Qatar Medical Journal - 2 - Qatar Critical Care Conference Proceedings, February 2020

Background: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Qatar, aims to be MAGNET accredited (Nurse Excellence Program) by the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC), in addition to be an academic health center. For these accreditations it is required to establish specialty foundation courses1 and one of these courses is the Critical Care Foundation Program (CCFP) which was designed by HMC critical care and educational e Read More

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is regarded as a pro-thrombotic state1. Extreme hyperglycemia and dehydration in the hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) add to the risk for thrombo-ischemic events2,3. Lower limb ischemia and occlusion of the femoral arteries in HHS is a distinct association, but its development may be hard to recognize due to its infrequent occurrence in daily practice. Prompt recognition is important to prevent ir Read More

Background: Pre-eclampsia/eclampsia is a life-threatening disease with considerable risks on maternal and neonatal health. Globally, it affects between 2–8% of all pregnancies. Worldwide, approximately 63,000 pregnant women die each year due to pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. The MAGPIE (Magnesium sulphate for Prevention of Eclampsia) trial stated that the risk of developing convulsions was lowered significantly (58%) in severe pre-eclamp Read More

Background: Globally there have been many initiatives to enhance the number of organ donors.1 The number of individuals waiting for a transplant is significantly higher than the number of available donated organs and the gap continues to widen. In the United States, it has been reported that over 106,000 individuals are awaiting organ donation.2 The family plays a crucial role in the organ donation process. Therefore, it is important to Read More

Background: Sepsis has been identified as a time critical and life-threatening condition resulting from the body's own systemic response to infection leading to multi-organ dysfunction and failure, and remains a major frontrunner in the morbidity and mortality of critically ill patients1–3. The 2016 Surviving Sepsis Campaign1 identified that similar to patients with polytrauma, stroke and acute myocardial infarction, the early identification Read More

Background: Diuretics, ACE inhibitors or ARB, beta-blockers, and aldosterone antagonists are well established guideline directed medical therapies (GDMT) used in patients with left ventricular reduced ejection fraction (LVrEF) heart failure (HF). Hospitalization is an important marker of poor heart failure prognosis1–2. Scientific reports have shown that ivabradine reduces cardiovascular outcomes (cardiovascular death and hospitalizatio Read More

Background: Pulmonary emboli (PE) represents an extended spectrum of diseases. 10% of submassive PE progress to massive PE, and while overall mortality is around 5%, it can reach 30%,1 highlighting the potential severity of submassive PE. Treatment of low and high-risk PE is rather straightforward. However, treating intermediate risk PE is challenging due to the potential risks associated with aggressive therapy. We asses Read More

Background: Airway management of the critically ill patient is challenging. An audit of airway management in the UK reported higher incidence of significant airway complications (death and hypoxic brain damage) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) compared to regular anesthetic practice in the operating theatre.1 Virtual bronchoscopy (VB) can be valuable in airway management in the ICU. Methods: Virtual reality (VR) emerged in th Read More

Background: Child fever or puerperal sepsis is a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. It is a preventable maternal postpartum complication.1 Group A streptococcus (GAS) infection remains a significant cause for postpartum sepsis as it causes septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction (MODS). There has been a resurgence of severe puerperal GAS infections over the past two decades, although rare, it must be r Read More

Background: Management of pain in the prehospital setting is an important priority for prehospital clinicians, yet is often underestimated, either due to poor pain assessment, under dosing and inadequate provision of analgesia1,2. A femur fracture is considered a painful injury and as such, should be managed with effective analgesia. Pain is associated with multiple negative physiological effects which may potentially worsen a patient's clini Read More

Background: A journal club is a forum to debate and review clinical practice using a number of models to gauge the strength of evidence associated with the clinical practice. A large body of evidence supports the importance of journal clubs as a method to improve patient outcome by enhancing the implementation of evidence-based practice and professional development in the clinical setting1–3. Journal club activities have been recomm Read More

Background: Hemodialysis patients are at higher risk of contracting infections particularly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a serious infection and could be fatal within hours to days if undiagnosed. Dialysis catheter commonly known as permacath is a tunnel catheter used for maintenance hemodialysis which is associated with serious complications, especially infections and thrombosis. Different methodologies were Read More

Background: Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR) has been increasingly usedfor failed conventional CPR. Successful use in sudden major vessel rupture hasn't been reported. Cases of community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) pericarditis associated with major vessel rupture however are limited in number1 with a reported mortality of 20–30%.2 Here we present a case of CA-MRSA pericar Read More

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a surgical emergency characterized by a fulminant course and high mortality rate.1,2 NF is a severe form of soft-tissue infection. When NF is complicated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and acute kidney injury (AKI), the patient's chance of survival are diminished significantly.3,4 We present a case of NF of the abdominal wall with acute non-ST segment elevate Read More