Objectives: Stroke is a significant public health problem and one of the important preventable non-communicable diseases. Preventive stroke programs are yet to be properly established in Oman, with a better focus on increasing awareness among those who are currently at risk. This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of stroke presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Methods: This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study. Included 193 stroke cases which were prospectively recruited from the Emergency Department of a tertiary-level hospital. Data was collected from November 2017 to April 2018. Results: The total number of patients was 193. 82.9% of strokes were ischemic strokes. 58% were male. The mean age of stroke patients was 61.05 years. Risk factors included hypertension (72.5%) and diabetes mellitus (54.4%). Dyslipidemia, atrial fibrillation and ischemic heart diseases were not particularly prevalent in our population. 24.4% of ischemic strokes had large artery atherosclerosis and 21.9% had small vessel occlusion. Significantly more patients had lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), required ICU admission and had in-hospital deaths in hemorrhagic stroke compared to ischemic stroke. Conclusions: This study provides essential stroke characteristics data specific to Oman’s population. Most of the information obtained conforms with that described internationally and similar preventive strategies can be implemented. The information can be utilized by health administrators in planning resource allocation. Further research is needed to explore rehabilitation aspects and long-term outcomes. Keywords: Stroke; Ischemic; Hemorrhagic; Young Stroke; Risk Factors; Thrombolysis; Epidemiology; Oman.

A retrospective study evaluating the prevalence of loss of smell, loss of taste and oral manifestations was carried out by framing an online questionnaire and disseminated among the health care workers including medical and dental students, who were afflicted with COVID-19. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of the loss of smell, loss of taste (LOST) and oral manifestations and whether these (LOST & oral manifestations) can be the premonitory manifestations and also whether these can predict the prognosis of COVID-19 disease. Our study showed that the loss of smell, loss of taste and dry mouth did occur before the other symptoms considerably in the COVID-19 infected health workers. All the infected health workers were in home quarantine phase and not hospitalized during the occurrence of COVID-19. The loss of smell, loss of taste and oral manifestations can be the prodromal signs of COVID-19 and may be used as a screening tool to predict the severity of the disease. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-022-03293-w.

Background: Sport and recreational activities are becoming popular worldwide. This is attributed to the increase in public awareness about the benefits of physical activity. Furthermore, the availability of fitness facilities has increased in recent years. With such change in daily activities comes an increase in sport-related injuries presenting to emergency departments. There is a lack of data regarding the epidemiology of sport related injuries and their burden on emergency departments in the sultanate of Oman.Aims: This study aims to provide a scientific perspective on the epidemiology and burden of sports and recreation related injuries in the Sultanate of Oman. Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study of all sports and recreation related injuries presented to the emergency department of the national trauma Center in the Sultanate of Oman between Jan 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2016. Data was extracted from the electronic medical system used at the national trauma center. Demographics, clinical and management details were extracted. Data was recorded in EXCEL Software and analyzed using SPSS software. Results:A total of 1015 patients were identified to have presented to the national trauma Center during the study period with sport and recreation related injuries. Young men in the second and third decade of life were the most prevalent population affected by sport injuries (mean age 24 SD+-8). The rate of emergency department visits due to sport-related injuries was higher in November 14.9% (n=151) and June 10.5% (n=107). Football related injuries are the most common among different sports 59% (n=594), followed by weight lifting related injuries 2% (n=22). Knee, ankle and foot are the most commonly injured which constitute 18.8%, 17.6%, 17.3% respectively. 95.5% of cases were treated non-operatively. A significant number of patients who were discharged from the ED were treated conservatively 76.9% (n747) p-value <0.001, whereas 58.5% (n=24) p-value <0.001of those who got admitted underwent emergent surgeries.Conclusion: Sports and recreation related injuries are common in our community. Although most of these injuries are not of a serious nature, most of the injured individuals seek medical care at the emergency department leading to unnecessary crowding and inappropriate utilization of the health system. Increasing public awareness about sport related injuries and the preventive methods when practicing sports and recreational activities is necessary.

BackgroundMany injury victims die before reaching a hospital due to inadequate pre-hospital care and transport. Prompt emergency care can save lives and prevent disabilities but the inconsistent availability of formal Emergency Medical Services (EMS) makes it challenging. This is the case even in some high-income developing countries like Oman. For this study we analysed the trauma registry data from two large hospitals of Oman to understand the pre-hospital and hospital based emergency care in a rapidly developing country in the Arab Gulf.MethodsThe data was collected from Khoula and Nizwa hospitals between November 2014 and April 2015. All patients admitted through the emergency department with a history of trauma were included. Information about mechanism of injury, mode of transport, time interval between injury and hospital, pre-hospital care and emergency department (ED) disposition was collected.Results2,340 patients were received in the ED during the study period. The majority (74%) were males, with a mean age 27 years. Transport injuries and falls accounted for 70% of all injuries. The most common mode of transport was private car (43%); only 13% of patients were transported via EMS. Only 30% of cases were transported to the hospital within an hour of injury; median transport time was 2.53 hours. Only 27% of patients received some form of pre-hospital care. Twenty-three ED deaths were recorded. Mean ED length of stay was 16.35 hours. In the study population, injury severity score in 85% of cases was ≤9, mean revised trauma score was 7.6382 and overall mortality ratio was 2.35%.ConclusionDespite rapidly developing health care services in the urban parts of Oman, EMS utilisation is low. Patients presenting to the hospital are those who have less severe injuries and thus have better chances of survival. A better-organised EMS system may provide a prompt transport and appropriate triage to patients with severe injuries.