Publications by authors named "Hammami A"

Article Synopsis
  • Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) poses significant health issues, especially in low- and middle-income countries, but data on its impact in wealthier regions like the USA and EU is limited.
  • A study comparing the epidemiology of RHD in the USA and EU revealed that the USA has a higher prevalence (123.4/100,000) but a slower decreasing trend compared to the EU (49.7/100,000), with key trends driven by states like Florida and Tennessee.
  • Both regions show a gender disparity with higher cases in females, and the findings highlight the need for tailored strategies to tackle RHD effectively based on regional data.
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Unlabelled: The prevalence of infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing (ESBL-EC) and carbapenemase-producing (CP-EC) is increasing worldwide. We investigated the epidemiology of ESBL-EC and CP-EC causing hospital-acquired (HA) infections in a large teaching hospital in Tunisia over the last two decades and compared it with a collection of 107 community-acquired (CA) ESBL-EC isolates. Between 2001 and 2019, the incidence of HA ESBL-EC increased significantly from 0.

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  • The study investigated the characteristics of central nervous system rickettsial infections in patients hospitalized with rickettsiosis over 25 years in Tunisia.
  • Out of 440 patients, 47 had neurological symptoms, showing that skin rashes and eschars were less common in these cases, along with a higher rate of complications and mortality.
  • The findings suggest that typical symptoms and lab results were less pronounced in central nervous system cases, indicating a more severe prognosis.
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Article Synopsis
  • Custom foot orthoses (CFO) were tested on nine middle-aged women with plantar fasciitis (PF) and obesity to see how they affect pain and balance.
  • Results showed that CFO significantly reduced pain and improved postural stability during balance tests compared to standard insoles (SI).
  • The study suggests CFO can be a beneficial intervention for managing PF-related pain and enhancing balance in this population.
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Background: There is a growing demand for colonoscopy, worldwide, resulting in increased rate of inappropriate referrals. This "overuse" of colonoscopies has become a major burden for health care.

Objectives: to assess the appropriateness of colonoscopies performed at the endoscopy unit of the university hospital of Sousse and to compare these results of appropriateness according to the European Panel of Appropriateness of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (EPAGE) I and EPAGE II criteria.

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The current study focused on the design of an extremely sensitive electrochemical sensor of ascorbic acid based on a mixture of NiAlO-NiO nanoparticles that, produced in a single step using the sol-gel method, on an ITO electrode. This new sensing platform is useful for the detection of ascorbic acid with a wide range of concentrations extending from the attomolar to the molar. SEM micrographs show the porous structure of the NiAlO-NiO sample, with a high specific surface area, which is beneficial for the catalytic performance of the nanocomposite.

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Histology is the most widely used test to detect . PCR is less used but allows the detection of both infection and antibiotics' resistance. We conducted a monocentric cross-sectional study, collecting 97 symptomatic patients to assess the diagnostic performance of histology in the detection of infection compared with PCR.

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Background: Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The rapid antigen test was developed for testing infection, and it was necessary to assess its performance before widespread use in Tunisia.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a rapid antigen test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs in Tunisia.

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Introduction: The colonization of patients by carbapenemase-producing (CPE) has been associated with heightened mortality, especially in vulnerable individuals within intensive care units (ICUs). Our study aimed to comprehensively assess CPE prevalence among ICU patients across the Mediterranean region pre-COVID-19, conducting a multicenter prevalence study in the first quarter of 2019.

Methods: We collected clinical data and rectal or fecal samples from 256 ICU patients for CPE testing.

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We aimed to assess the prevalence of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage and to determine serotype distribution, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and evolutionary dynamics of isolates in healthy under-five children. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from healthy children over three survey periods between 2020 and 2022. All pneumococcal isolates were serotyped and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility.

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Helicobacter pylori infection is the most common infectious disease worldwide. It is associated with duodenal and gastric ulcer disease and the risk of gastric neoplasia. The management of helicobacter pylori infection currently represents a real challenge for clinicians, given the ever-increasing rate of resistance of Helicobacter pyolori to various antibiotics.

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Introduction: Medical simulation has become an essential teaching method for all health professionals. It not only allows to acquire technical and non-technical knowledge, but also helps the maintenance of acquired knowledge in the medium and long term. Ascites puncture is part of the basic technical procedures learned by medical students during their internship.

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Introduction: In the lack of updated Tunisian epidemiological data, we sought to describe the epidemiology of Group B (GBS) in pregnant women and newborns.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of GBS neonatal invasive infections and a cross-sectional study evaluating the prevalence of maternal GBS colonization were conducted. GBS isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, serotyped, and assessed for the appurtenance to the hypervirulent ST17 clone.

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Introduction: postpartum hemorrhage is the main cause of maternal death worldwide. Uterine balloon packing has shown promising outcomes in PPH management. Nevertheless, its usage is limited in low- and middle-income countries due to associated costs.

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Background And Study Aim: During the natural course of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB), fluctuations in hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are often observed, making the classification of patients difficult. We aimed to describe spontaneous short-term HBV DNA level fluctuations and to assess the usefulness of qHBsAg in Tunisian patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection.

Patients And Methods: We included 174 treatment-naive Tunisian patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBeAg-negative HBV infection.

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This study aimed to compare the effects of an acute bout of small-sided soccer game (SSG) and sprint exercise on attention, mood, and enjoyment in untrained adolescent boys. Eighteen adolescent boys aged 13-15 years participated in a counterbalanced order intervention: 1-No-training control condition (CONTROL), 2-SSG (SOCCER), and 3-Repeated sprint (SPRINT) sessions. Before and after the sessions, all participants completed the revised d2-test of attention and a mood assessment (i.

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The aim of this study was to assess the effect of acute short- versus long-interval high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on cognitive performance and psychological states in secondary school students. Fifteen secondary school students (nine males and six females: mean age = 16.2 ± 0.

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Aim: We aimed in this study to evaluate the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on patients' professional life and to determine predictors of severe work productivity loss (WPL).

Materials & Methods: A cross sectional study including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. Work productivity was evaluated with the work productivity and activity impairment score.

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Background: Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. We evaluated inpatient outcomes of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) before cardiac catheterization in patients with NSTEMI and NVUGIB.

Methods: We utilized the National Readmission Database (2016-2019) to identify all index hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of NSTEMI and a secondary diagnosis of NVUGIB that underwent EGD before cardiac catheterization (cases).

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Objective: To assess the effect of early amniotomy on labor duration, maternal and neonatal outcomes during induction of labor (IOL).

Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial, conducted over a period of eight months at a monocentric site. Singleton pregnancies in nulliparous and parous patients with cephalic presentation and Bishop score ≥ 6 were enrolled in the study.

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Introduction: Recurrent spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with cirrhosis is associated with poor prognosis.

Aim: To assess the prevalence and the risk factors for recurrence and to evaluate its impact on the prognosis.

Materials & Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including patients with cirrhosis having a first episode of SBP.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the typical patterns of respiratory infections globally. While SARS-CoV-2 illness exhibited explosive growth since 2020, the activity of other respiratory viruses fell below historical seasonal norms. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of seasonal respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia.

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