Epidemiology of infection at a tertiary care facility in Saudi Arabia: Results of prospective surveillance.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of infection (CDI) and the frequency of known risk factors.

Methods: A prospective hospital-based surveillance for CDI, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, was carried out from July 2019 to March 2022 for all inpatients aged more than one year in Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Results: A total of 139 cases of CDI were identified during the survey among 130 patients admitted in the hospital.

Towards Predicting Length of Stay and Identification of Cohort Risk Factors Using Self-Attention-Based Transformers and Association Mining: COVID-19 as a Phenotype.

Predicting length of stay (LoS) and understanding its underlying factors is essential to minimizing the risk of hospital-acquired conditions, improving financial, operational, and clinical outcomes, and better managing future pandemics. The purpose of this study was to forecast patients' LoS using a deep learning model and to analyze cohorts of risk factors reducing or prolonging LoS. We employed various preprocessing techniques, SMOTE-N to balance data, and a TabTransformer model to forecast LoS.

Chryseobacterium/Elizabethkingia species infections in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiological, clinical, and outcome data of patients infected or colonized with Chryseobacterium/Elizabethkingia spp including antibiotic susceptibility patterns.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh,  Saudi Arabia. All patients infected or colonized by Chryseobacterium /Elizabethkingia spp who were admitted between June 2013 and May 2019 were included.

() bacteraemia: a series of 12 cases at Prince Sultan Military Medical City KSA.

The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological data, clinical features and outcome of patients with bacteraemia and to report the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. All patients with bacteraemia were retrospectively recruited at the Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between June 2013 and May 2019. Epidemiological data, clinical features and patient outcome, as well as antimicrobial susceptibilities of , were collected from patient electronic medical records.

Ten-year experience of Q fever endocarditis in a tertiary cardiac center in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Q fever endocarditis (QFE) is considered rare in the Middle East, with only a few cases reported in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study is to report on the experience of our centre on QFE.

Methods: We searched the medical records for cases of QFE at our cardiac center from 2009-2018.

Erratum to, 'Outcome of mucormycosis after treatment: report of five cases'.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.

Outcome of mucormycosis after treatment: report of five cases.

Mucormycoses are serious infections caused by filamentous fungi of the order Mucorales. They occur most often in immunocompromised patients. We report five cases of mucormycosis in patients hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases Department in Sousse - Tunisia between 2000 and 2013.

[Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients in Sousse, Tunisia].

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a powerful predictor of survival for individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The purpose of this cross-sectional study conducted in December 2007 was to assess ART adherence and identify its determinants in HIV-infected patients in Sousse, Tunisia. Adherence was evaluated in a structured interview, during which questions were asked about the number of pills taken, treatment schedule, and any food restrictions within the previous 4 days.

Asymptomatic carriage of Leishmania in family members of patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Central Tunisia.

Introduction: In Tunisia, asymptomatic carriage of Leishmania is poorly documented.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to estimate the frequency of asymptomatic infection among the family members of patients with patent visceral leishmaniasis by using the Western blotting kit based on 14 and 16kDa bands.

Material And Methods: We tested 94 sera collected from 24 patients with patent visceral leishmaniasis and 70 from their families' members.

[Prescribing practices of fluoroquinolones in Tunisia].

The aim of the study was to assess the prescribing practices of fluoroquinolones (FQ) among general practionners in the town of Sousse (central-eastern Tunisia). A transversal study was made between the first and the 23rd April, 2009, among general practionners working in Sousse. For each prescription, informations about patients, indications and modalities of treatment were collected on a questionnaire.

[Hepatitis B and pregnancy].

Background: Chronic Hepatitis B infection can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In women, these viral infections can be responsible for transmission to the husband and to the child during delivery.

Aim: The purpose of this review is to analyze from the literature the mechanism of mother-to-child transmission and the consequences.

Fatal allopurinol-induced hypersensitivity syndrome associated with pancreatic abnormalities.

Allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome is a severe adverse reaction characterized by rash, fever, and internal organ involvement. We report a case of fatal allopurinol-induced hypersensitivity syndrome associated with acute pancreatitis.A 46-year-old man was treated by allopurinol for asymptomatic hyperuricemia.

A case of primary biliary cirrhosis associated with pernicious anemia: a case report.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is often associated with autoimmune diseases. However, its association with pernicious anemia has rarely been reported.We report a case of a 68-year-old woman who presented jaundice and pruritus.

[Second epidemic of West Nile virus meningoencephalitis in Tunisia].

Unlabelled: The West Nile virus (WNV) re-emerged in Tunisia in 2003, causing an outbreak of meningoencephalitis.

Objective: The authors studied the epidemiological, clinical, biological, and imaging features of WNV-associated neurological disease observed in central eastern Tunisia.

Design: A retrospective descriptive study was made on patients with West Nile meningitis and/or encephalitis observed in the Sousse area, from August 15 to November 15, 2003.

Salmonella typhimurium epidural empyema in an HIV-infected patient.

Salmonella focal intracranial infections are reported rarely. They tend to occur in immunocompromised patients. We present here a case of Salmonella typhimurium epidural empyema, with osteomyelitis of the adjacent frontal bone, in a 37-year-old human immunodeficiency virus positive man who presented with a three-day history of headache, fever, and sweats.

Characterization of rickettsial diseases in a hospital-based population in central Tunisia.

In Tunisia, 2 rickettsial groups, spotted fever group and typhus group, have been described since the beginning of the 20th century. Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF), also known as Boutonneuse fever, caused by Rickettsia conorii and transmitted by the dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus, is the most frequent rickettsial infection observed. Its seroprevalence in our region is 9% among blood donors and 23% in hospitalized febrile patients.

Association of hepatitis C virus infection and diabetes in central Tunisia.

Aim: To investigate hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroprevalence in Tunisian patients with diabetes mellitus and in a control group.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the HCV seroprevalence in 1269 patients with diabetes (452 male, 817 female) and 1315 non-diabetic patients, attending health centers in Sousse, Tunisia. HCV screening was performed in both groups using a fourth-generation enzyme immunoassay.

Epidemiological and clinical features of giant cell arteritis in Tunisia.

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis of the elderly that could result in vision loss or even be life threatening. Unlike western countries, this disease is considered exceptional in Tunisia.

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine epidemiological and clinical features of GCA in Tunisian population and to identify management difficulties.

Primary antiphospholipid syndrome and Evan's syndrome: 2 case reports.

The main clinical features of primary antiphospholipid syndrome are recurrent foetal loss, arterial or venous thrombosis and thrombocytopaenia. Evan's syndrome is characterized by simultaneous or sequential association of autoimmune anaemia and thombocytopaenia, rarely reported in primary antiphospholipid syndrome. We describe 2 cases of this association.

[Abdominal actinomycosis: four cases].

The abdominal actinomycosis (AA) is a rare and often unrecognised suppurative chronic illness. It is caused by an anaerobic Gram positive bacteria, Actinomyces israelii. Abdominal actinomycosis is responsible for pseudotumoral syndrome often leading, to a large and mutilating surgery whereas a prolonged treatment by antibiotics would have permitted to cure the disease.

Eosinophilic fasciitis and toxic thyroid adenoma--a novel association.

Eosinophilic fasciitis is characterized by skin induration, peripheral blood eosinophilia, hypergammaglobulinaemia and thickening, fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration of the fascia. There have been several reports of illness particularly haematological disorders in patients with eosinophilic fasciitis. However, their association with thyroid disorders has rarely been described and includes autoimmune thyroiditis rather than toxic thyroid adenoma.