Publications by authors named "Belhaj A"

Hydatidosis, caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, is a zoonotic disease typically affecting the liver and lungs. Cerebral localizations are rare, especially in the brainstem. We present a case of a 9-year-old boy with a brainstem hydatid cyst.

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Unexpected deaths may occur in individuals during a police arrest. These individuals usually have had both physical and emotional exertion, associated or not with agitation and restraint by police. Further investigations in these cases often show an impregnation with drugs.

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Brain death (BD) is a complex medical state that triggers systemic disturbances and a cascade of pathophysiological processes. This condition significantly impairs both kidney function and structural integrity, thereby presenting considerable challenges to graft viability and the long-term success of transplantation endeavors. Tacrolimus (FK506), an immunosuppressive drug, was used in this study to assess its impact as a pretreatment on brain death-induced renal injury.

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Article Synopsis
  • Endovascular aneurysm repair is generally better than open surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms, but complications like endoleaks and infections can occur.
  • A 75-year-old man developed severe aortic infection from Cutibacterium acnes after a procedure to fix a type II endoleak, leading to a rupture and emergency surgery.
  • Early detection of these infections is crucial, often requiring imaging and lab tests, and treatment typically involves removing the graft and taking antibiotics due to the associated risks of serious complications.
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Introduction And Importance: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health concern, particularly in low-income countries like Tunisia, despite advancements in healthcare and antibiotic accessibility. Gastrointestinal tuberculosis, although rare, can affect various parts of the gastrointestinal tract, with perianal involvement being exceptionally uncommon. We present a case of isolated perianal tuberculosis, emphasizing the complexities in diagnosis and management.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The acquired form of this condition usually arises suddenly from exposure to certain drugs or toxic substances.
  • * A case study is presented involving a patient who experienced severe methaemoglobinaemia due to cocaine and amphetamine intoxication.
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Objective: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a manifestation of atherosclerosis that affects the lower extremities and afflicts more than 200 million people worldwide. Because of limited resources, the need to provide quality care associated with cost control is essential for health policies. Our study concerns an interhospital comparison among seventeen Belgian hospitals that integrates the weighting of quality indicators and the costs of care, from the hospital perspective, for a patient with this pathology in 2018.

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Vertex epidural hematomas are very uncommon complications of traumatic head injury. Besides the volume of the epidural bleeding, compression of the superior sagittal sinus may be source for added elevated intracranial pressure. Clinical presentation of such lesions is heterogenous and symptoms can develop in an acute to a chronic frame.

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INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: endovascular repair is an alternative to open repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), which lowers morbidity and mortality but may presents infectious complications. Endograft infection is a rare but serious life-threatening condition with a mortality rate up to 50 %. We reported a case of aortic endograft infection by Francisella tularensis, rare and highly virulent gram-negative coccobacillus known for use in bioterrorism.

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Background: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction remains a major problem after heart transplantation and may be associated with brain death (BD) in a donor. A calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus was recently found to have beneficial effects on heart function. Here, we examined whether tacrolimus might prevent BD-induced RV dysfunction and the associated pathobiological changes.

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Cerebral sinus thrombosis (CST) is an uncommon condition in children with a variable clinical presentation which has rarely been described in the setting of diabetic ketoacidosis. We present the case of 14-year-old child in whom lateral sinus thrombosis was caused by dehydration complicating ketoacidosis in a previously undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. The diagnosis of the CST was established during the autopsy due to the rapidity of the neurological deterioration.

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Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) represents a frequent etiology of sudden death. It represents a major public health issue. Few data about SCD in women are available from the Arab world.

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Background And Aims: The problem of unnatural death in children is still relevant because of their vulnerability. This work aimed to describe the epidemiological profile and patterns of these medicolegal deaths in children and adolescents in northern Tunisia.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study from January 2011 to December 2018, within the Forensic Department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis.

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Intrauterine device (IUD) is the mainstay of family planning methods in developing countries. However, it is associated with severe complications such as bleeding, perforation and migration to adjacent organs. Although perforation of the uterus is not rare, migration to the sigmoid colon is exceptional.

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The production of vinegar on an industrial scale from different raw materials is subject to constraints, notably the low tolerance of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) to high temperatures and high ethanol concentrations. In this study, we used 25 samples of different fruits from seven Moroccan biotopes with arid and semi-arid environmental conditions as a basic substrate to isolate thermo- and ethanol-tolerant AAB strains. The isolation and morphological, biochemical and metabolic characterization of these bacteria allowed us to isolate a total number of 400 strains with characters similar to AAB, of which six strains (FAGD1, FAGD10, FAGD18 and GCM2, GCM4, GCM15) were found to be mobile and immobile Gram-negative bacteria with ellipsoidal rod-shaped colonies that clustered in pairs and in isolated chains.

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Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare and slowly growing cutaneous tumor with high risk of local invasion and recurrence. Here, we report a case of a DFSP of the anterior abdominal wall diagnosed in a 45-year-old woman. The clinical examination showed an indurated well-limited oval mass localized in the supra-umbilical level and measuring 5 cm by 3 cm.

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Cardiac echinococcosis is rare, and its clinical evolution is slow and asymptomatic until complications occur such as sudden death. Although more frequent in endemic countries, hydatid disease should be known by forensic specialists with regard to the migration flows of people from zones with high endemicity and who are likely to die from infection. We report an autopsy case of a 33-year-old male without any medical history who presented to the emergency room with shortness of breath, chest tightness, tingling all over the body and faintness without fever.

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Article Synopsis
  • Falls from height are a significant cause of unintentional injury deaths, particularly among males, with the majority of these incidents being accidental rather than intentional.
  • A study of 545 fatal falls revealed that most victims fell from an average height of 8 meters, leading to specific organ injuries and a notable occurrence of death before reaching healthcare facilities.
  • To reduce these fatalities, it's essential to establish a comprehensive fall safety policy, implement evidence-based interventions, allocate resources effectively, and increase awareness about fall prevention.
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Donor brain death-induced lung injury may compromise graft function after transplantation. Establishing strategies to attenuate lung damage remains a challenge because the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain. The effects of tacrolimus pretreatment were evaluated in an experimental model of brain death-induced lung injury.

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Initial medical certificate is a descriptive medical and legal document whose purpose is to prove the existence of a damage and to enable the victim to access his or her right. The purpose of our study was to study the content and to evaluate the writing quality of initial medical certificates. We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study over an 18-month period, from January 2017 to June 2018.

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Aims: This study aims to better understand patterns of unintentional fatal drowning among children in North Tunisia.

Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study including all unintentional fatal drowning among children was conducted in the Legal and Forensic Medicine department in the Charles Nicolle Hospital, Tunis, between January 2010 and December 2019. Socio-demographic variables, as well as death circumstances, were documented for each victim and analyzed.

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Context: Intramedullary tumors are neoformations taking part on the spinal cord, and they are a rare pathology. Due to the rarity of such lesions, clinical studies take years to ensure a decent feedback with a significant number of cases.

Design: Our study is retrospective and descriptive.

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This study aims to evaluate the level of mercury in the breast milk of Moroccan mothers and its association with several maternal parameters and habits, and to estimate the daily intake of the newborns. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the concentrations of mercury in 70 colostrum samples. Indeed, a structured questionnaire was administrated during milk collection to report data concerning the maternal socioeconomic and anthropometric parameters, as well as dietary habits and smoking habits in the family, etc.

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