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Introduction Diabetes is the most common of comorbidity in patients with SARS-COV-2 pneumonia. Coagulation abnormalities with D-dimer levels are increased in this disease. Objectifs We aimed to compare the levels of D-dimer in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with COVID 19. A link between D-dimer and mortality has also been established. Materials A retrospective study was carried out at the University Hospital Center of Oujda (Morocco) from November 01st to December 01st, 2020. Our study population was divided into two groups: a diabetic group and a second group without diabetes to compare clinical and biological characteristics between the two groups. In addition, the receiver operator characteristic curve was used to assess the optimal D-dimer cut-off point for predicting mortality in diabetics. Results 201 confirmed-COVID-19-patients were included in the final analysis. The median age was 64 (IQR 56-73), and 56% were male. Our study found that D-dimer levels were statistically higher in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic patients. (1745 vs 845 respectively, P = 0001). D-dimer level > 2885 ng/mL was a significant predictor of mortality in diabetic patients with a sensitivity of 71,4% and a specificity of 70,7%. Conclusion Our study found that diabetics with COVID-19 are likely to develop hypercoagulation with a poor prognosis.

Background. Biobanks are highly organized infrastructures that allow the storage of human biological specimens associated with donors’ personal and clinical data. These infrastructures play a key role in the development of translational medical research. In this context, we launched, in November 2015, the first biobank in Morocco (BRO Biobank) in order to promote biomedical research and provide opportunities to include Moroccan and North African ethnic groups in international biomedical studies. Here, we present the setup and the sample characteristics of BRO Biobank. Methods. Patients were recruited at several departments of two major health-care centers in the city of Oujda. Healthy donors were enrolled during blood donation campaigns all over Eastern Morocco. From each participant, personal, clinical, and biomedical data were collected, and several biospecimens were stored. Standard operating procedures have been established in accordance with international guidelines on human biobanks. Results. Between November 2015 and July 2020, 2446 participants were recruited into the BRO Biobank, of whom 2013 were healthy donors, and 433 were patients. For healthy donors, the median age was 35 years with a range between 18 and 65 years and the consanguinity rate was 28.96%. For patients, the median age was 11 years with a range between 1 day and 83 years. Among these patients, 55% had rare diseases (hemoglobinopathies, intellectual disabilities, disorders of sex differentiation, myopathies, etc.), 13% had lung cancer, 4% suffered from hematological neoplasms, 3% were from the kidney transplantation project, and 25% had unknown diagnoses. The BRO Biobank has collected 5092 biospecimens, including blood, white blood cells, plasma, serum, urine, frozen tissue, FFPE tissue, and nucleic acids. A sample quality control has been implemented and suggested that samples of the BRO Biobank are of high quality and therefore suitable for high-throughput nucleic acid analysis. Conclusions. The BRO Biobank is the largest sample collection in Morocco, and it is ready to provide samples to national and international research projects. Therefore, the BRO Biobank is a valuable resource for advancing translational medical research.

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La tuberculose est une maladie infectieuse transmissible provoquée par myco-bacterium tuberculosis (bacille de Koch ou BK). Elle représente, selon les estimations del'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS), l'une des pathologies infectieuses causant le plus de décès au niveau mondial avec plus de 1 million de décès par an. Pour déterminer les facteurs de risque de mortalité au cours de la tuberculose pulmonaire à microscopie positive nous avons mené une étude rétrospective portant sur tous les cas de tuberculose pulmonaire à microscopie positive et qui étaient décédés au cours de leur hospitalisation. Cette étude a colligé 1803 cas de tuberculose sur une période de 2 ans et demi dont 46 sont décédés. La prévalence de décès est de 2,55%. La population se répartit en 32 hommes et 14 femmes. L’âge moyen était de 53ans ± 17 ans. Le tabagisme était retrouvé chez la moitié des cas. Une comorbidité était retrouvée dans 43%, avec 17% de diabète. Le délai de diagnostic avait une médiane de 60 jours avec percentile (30j; 105j). La symptomatologie clinique était dominée par la toux, la dyspnée et les expectorations soit respectivement: 97,8%, 69,6% et 67,4% des cas. Sur le plan radiologique les lésions étaient diffuses et bilatérales dans 76,1% des cas. Tous les patients étaient mis sous SRHZ. 11% avaient présenté une toxicité aux antibacillaires (de type hépatiques dans 3 cas et neurologiques dans 2 cas). Le délai médian de décès était de 8,5 jours (5j; 17j). Les causes de décès retrouvées étaient: Une hépatite fulminante (3 cas), une décompensation acido-cétosique (3 cas), un SDRA (2 cas), des hémoptysies foudroyantes (2 cas), et respectivement un cas secondaire à une décompensation de BPCO, une décompensation cardiaque, une hypoglycémie et un tableau d'anasarque. Cette étude suggère que le terrain, le retard diagnostique et les effets secondaires du traitement sont les principaux facteurs de risque de mortalité chez les patients hospitalisés pour tuberculose pulmonaire.

We report a case of hemoptysis observed in a 32-year-old man with an uneventful past history. Flexible bronchoscopy demonstrated presence of a leech attached to the laryngeal orifice. This condition is common in endemic areas but is underdiagnosed. The association of hemoptysis, voice alterations, and difficult respiration are suggestive signs. Extraction should be achieved rapidly to avoid death from asphyxiation or acute respiratory failure.

Importance Proinflammatory and hypercoagulable states with marked elevation seen in D-Dimer levels have been accurately described in patients infected by the SARS- Cov2 even without pulmonary embolism (PE). Objectives To compare D-dimers values in patients infected by the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) with and without PE and to establish an optimal D-dimer cut-off to predict the occurrence of PE, which guides pulmonary computed tomography angiography (CTPA) indication. Methods We retrospectively enrolled all COVID-19-patients admitted between October first and November 22th, 2020, at the University Hospital Center of Mohammed VI, Oujda (Morocco), suspected to have PE and underwent a CTPA. Demographic characteristics and blood test results were compared between PE-positive and PE-negative. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was constructed to establish an optimal D-Dimer cut-off to predict the occurrence of PE. Results The study population consisted of 84 confirmed COVID-19-patients. The mean age was 64.93 years (SD 14.19). PE was diagnosed on CTPA in 31 (36.9%) patients. Clinical symptoms and in-hospital outcomes were similar in both groups except that more men had PE ( p = .025). The median value of D-dimers in the group of patients with PE was significantly higher (14 680[IQR 33620-3450]ng/mL compared to the group of patients without PE 2980[IQR 6870-1600]ng/mL [P < .001]. A D-dimer at 2600 ng/mL was the optimal cut-off for predicting PE with a sensitivity of 90.3%, and AUC was .773[CI 95%, .667 −.876). Conclusion A D-dimer cut-off value of 2600 ng/mL is a significant predictor of PE in COVID-19-patients with a sensitivity of 90.3%.