Publications by authors named "Zaher S"

Microplastics (MPs) are small pieces of plastic that are widely distributed in the environment and accumulate within living organisms, so they are the most common types of pollutants at the present time. One of the most widespread types of MP in the environment is polyethylene (PE) MPs. There have been many published studies on the effect of PE MPs combined with other pollutants or chemicals such as benzoanthracene, emamectin benzoate, heavy metals and 4-nonylphenol, on some marine, amphibian, and mouse models.

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Purpose: To review the clinical presentation and diagnostic workup of patients presenting with ocular sarcoidosis as initial manifestation of the disease and identify risk factors for disease recurrence.

Methods: All cases of sarcoidosis followed in our departments of Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine were retrospectively reviewed. Among 177 patients, 50 had ocular sarcoidosis as initial presentation of the disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • Libman-Sacks endocarditis (LSE) is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), marked by noninfectious growths on healthy heart valves.
  • A 20-year-old woman with SLE and a heart valve anomaly experienced serious symptoms like severe shortness of breath and chest pain despite a year of treatment.
  • Though initially treated with corticosteroids and other medications, her condition worsened and ultimately led to a non-rescueable state, highlighting the risks associated with LSE in patients with pre-existing heart issues.
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Since its identification in the vitreous humour of the eye and laboratory biosynthesis, hyaluronic acid (HA) has been a vital component in several pharmaceutical, nutritional, medicinal, and cosmetic uses. However, little is known about its potential toxicological impacts on aquatic inhabitants. Herein, we investigated the hematological response of Clarias gariepinus to nominal doses of HA.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Ultrasound (US) is introduced as a non-invasive, bedside tool that can effectively measure changes in muscle mass, helping healthcare providers identify malnutrition levels.
  • * The review highlights the need for incorporating US into standard assessments for critically ill patients to improve nutritional prescriptions, and suggests training dietitians in using this technology to enhance care.
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Purpose: To describe a puzzling case of endophthalmitis caused by three unusual bacteria after intravitreal injection, its outcome, and underlying questions.

Findings: A 70-year-old female patient was diagnosed with acute endophthalmitis following intravitreal aflibercept injection for age-related macular degeneration. A standard tap and inject procedure was performed.

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Background: The management process of Enteral Nutrition (EN) typically involves the interaction between a team of health care practitioners. Nurses being the closest to the patients, have crucial responsibilities and play a major role in feeding delivery along with other medical treatments. This study was conducted to investigate the perception of the nurses working in adult and paediatric intensive care Units (ICUs) regarding the EN barriers and identify the factors that influenced their perception.

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Aim: This cross-sectional study aims to identify and quantify the factors influencing Saudi medical residents in selecting their desired specialty and primary training center, while examining the associations between these factors.

Methods: The study received approval from an institutional ethical committee at King Abdulaziz University. An electronic questionnaire was designed and validated via content, face validity, and the Content Validity Index.

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Background: Nutritional support has a pivotal role in preventing and treating malnutrition. Recognizing the gaps in nutritional support practice can aid the development of tailored nutritional protocols. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current practices, attitudes, and perceptions related to nutritional support for hospitalized patients in one of the largest Middle Eastern countries.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, most healthcare professionals switched from face-to-face clinical encounters to telehealth. This study sought to investigate the dietitians' perceptions and practices toward the use of social/mass media platforms amid the transition from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involving a convenient sample of 2,542 dietitians (mean age = 31.

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Introduction: Early recognition and appropriate management of paediatric sepsis are known to improve outcomes. A previous system's biology investigation of the systemic immune response in neonates to sepsis identified immune and metabolic markers that showed high accuracy for detecting bacterial infection. Further gene expression markers have also been reported previously in the paediatric age group for discriminating sepsis from control cases.

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Micro- or nanoplastics, which are fragmented or otherwise tiny plastic materials, have long been a source of environmental worry. Microplastics (MPs) have been well documented to alter the physiology and behavior of marine invertebrates. The effects of some of these factors are also seen in larger marine vertebrates, such as fish.

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Psoriasis still has an unknown etiology. Genetic predisposition shows the association between HLA-Cw6 allele and psoriasis. Although biotherapies have been proven effective in psoriasis treatment, methotrexate (MTX) is still used as a first-line systemic therapy due to its efficacy/affordability, but the differential response to MTX is mostly related to interindividual genetic variability and remains an issue.

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Most chylothoraces are caused by trauma and malignancy, and pleural fluid analysis typically demonstrates an exudative effusion. Transudative chylothorax is a rare manifestation and has only been cited in case reports in the current literature. Here, we present the case of a 59-year-old male with a history of liver cirrhosis secondary to alcohol abuse, chronic kidney disease stage 3a, and hypertension who presented with a left-sided pleural effusion and abdominal ascites.

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Background And Aims: Many patients require long-term nutrition support, typically in the form of home nutrition support (HNS). The availability and utilisation of HNS in Saudi Arabia is currently unknown; therefore, this study was conducted to assess the availability of HNS in Saudi hospitals and to explore factors associated with the availability of HNS in different healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians, dietitians, and pharmacists working in Saudi Arabia with regular practice in nutrition support.

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Background And Aims: Achieving optimal nutrition prescription is challenging in critically ill patients. Many factors can hinder the adequate delivery of enteral nutrition (EN) in intensive care units (ICUs). In this study, we aim to describe EN barriers and compare the perceptions of health care practitioners working in adult and paediatric ICUs regarding these barriers.

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Physiological shifts during pregnancy predispose women to a higher risk of developing sepsis resulting from a maladapted host-response to infection. Insightful studies have delineated subtle point-changes to the immune system during pregnancy. Here, we present an overlay of these point-changes, asking what changes and when, at a physiological, cellular, and molecular systems-level in the context of sepsis.

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COVID-19's intimidating spread has challenged the resilience of the global health systems, causing shifts in the practices of healthcare workers, including dietitians. The current study aimed to assess the change in dietitians' practices and duties in hospitals/clinics after the commencement of COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted in five Arab countries between November 2020 and January 2021.

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Background: Biochemical assessment is considered a useful tool in assessing the patient's nutritional status and intake. However, during critical illness, nutritional biomarkers, such as albumin, and haemoglobin (HB) may reflect the severity of acute illness. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between energy and protein delivery with the change in albumin, HB, "mean corpuscular volume"(MCV), and "mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration" (MCHC) levels in critically ill patients.

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Objective: To estimate the costs of synthetic osmotic dilators (Dilapan-S) compared to dinoprostone vaginal inserts (Propess) for inpatient induction of labour (IOL).

Study Design: A population-level, Markov model-based cost-consequence analysis was developed to compare the impact of using Dilapan-S versus Propess. The time horizon was modelled from admission to birth.

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Article Synopsis
  • Maternal sepsis is a major cause of death in pregnant women, making early detection and treatment crucial, but pregnancy-related physiological changes often hide its symptoms.
  • The study aims to identify new biomarkers for diagnosing maternal sepsis by examining blood samples from both healthy pregnant women and those with suspected sepsis to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
  • Participants will include pregnant women over 18 years old, with data collected on physiological conditions and blood samples analyzed for various biological markers to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes.
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