Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care - 1 - Qatar Health 2022 Conference abstracts, January 2022

Welcome to this special issue of JEMTAC dedicated to the selection of 74 abstracts submitted to the Qatar Health 2022 online conference. The years are passing and the COVID-19 pandemic situation has not changed much globally. Although new vaccines have been developed and several restrictive measures have been rolled out in most countries to protect people, thousands are still succumbing to the effects of COVID-191,2. Similar to t Read More

Background: Hosting 2022 FIFA World Cup (WC2022) in Qatar is a mega event that can shape a country's development1. Partnerships as preparedness efforts for mass gatherings within the health system can ensure a safe and efficient practice in hosting countries2,3. This work aims to provide an analysis of the existing literature around partnership frameworks to inform the development of an innovative partnership framework for Prim Read More

Background: International sporting events such as the World Athletics (WA) competition require proper medical coverage to ensure the wellbeing of athletes, support teams, and spectators1. Several factors may have an impact on people's requirements for medical attention such as the climate, altitude, and intensity of the sporting competition on the athletes2,3. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) held its 201 Read More

Background: Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is defined as the abrupt loss of heart function as an occurrence without physical contact (absent commotio cordis). SCA's morbidity ratio is 1:50,000 of all deaths. The published estimates on SCA suggest that 11% of all victims have a normal heart. Current screening investigations include electrocardiography (ECG), echography, 24-hour ECG monitoring, eliciting stress history, and cardiac Magnet Read More

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) is an effective preventative measure for diverse health risks among all age groups 1. Global PA guidelines provide recommendations on the required levels for active lifestyle based on evidence-based behavioral benchmarks to increase awareness and reduce overall morbidity and mortality rates 2. The Qatar National Physical Activity Guidelines (QNPAG) were first developed in 2014. The recently rel Read More

Background: Inter-professional education (IPE) highlights collaborative practices aimed at promoting the working relationship between two or more healthcare professions1. IPE achieves together more than what individuals can achieve to improve healthcare practices at an organizational level1. In order to reduce the risk of injury during positioning and transfers of children admitted in the Almaha units, nursing, physical therapy, and occ Read More

Background: Complementary medicine therapies are used globally. Around 88% of the countries that are members of the World Health Organization (WHO) reported using such practices while there is no information reported from the remaining 12% of countries 1. Cupping therapy is an ancient therapy trending to be used among athletes 2. Other complementary medicine therapies such as chiropractic are also used in sports medicin Read More

Background: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a global health emergency. With incomplete vaccination and incomplete protection of the vaccinated population, there remains an urgent need to develop drugs to treat COVID-19. Our previou in silico analysis suggested vulnerability of SARS-CoV-2 to inactivation by the endogenous reactive metabolite, methylglyoxal (MG), by modification of arginine Read More

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first discovered in China and resulted in a pandemic crisis.1,2 Many agents were investigated with inconclusive outcomes.3 This study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety outcomes of darunavir-cobicistat versus lopinavir-ritonavir in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted on adult patients hospi Read More

Background: COVID-19 infection is caused by a novel coronavirus. It was identified initially in late 2019 as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. It spread worldwide causing a pandemic. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple complications have been linked to COVID-19 infections, one of them being pleural effusion. To the best of our knowledge, only a few case reports have discussed the incidence of candida Read More

Background: Paramedics are subjected to high levels of stress, which increase their risk of depression, burnout, quitting the profession, or even committing suicide.1 Some recent studies have focused on the coping strategies used by nurses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic2, but little is known regarding paramedics. This study explored the potential coping strategies used by Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service (H Read More

Background: People respond to stressful situations differently based on their ethnicity.1 This study explored the impact of ethnicity on coping strategies used to deal with work-related stress among Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service (HMCAS) paramedics in Qatar before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on the associated work conducted by the same team.2,3Methods: An online survey combining validated tools Read More

Background: Paramedics are at risk of burnout which represents a concern for the healthcare system and public health1. In Italy, about 20% of health practitioners were infected, and some died during their work fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic2, but little is known regarding paramedics. This study assessed the level of stress associated with the work of Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service (HMCAS) paramedics in Qatar Read More

Background: Internationally, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, causing corona virus disease (COVID-19), has increased the demand on healthcare services and resources1. The proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by paramedics has recently become apparent2. The risk of COVID-19 transmission has increased during prehospital life-saving procedures generating aerosols such as n Read More

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on medical and maternity services across the world. The reported increase in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality is not only attributable to the disease itself but also the disruptions in the health services during lockdowns1,2. Qatar maintained continuity of maternity services during the peak of the pandemic by telephone consultations3. It played a vital role in mini Read More

Background: In response to the declaration of COVID-19 reaching pandemic status, Mesaieed General Hospital (MGH) was commissioned in record time1. A multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals effectively worked together to confront the challenges and changing demands that arose due to the crisis2. This work aims to describe the systematic approach used in our newly opened hospital in preparation for the national surges of Read More

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all out-patients clinics shifted to telehealth visits1. However some patients still needed to be seen as face to face visit2, mostly through the new urgent referrals which were overbooked in the clinics due to the limited availability of slots3. The aim of this quality improvement project was to decrease the percentage of re-booked urgent referrals for in-person visits in the general paediatric clinic Read More

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we deliver primary health care services for good. The need to protect staff and patients from the spread of infection while still providing essential healthcare services to the public was challenging but ignited innovations to facilitate healthcare delivery. International research supports the action of containing the spread of a virus by limiting the number of people co-located, if possible Read More

Background: Since the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic struck the healthcare industry, there has been a rapidly evolving and escalating situation across the globe that lead healthcare organizations to embrace changes at an accelerated rate1. Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) had to cope with an overwhelming number of patients being admitted to Acute Care areas during early 2021. When four HMC tertiary and secondary care hospit Read More

Background: As the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients has rapidly increased around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic in March 2020.1 The pandemic created a global crisis affecting all countries, business sectors, and citizens around the world in their everyday lives.2 Qatar's national policies and strategies focus on protecting the lives and the recovery Read More