Emphysematous Pyelonephritis Disparities observed in the use of percutaneous drainage techniques.

Objectives: The recent drop in the mortality rates of emphysematous pyelonephritis, a serious medical condition, is attributable to renal percutaneous drainage (PCD) techniques that have also reduced the necessity for surgery. Since the difference in the objectives of the two specific techniques, i.e.

Effect of COVID-19-related lockdown on functional urology practice and patient care in Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Background: This survey was designed and conducted during the lockdown period to assess its effect on urology practice dealing with patients with voiding dysfunction and their care in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Methods: An online survey was sent across to urologists managing patients with voiding dysfunction in countries of the GCC region through various social media platforms. All valid responses were tabulated and analyzed.

Factors Affecting the Outcome of Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy in Urinary Stone Treatment.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the factors affecting the outcome of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) in urinary stone treatment.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 235 adult patients treated with ESWL, for radiopaque renal or ureteric stones between January 2015 and December 2016. Patient's age, sex, stone size, laterality, location, density, skin-to-stone distance (SSD), and presence of double J stent were studied as potential predictors.

Is RIRS emerging as the preferred option for the management of 2 cm-4 cm renal stones: our experience.

Introduction: The European Association of Urology (EAU) and the American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines recommend percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) as the first-line treatment of renal stones greater than 20 mm, however multistage retrograde intrarenal stone surgery (RIRS) is reported to have high stone-free rates (SFR), fewer complications and a rapid learning curve. This study presents our experience of RIRS in the management of 2 cm-4 cm renal stones.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was performed of all patients who underwent RIRS for 2 cm-4 cm renal stones over a period of 22 months.

Synchronous bilateral ureteric metastasis from gastric cancer.

Distant metastasis to the ureters is uncommon. Moreover, isolated ureteric metastasis from gastric cancer is extremely rare and only sporadically reported. It indicates an advanced stage and carrier a very poor prognosis.

Dengue epidemiological trend in Oman: a 13-year national surveillance and strategic proposition of imported cases.

Dengue fever has emerged as a major public health problem globally in the past three decades. A 13-year national surveillance data analysis was done to describe the epidemiology and its trend of dengue disease in Oman reported between 2001 and 2013. Laboratory-confirmed dengue virus infections reported were studied retrospectively during the study period.

Progress toward elimination of hepatitis B virus transmission in Oman: impact of hepatitis B vaccination.

Approximately 2-7% of the Omani population has chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. To decrease this burden, universal childhood hepatitis B vaccination was introduced in Oman in 1990. The hepatitis B vaccination strategy and reported coverage were reviewed.

Epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal infection among hospitalized children aged less than 5 years in Oman.

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Omani children. We retrospectively reviewed cases admitted in children <5 years of age who were admitted in one of 4 tertiary care facilities within the Muscat Governorate. These cases represented nearly 95% of all IPD admissions recorded throughout the country from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006.

Standardization and international multicenter validation of a PulseNet pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocol for subtyping Shigella flexneri isolates.

Shigella flexneri is one of the agents most frequently linked to diarrheal illness in developing countries and often causes outbreaks in settings with poor hygiene or sanitary conditions. Travel is one of the means by which S. flexneri can be imported into developed countries, where this pathogen is not commonly seen.

Global distribution of measles genotypes and measles molecular epidemiology.

A critical component of laboratory surveillance for measles is the genetic characterization of circulating wild-type viruses. The World Health Organization (WHO) Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (LabNet), provides for standardized testing in 183 countries and supports genetic characterization of currently circulating strains of measles viruses. The goal of this report is to describe the lessons learned from nearly 20 years of virologic surveillance for measles, to describe the global databases for measles sequences, and to provide regional updates about measles genotypes detected by recent surveillance activities.

Hospitalised patients with Influenza A (H1N1) in the Royal Hospital, Oman: Experience of a tertiary care hospital, July-December 2009.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics, risk factors, laboratory investigations and outcome of hospitalised patients with positive Influenza A (H1N1) at the Royal Hospital in Oman.

Methods: We extracted data from the retrospective medical charts, radiological and laboratory findings of 131 patients who were confirmed as positive for Influenza A (H1N1) by real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase- chain-reaction from 21 July to 23 December 2009.

Results: The median age was 24 years with 34.

Molecular characterization of rotavirus strains circulating in Oman in 2005.

Limited genotyping data are available for rotavirus strains in the Middle East. In this study, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of human rotavirus strains circulating in the Sultanate of Oman during 2005. Rotavirus was detected in 178 (57.

Considerations for introduction of a rotavirus vaccine in Oman: rotavirus disease and economic burden.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of fatal childhood diarrhea worldwide. We provide the first estimates of the health care and economic burden of severe rotavirus disease in Oman. We conducted active, hospital-based surveillance of rotavirus disease at 11 regional public hospitals in Oman, using the guidelines suggested by the generic World Health Organization protocol.

Acute tubular necrosis associated with non-hemorrhagic Dengue fever: a case report.

Dengue fever (DF) is an arthropod-born viral infection affecting humans. Dengue viruses are transmitted through the bites of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Acute renal failure (ARF) is reported in patients who are affected mainly with Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which is a severe presentation of the disease.

Clinical relevance of nontuberculous Mycobacteria, Oman.

Little is known about the clinical relevance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in the Arabian Peninsula. We assessed the prevalence and studied a random sample of isolates at a reference laboratory in Muscat, Oman. NTM cause disease in this region, and their prevalence has increased.

Measles epidemiology and its implications for a vaccination programme in Oman.

To describe the epidemiology of measles in Oman and the implications for a vaccination programme, we conducted a retrospective record-based study from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2003 using data from the national epidemiological surveillance system. All cases notified as suspected measles during the study period were included. Of the 185 notified cases, 19.

Clinical characteristics of childhood guillain-barré syndrome.

Objectives: To find the incidence, clinical pattern and outcome of Guillain-Barre syndrome in the Sultanate of Oman in children less than 15 years of age.

Methods: All children under fifteen years with acute flaccid paralysis were admitted to identify the underlying cause. The diagnosis of Gullain Barre syndrome was made by clinical criteria, cerebrospinal fluid findings and nerve conduction studies.

Acute Renal Failure in a Patient with both Leptospirosis and Dengue Fever.

The spectrum of tropical nephropathies includes Acute Renal Failure (ARF) or Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) due to infective agents that are endemic in the tropics which include Leptospira (LS) and Dengue Viruses (DV). The major histological feature is Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN).(1, 2)We report the case of a patient who presented ARF with co-infection with both agents.

External quality control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing: results of two rounds in endemic countries.

Setting: Quality assurance for the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) global tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance surveillance programme.

Objective: To monitor the quality of drug susceptibility testing (DST) in different countries.

Methods: In 2002-2003 and 2005-2006, 20 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were sent by the WHO/Union Supranational Reference Laboratory of Rome to TB reference laboratories in Albania, Bahrain, Kosovo, Mozambique, Oman, Qatar and Turkey for external quality control (EQC).

Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella spp. from human and non-human sources in Oman.

We investigated the antibiotic resistance of various strains of Salmonella isolated from different sources in Oman, namely sewage water, chicken and food handlers. Of 1242 isolates from food handlers, 15 (1.2%) were resistant to one or more antibiotic.

Molecular identification of 13 new enterovirus types, EV79-88, EV97, and EV100-101, members of the species Human Enterovirus B.

Molecular methods have enabled the rapid identification of new enterovirus (EV) serotypes that are untypeable using existing neutralizing antisera. As a result, sequencing of the VP1 capsid gene has been developed as a surrogate for antigenic typing to distinguish enterovirus types. In this study, 17 enterovirus isolates from four countries were identified as members of 13 new types within the species Human Enterovirus B (HEV-B) by complete genome sequencing.

International collaborative assessment study of the AHD575 method for the measurement of blood haemoglobin.

Accurate, economical methods for haemoglobin determination by laboratories in countries with limited resources are not available. This report provides the results of an international collaborative study evaluating the alkaline haematin detergent (AHD575) method as a reference method for laboratory services with limited resources. The study included 6 laboratories; 3 in East Mediterranean countries, 1 in East Africa and 3 in Europe.

Holmium laser cystolithotripsy in children: initial experience.

Introduction: Management of vesical calculi in children poses an interesting challenge to the urologist. The treatment options currently available include open surgery, transurethral pneumatic cystolithotripsy, percutaneous suprapubic cystolithotomy and shockwave lithotripsy (SWL). Holmium: YAG (Ho: YAG) laser cystolithotripsy represents a novel modality of treatment that is minimally invasive.

Incidence of chromosome abnormalities in the Sultanate of Oman.

Objectives: To evaluate the cytogenetic findings in Omani children referred for suspected chromosomal anomalies that caused a variety of clinical disorders. Secondly, to study the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in these patients and to compare our results with those reported elsewhere.

Methods: We performed chromosomal analysis on 1800 consecutive pediatric patients referred to the Cytogenetics section between June 1999 and May 2004 at Central Public Health Laboratories, Sultanate of Oman.