Prevalence and Safety of Prescribing PPIs with Clopidogrel in Palestine.

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed medications that are thought to increase the risk of cardiovascular events because they reduce the effectiveness of clopidogrel via shared hepatic pathways.

Objective: This study examined the prevalence of concomitant prescribing of clopidogrel/PPI among patients diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome and the adverse cardiovascular event associated with this interaction.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by retrieving patient data from the Nat Health Insurance claims processor database in Palestine.

Traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula in a multiple facial fractures patient: case report and literature review.

Carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) is a pathologic communication between internal carotid artery (ICA) and cavernous sinus (CS). CCF occurs most commonly in association with craniofacial trauma. Traumatic CCFs are very rare, occurring in 0.

Preoperative endoscopic third ventriculostomy in children with posterior fossa tumors: an institution experience.

Aim: To assess the effectiveness and safety of pre-resection endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in permanently relieving hydrocephalus in children with posterior fossa tumors.

Material And Methods: 17 pediatric patients with posterior fossa tumors and associated triventricular obstructive hydrocephalus underwent ETV before definitive tumor resection, and ETV was repeated after tumor resection if hydrocephalus with increased intracranial pressure persisted or recurred. The medical records, operative notes and imaging studies were retrospectively reviewed.

Inflammatory demyelinating pseudotumor.

Inflammatory demyelinating pseudotumor (IDP) is a rare inflammatory lesion of unknown etiology, which presents as a space-occupying lesion but responds dramatically to steroid therapy. The objective of this report is to document 2 cases of IDP seen in Kuwait. Two female patients, aged 35 and 27 years presented with the clinical and radiological features of a space-occupying lesion.

Unusual features of intermediate septal bypass tracts.

Introduction: Intermediate septal (IS) AV bypass tracts, located along the tricuspid annulus between the His bundle and coronary sinus os, lie in close proximity to the AV node. Surgical or catheter ablation of IS bypass tracts incurs increased risk for development of complete heart block. We report additional unusual features of some IS bypass tracts that distinguish them from typical bypass tracts in other anatomic regions.

Cardiac sympathetic denervation after transmyocardial laser revascularization.

Background: Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) has been shown to improve refractory angina not amenable to conventional coronary interventions. However, the mechanism of action remains controversial, because improved myocardial perfusion has not been consistently demonstrated. We hypothesized that TMR relieves angina by causing myocardial sympathetic denervation.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation for postinfarct ventricular tachycardia.

Catheter mapping and radiofrequency ablation of postinfarct sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) remain one of the greatest challenges for the electrophysiologist. Although there were no major breakthroughs during the past year, several refinements and clarifications of existing mapping criteria were published. In addition, initial reports appeared describing new mapping systems and ablation technologies that may significantly impact the way ablation studies are performed as well as the way in which they affect success rates.

The value of red cell distribution width in the diagnosis of anaemia in children.

The red cell distribution width index (RDW) was determined in 103 normal children, 69 iron-deficient (ID) patients, 73 with the thalassaemia trait, and 71 with other haemoglobinopathies. Elevated RDW values were found in anaemic patients, the highest values in ID anaemia, sickle thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia, and beta-thalassaemia trait in decreasing order. The normal RDW in children was 13.

Patterns of hepatomegaly in Jordanians: a prospective study of 800 cases.

Eight hundred Jordanians with liver enlargement were studied: 369 (46%) were males and 431 (54%) females. Ages ranged between 13 and 85 years, with a mean of 47.4%: 766 cases demonstrated a single pathological process while 34 cases showed two or more processes.