Qatar Medical Journal - Volume 2026, Issue 1

Introduction: The boarding of patients with psychiatric illnesses in the Emergency Department (ED) has become a prevalent issue across the world, posing significant challenges for healthcare providers.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the perceived competency and attitude of emergency nurses toward the care of patients boarding with psychiatric illnesses.

Methodology: This was a prospective cross-sectional research study used to recruit emergency nurses working in four selected facilities under the organization. The study utilized a validated questionnaire, the Opening Minds Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC-15) and Behavioral Health Care Competency (BHCC) to collect the information from the participants through an online survey using a total enumerative sampling method. Frequency and percentage were used to find the demographic characteristics of the participants. ANOVA and t-tests were used to find out the association between the attitudes, competencies, and demographic profile of the participants.

Results: Three hundred and ten completed responses from the participants were used for analysis. Most participants were in the 31 to 40 years age group (72.26%; n = 224), with a mean age of 42 years, which ranged from 26 to 56 years. Males (n = 183) participated more compared to females (n = 127), and 85.16% (n = 264) of them have Bachelor’s degrees in nursing. 40% (n = 124) of the participants have more than 10 years of experience in ED. The mean percentage scores of attitude and competency domains were −14.16 ± 36.26 and 35.07 ± 25.73, respectively. The competency domain showed a statistically significant correlation with the participants’ age (P = 0.038) and their facility (P = 0.014). In contrast, attitude did not exhibit statistical significance with any demographic variables.

Conclusion: The emerging data from the current study stated that the attitudes of ED nurses were predominantly positive; however, their perceived competency was falling below average. This highlights the need to improve their competency to strengthen the current practice, the quality of care, and the overall experiences of psychiatric patients in the ED.

Background and objective: CT-guided cryoablation (CRA) has emerged as a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), though outcomes can vary. The mRENAL score may help to predict clinical outcomes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between mRENAL score and clinical outcomes in RCC cases treated by CT-CRA.

Methodology: This was an observational, retrospective, single-center study that included CT-CRA procedures performed on RCCs between 2017 and 2023. Tumors were classified into three categories based on the mRENAL score: low, intermediate, and high risk. We employed the Firth logistic regression for multivariate analysis due to the small sample size and rare outcome events.

Results: Our data included 53 cases, with a mean age of 53 ± 12 years. Technical success was achieved in all cases. Four cases had disease recurrence at the site of previously treated RCC (4/42, 9.5%), as 11 cases lost follow-up imaging. The Firth logistic regression analysis revealed that increasing mRENAL score was associated with a higher risk of recurrence (adjusted odds ratio = 0.42 [95% CI, 0.19–0.95]; P = 0.038). This trend towards statistical significance implies that for every 1-point increase in mRENAL score, the odds of clinical success decrease by at least 5% with over 95% confidence. No procedure-related mortality was observed.

Conclusion: Our analysis demonstrates that the mRENAL score may help predict clinical outcomes, with lower mRENAL scores associated with higher clinical success rates following CT-CRA of RCC.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is used in breast cancer (BC) to downsize and downstage the tumor before surgery. Different studies were conducted looking into the alterations in the immunohistochemistry after NACT, which may alter the adjuvant treatment. Our study aimed to assess the changes in immunohistochemistry biomarker status (estrogen receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR], and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]) in BC cells after administration of NACT at a single institution in Oman.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study on patients with BC with residual disease post-NACT in a single institution and studied immunohistochemistry status changes before and after NACT. We used the McNemar test to evaluate the receptor changes, and logistic regression to assess the effect of risk factors on receptor status change.

Results: All biomarkers changed after NACT, with a tendency for BC cells to lose PR and HER2 expression and gain ER expression. The immunohistochemistry changes were 36/114 (31.6%) in PR, 7/114 (6.1%) in ER, and 11/114 (9.6%) in HER2. BC subtypes changed in 4/114 (3.5%) of HER2+ve, 10/114 (8.8%) of hormone positive (ER or PR) with HER2 overexpression (HER2+ve/HR+ve), 3/114 (2.6%) in hormone positive with HER2 negative (HR+ve), and 3/114 (2.6%) triple-negative BCs. These changes resulted in adjuvant treatment adjustments in 9/110 (8.18%) patients with residual disease.

Conclusion: Changes in the expression of all immunohistochemistry biomarkers and BC subtypes occurred after NACT, which led to changes in adjuvant treatment in specific cases.

Background: Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) remain a public-health concern in Qatar despite high immunization coverage. Frequent population movement and incomplete vaccination records may lead to susceptibility clusters and under-reporting. These dynamics underline the need for sustained surveillance and targeted immunization strategies. This study aims to assess the influence of geographical variation and age-specific demographics on VPD incidence among the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC)-registered population in Qatar to inform immunization planning and address emerging gaps.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health surveillance data (2021–2024), supplemented by PHCC medical records, examined annual incidence rates of VPDs by age group and region. Cases included acute flaccid paralysis, chickenpox, mumps, measles, pertussis, rotavirus, and meningitis due to viral, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and bacterial non-meningococcal pathogens.

Results: Between 2021 and 2024, 5136 confirmed VPD cases were reported among PHCC-registered individuals. Chickenpox was most frequent, peaking in 2023 (1398 cases). Incidence was highest in children under 5 years old, particularly infants, for chickenpox (145.75/100,000), measles (66.35), pertussis (59.95), and rotavirus (47.61). Viral meningitis was concentrated in infants, with the Western region recording the highest rate (70.02). Regionally, chickenpox burden was greatest in the Central region, while pertussis, rotavirus, and measles rates were highest in the Western region. No statistically significant differences were observed between regions or across study years (P > 0.05 for all comparisons).

Conclusion: Age-specific disparities in VPD incidence were noted in Qatar, with the highest burden among children under 5 years and in the Western region. Chickenpox was the most reported disease, followed by pertussis, rotavirus, and viral meningitis. No statistically significant differences were observed between regions, suggesting equitable immunization delivery across PHCC. These findings highlight the need to sustain high vaccination coverage, enhance parent-focused health education, strengthen surveillance to detect immunity gaps, and improve data linkage across PHCC, private providers, and national surveillance systems.

Background: Assessing the quality of recovery (QOR) after open gynaecological surgery done under general anaesthesia (GA) is one of the methods to evaluate anaesthesia outcomes effectively. GA can be administered as full inhalation anaesthesia (FIA) and/or total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA). Studies have not compared QOR between TIVA and FIA in this cohort. Our study aims to compare the effect of TIVA and FIA on postoperative recovery of patients assessed by the Quality of Recovery-40 (QOR-40) questionnaire.

Methods: One hundred and eight consenting adult patients posted for open gynaecological surgeries under GA were randomly allocated to Sevoflurane-based full inhalation anaesthesia (Group FIA) or propofol-based TIVA (Group TIVA). The primary outcome was comparing the QOR-40 score on the first postoperative day (POD1). Comparing QOR-40 on POD2, extubation time, and Modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation Scale (MOAA/S) score after extubation were the secondary outcomes. Epidural analgesia was provided throughout the study period in both groups.

Results: The mean QOR-40 score in group FIA was not significantly different from that in group TIVA (171.44 ± 7.43 vs. 171.37 ± 7.48; P = 0.951). However, within the group, there was a significant reduction in scores in POD1 (P < 0.001) and POD2 (P < 0.001) from pre-operative values. There was no significant difference in extubation time (P = 0.207) and MOAA/S score (P = 0.548) between the groups.

Conclusion: Our study found no significant difference in QOR-40 score, extubation time, and MOAA/S score between group FIA and TIVA.