Introduction Complicated malaria is a medical emergency with a high mortality if untreated. Aim To describe the clinical spectrum, treatment practices and outcome of severe malaria cases admitted to an intensive care unit. Method Thirteen severe malaria cases admitted to the ICU over a 6 years period (2012 – October 2018) were included. The data was retrospectively extracted from the hospital patient data management system. Results Nine patients had P. falciparum malaria, three had P.Vivax, and one had both. Only one had received malarial chemoprophylaxis. The median time of attending to medical health facility after symptoms started was 7 days (range: 2–21 days). All cases responded to antimalarial therapy and supportive management. Complications included shock 54%, kidney failure 38%, respiratory failure 69%, cerebral malaria 61%, hypoglycemia 23%, coagulation derangement 8%, and acidosis 23%. There were no fatal outcomes but one case had permanent brain damage and the rest recovered completely. Conclusion The median treatment delay of seven days explains why these patients ended in intensive care with multiple symptoms of severe malaria and often multiorgan failure. Pretravel advice and use of malaria chemoprophylaxis when visiting high risk areas would probably have prevented infection and timely attendance to healthcare once symptomatic would have reduced the morbidity associated with infection, reduced length of stay in hospital and hence resources.

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Objectives: Liver abscess can develop as a complication of hepatobiliary disease or other intraabdominal infections, but more recently it is associated with primary and secondary liver malignancies and their treatment. The goal of this study was to analyze the epidemiology, etiology and clinical characteristics of pyogenic liver abscess in Oman. The intention was to obtain the information needed for the adequate liver abscess empirical treatment. Methods: This retrospective study took place in a tertiary hospital. Consecutive patients treated for the liver abscess during the five years period, from January 2013 until the end of 2017, were enrolled. Their demographic and clinical data were used to study the characteristics of pyogenic liver abscess in Oman. Results: Fifty-three patients with pyogenic liver abscess were enrolled in the study. They were predominantly male and younger than 60 years. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most usual bacteria causing the liver abscess. Clinical presentation was unspecific and the abdominal pain and high fever were the most usual symptoms. Conclusion: The majority of pyogenic liver abscesses are caused by K. pneumoniae so the empirical treatment should be started with antibiotic directed against it. Further studies are needed to establish the local role of anaerobic bacteria in pyogenic liver abscess as well as to monitor the presence of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae in Oman. Keywords: Pyogenic liver abscess; Etiology; Epidemiology; Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Adverse reactions to radiocontrast media (RCM) are rare and occur predominantly in association with intravenous administration but may also occur with intra-arterial and nonvascular injections (e.g., retrograde pyelography, intra-articular injections) of RCM. This article reports the case of a 52-year-old lady who was known to have amyloidosis secondary to rheumatoid arthritis and was on regular renal replacement therapy. She was under follow-up for regular angioplasties to manage the central vein stenosis that was affecting her right brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and was referred to our Immunology service when she developed an allergic reaction after her AVF angioplasty (central venoplasty). Despite being dialysed immediately post-angioplasty, she complained of skin rash and itching with hoarseness of voice that developed almost six to eight hours post-angioplasty. We decided to arrange the iodinated nonionic iso-osmolar contrast agent iodixanol (Visipaque™) for her instead, as it is known to be better tolerated in patients with reactions to Omnipaque™ due to its lower osmolarity as compared to Omnipaque™. However, since it was the first time to request this contrast in our hospital, it was not possible due to logistical reasons. It was necessary that our patient continued to undergo angioplasty every three months, however, she was developing more severe and earlier symptoms with each subsequent exposure to the radiocontrast medium. After her latest reaction of generalized itching and angioedema with shortness of breath during the procedure despite premedication, it was decided for her to undergo desensitization to Omnipaque™. In the absence of a published protocol for this, we used a protocol used for desensitization to Visipaque™. She showed an excellent response and completed her remaining angioplasties until Visipaque™ became available. Hence, desensitization to Omnipaque™ using the published protocol to Visipaque™ is likely to help patients allergic to Omnipaque™ or where Visipaque™ is not available or non-affordable in low/middle-income countries.

Liver dysfunction in the presence of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) can be caused by many factors including drug-induced, SLE itself, fatty liver, Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cirrhosis, cholangitis, alcohol or viral hepatitis. However, Lupus hepatitis and autoimmune hepatitis are two distinct immunological conditions involving the liver, which can have similar clinical, laboratory and systemic presentations, leading to difficulties in diagnosis [1,2].