This large international radiation dose survey demonstrates considerable reduction of radiation exposure in coronary CTA during the last decade. However, the large inter-site variability in radiation exposure underlines the need for further site-specific training and adaptation of contemporary cardiac scan protocols.

Objective: Despite previous research that focused on liver transaminases as predictors of cardiovascular disease, there has been limited research evaluating the predictive value of AST/ALT ratio in patients with heart failure. We aimed to investigate AST/ALT ratio as an indicator of the functional severity in chronic heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Results:Overall, 105 patients previously diagnosed with HFrEF from Buraidah-Al Qassim province, Saudi Arabia were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Data on study variables, including demographic data, left ventricular ejection fraction, NYHA class, and AST/ALT ratio, were collected from patients' records. The patients were divided into two groups, namely group-1 (AST/ALT ratio < 1) and group-2 (AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1), to identify any differences in their cardiac function profiles. NYHA class and NT-proBNP were higher and LVEF was lower in group-2 than in group-1. We found a mild significant correlation between AST/ALT ratio and APRI, FIB-4 score, NYHA-class, and LVEF (r = 0.2, 0.25, 0.26, and − 0.24, respectively; P < 0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis model and ROC curve showed that AST/ALT ratio could independently predict HFrEF functional severity with a best cut-off value of 0.9, sensitivity of 43.6%, and specificity of 81.4%.

Objectives: To provide a detailed study of demographic, baseline comorbidities, clinical features, and outcome for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Methods: A record-based case-series study conducted from March 23 to June 15, 2020 in King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Demographic data, clinical presentation, laboratory investigations, complications, and in-hospital outcome of COVID-19 patients collected with analysis of the clinical characteristics for survivors and deceased. Results: A total of 768 patients were included. The mean age was 46.36±13.7 years and 76.7% were men. Approximately 96.3% reported more than one comorbidity; diabetes mellitus was the most frequent (46.4%). Fever (84.5%), cough (82.3%), and shortness of breath (79.8%) were the main presenting symptoms. During the follow-up, pneumonia reported in 68.6%, acute respiratory distress syndrome in 32.7%, septic shock in 20.7%, respiratory failure in 20.3%, and acute kidney injury in 19.3%. Approximately 45.8% of enrolled patients required intensive care unit admission. Lung disease (odd ratio [OR]=3.862 with 95% confident interval [CI] (2.455-6.074), obesity (OR=3.732, CI=2.511-5.546), smoking (OR=2.991, CI=2.072-4.317), chronic kidney disease (OR=2.296. CI=1.497-3.521), and diabetes mellitus (OR=2.291, CI=1.714-3.063) are predictors of ICU admission. Fatality ratio was 89/2084 (4.27%). Men were more prevalent in dead group. Conclusion: Coronavirus disease 2019 places a huge burden on healthcare facilities, particularly in patients with comorbidity. Coronavirus disease 2019 patients who are obese and smokers with history of diabetes mellitus have a high risk of death.