Publications by authors named "Haitham El Bashir"

Stroke is often viewed as a diagnosis found In the elderly with or without comorbidities, but it is vital to not rule it out in a pediatric patient presenting with signs and symptoms of stroke. Here, we present a case of an 18-month-old boy who arrived at the emergency department with left arm weakness and left-sided seizures a few minutes after a right-sided trivial neck bite that was initially overlooked by the parents until symptoms occurred. Urgent imaging further with a computed tomography scan of the brain revealed a hypodense lesion in the area covering the lateral part of the frontal lobe, insula, and parietal cortex of the right hemisphere.

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Spina bifida (SB) is a debilitating birth defect caused by multiple gene and environment interactions. Though SB shows non-Mendelian inheritance, genetic factors contribute to an estimated 70% of cases. Nevertheless, identifying human mutations conferring SB risk is challenging due to its relative rarity, genetic heterogeneity, incomplete penetrance, and environmental influences that hamper genome-wide association studies approaches to untargeted discovery.

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive motor dysfunction leading to multiple morbidities, including spasticity, which can be managed with botulinum toxin injection (BTI). This literature review aims to examine published studies on the efficacy and safety of different interventions used to reduce pain and anxiety associated with BTI in children with CP. A literature review of all published evidence in English language, or with an English translation between 1999 and 2019, using PubMed, EBSCO host, and Medline databases was carried out.

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Background: In this large-scale cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) we sought to assess the effectiveness of facemasks against viral respiratory infections.

Methods And Results: Over three consecutive Hajj seasons (2013, 2014, 2015) pilgrims' tents in Makkah were allocated to 'facemask' or 'no facemask' group. Fifty facemasks were offered to participants in intervention tents, to be worn over four days, and none were offered to participants in control tents.

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Background: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to address the question "what is the impact of meningitis on IQ and development."

Methods: Search: conducted using standardized search terms across Medline, PsychInfo and EMBASE to 06/2014. Eligibility: human studies of any infectious aetiology of meningitis reporting IQ or infant developmental age or stage outcomes.

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Objectives: To assess the quality of national Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data for intussusception, and evaluate this routinely collected database for rotavirus vaccine safety surveillance by estimating pre-vaccination trends in intussusception hospitalisation.

Methods: Data linkage was performed between HES and prospective intussusception data from the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU), followed by capture-recapture analysis to verify HES data quality. Inclusion criteria were infants aged less than 12 months and admitted for intussusception to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England from March 2008 to March 2009.

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Background: Cost-effective interventions are needed to control the transmission of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in mass gatherings. Facemasks are a promising preventive measure, however, previous studies on the efficacy of facemasks have been inconclusive. This study proposes a large-scale facemask trial during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and presents this protocol to illustrate its feasibility and to promote both collaboration with other research groups and additional relevant studies.

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Background: Influenza is an important health hazard among Hajj pilgrims. For the last ten years, pilgrims are being recommended to take influenza vaccine before attending Hajj. Vaccination coverage has increased in recent years, but whether there has been any change in the prevalence of influenza-like illness (ILI) is not known.

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Background: Classical homocystinuria due to cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency (OMIM 236200) is a recessively inherited condition caused by mutations in the CBS gene. The founder mutation p.R336C accounts for almost all CBS deficiency in Qatar, affecting approximately 1 in 1,800 births, making it the most prevalent monogenic disease among the Qatari population.

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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has emerged in the Arabian Gulf region, with its epicentre in Saudi Arabia, the host of the 'Hajj' which is the world's the largest mass gathering. Transmission of MERS-CoV at such an event could lead to its rapid worldwide dissemination. Therefore, we studied the frequency of viruses causing influenza-like illnesses (ILI) among participants in a randomised controlled trial at the Hajj 2013.

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Joubert syndrome (JS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder with cerebellar vermis hypoplasia and complex brainstem malformation. The diagnosis of cases can be difficult as the presentation can be similar to cases of cerebral palsy. We present a case of JS in an 18-month-old girl who presented to pediatric rehabilitation with a diagnosis of hypotonic cerebral palsy and abnormal eye movements.

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Introduction: Intussusception, an abdominal emergency in young children, has been linked to a previous vaccine used to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis. Although this vaccine was withdrawn, recent studies have suggested a potential, very small increased risk of intussusception following the administration of newly developed rotavirus vaccines. We aimed to determine the baseline incidence of intussusception among infants in the UK and Republic of Ireland - prior to the imminent introduction of the rotavirus vaccine into the UK schedule this year.

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A vaccine to prevent pneumococcal meningitis (PM) has recently been introduced. However, contemporary data to inform cost-effectiveness analysis and justify its routine use are sparse. We examined the cognitive, educational, psychological and social outcomes of PM in childhood.

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Influenza and meningococcal disease are two serious diseases that are especially linked. Outbreaks of influenza have been frequently associated with secondary outbreaks of meningococcal disease. Travellers such as Hajj pilgrims are at particular risk, the most recent meningococcal outbreaks being in 2000 and 2001, while concern is rising that the annual pilgrimage, centred as it presently is on winter, may even become the epicentre of an avian influenza pandemic.

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Aim: To estimate the overall long-term health related quality of life implications of an episode of pneumococcal meningitis in childhood.

Method: Cases were identified through two regional UK surveillance studies and traced via their general practitioners (GPs) or local hospital paediatrician. Siblings were used as controls where available.

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In pilgrims returning to the UK from the Hajj in 2005 and 2006, protection from PCR-confirmed influenza by influenza vaccine was estimated using verified vaccination histories from those with symptoms consistent with influenza. Of 538 patients whose nasal swabs were analysed and immunisation histories confirmed 115 (21%) were in a high-risk group for influenza; half of these (58/115) were immunised against influenza, compared with a fifth (90/423) of those not at high risk. Five percent of vaccinated 'at risk' pilgrims compared with 14% of unvaccinated (RR 0.

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Background: Muslim pilgrims going on the Hajj are at risk of influenza. The treatment and prevention of influenza with antiviral drugs depends on rapid diagnosis using a near-patient test such as the QuickVue influenza test. The suitability of this test among pilgrims has not been studied in the past and this study assesses the usefulness of the test for diagnosing influenza among those attending the Hajj.

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Background: For two successive years, 2000 and 2001, there was a world-wide outbreak of W135 meningococcal disease amongst pilgrims who attended the Hajj and in their contacts after returning home.

Methods: Beginning January 2002, we offered meningococcal quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine (against serogroups A, C, Y and W135) to pilgrims and collected a throat swab for meningococcal W135 carriage before and after their pilgrimage.

Results: The overall Neisseria meningitidis carriage pre-Hajj was 8.

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Introduction: Measles virus causes an estimated 30 million infections and 770,000 deaths a year worldwide, with increased risks of neurological, respiratory, and bleeding complications in survivors. Mumps can cause neurological problems and hearing loss, orchitis with infertility, and pancreatitis. Rubella infection is usually mild, but can lead to fetal death or severe congenital abnormalities if contracted in early pregnancy.

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