Patterns of injuries and predictors of inhospital mortality in trauma patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of traumatic injuries and determine the predictors of inhospital mortality in patients admitted to the emergency department.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 3,786 patients with traumat injuries admitted to the emergency department of King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between January 2012 and December 2014. Data on patient characteristics, trauma characteristics and outcomes were extracted from medical records.

Identified Transmission Dynamics of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection During an Outbreak: Implications of an Overcrowded Emergency Department.

A total 130 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus were identified during a large hospital outbreak in Saudi Arabia; 87 patients and 43 healthcare workers. The majority (80%) of transmission was healthcare-acquired (HAI) infection, with 4 generations of HAI transmission. The emergency department was the main location of exposure.

The impact of a multifaceted intervention including sepsis electronic alert system and sepsis response team on the outcomes of patients with sepsis and septic shock.

Background: Compliance with the clinical practice guidelines of sepsis management has been low. The objective of our study was to describe the results of implementing a multifaceted intervention including an electronic alert (e-alert) with a sepsis response team (SRT) on the outcome of patients with sepsis and septic shock presenting to the emergency department.

Methods: This was a pre-post two-phased implementation study that consisted of a pre-intervention phase (January 01, 2011-September 24, 2012), intervention phase I (multifaceted intervention including e-alert, from September 25, 2012-March 03, 2013) and intervention phase II when SRT was added (March 04, 2013-October 30, 2013) in a 900-bed tertiary-care academic hospital.

Description of a Hospital Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in a Large Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND Since the first isolation of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia in 2012, sporadic cases, clusters, and sometimes large outbreaks have been reported. OBJECTIVE To describe the recent (2015) MERS-CoV outbreak at a large tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODS We conducted an epidemiologic outbreak investigation, including case finding and contact tracing and screening.

Reliability of Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) is an integral part of the Canadian emergency medicine triaging system. There is growing interest and implementation of CTAS worldwide. However, little is known about its reliability outside Canada.

Building capacity for quality and safety in critical care: A roundtable discussion from the second international patient safety conference in April 9-11, 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This paper summarizes the roundtable discussion from the Second International Patient Safety Conference held in April 9-11, 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the roundtable discussion were to: (1) review the conceptual framework for building capacity in quality and safety in critical care. (2) examine examples of leading international experiences in building capacity.

Combined effects of office and 24-h blood pressure on aortic stiffness in human hypertension.

Objective: Aortic stiffness, a prognostically adverse marker of arteriosclerosis, is critically dependent on blood pressure (BP). Office BP may not always reflect BP behaviour away from the medical environment, and it is uncertain whether office or out-of-office BP values are stronger determinants of arterial stiffness.

Methods: Twenty-four-hour BP and carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV)--a direct measure of aortic stiffness--were measured in 539 never-treated hypertensive patients and in 71 normotensive individuals.

Functional impairment of the arterial wall in primary Sjögren's syndrome: combined action of immunologic and inflammatory factors.

Objective: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) shares clinical and serologic features with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, 2 diseases characterized by acceleration of atherosclerosis. Signs of precocious atherosclerosis have also been shown in SS, although the pathogenic basis of early arterial damage is unclear. The arterial wall was functionally evaluated in SS subjects with analysis of the role played by disease-related factors.