.5% of the 289 patients were fully vaccinated. Among those fully or partially vaccinated, the mean time from symptom onset to hospitalization was shorter but the hospital stay was longer compared to the unvaccinated group. The mortality rate was higher in the unvaccinated group (25.7%) compared to 14.3% among the vaccinated. The vaccine effectiveness compared to the national vaccination rate (22.5% in the population after the first and second dose) was 71.71% and 83.78% respectively. Conclusion The findings of this study highlight the fact that complete/partial vaccination against COVID-19 was highly protective against severe disease and hospitalization during the period with a predominance of the Delta variant in Lebanon.

Visceral Kaposi's Sarcoma as a Presentation in a Newly Diagnosed HIV-Infected Man: A Case Report.

Kaposi's sarcoma is an angioproliferative malignancy due to human herpesvirus-8 and is associated with immunosuppression. Although most cases are cutaneous and resolve with treatment of the underlying condition, few cases present with organ involvement and have a fulminant course. We present a case of a 24-year-old sexually active man who presented with fulminant visceral Kaposi's sarcoma, without cutaneous involvement. He presented with anasarca, high fever, hypoalbuminemia, and anemia on day five of antiretroviral therapy (ART). There was clinical improvement after the first dose of liposomal doxorubicin. However, given that he developed refractory pancytopenia, with disease relapse by the third week, he received a second dose of doxorubicin, with no clinical improvement, and the patient died with multi-organ dysfunction on day 22 of presentation. The main treatment is liposomal doxorubicin with ART, and the disease is typically associated with a poor prognosis.