Background: Lhermitte–Duclos disease (LDD) is a rare tumor, with only about 300 reported cases. It often shows comorbidity with Cowden syndrome (CS); however, it can occur by itself. Radiologically, the “tiger-stripe” appearance is considered pathognomonic. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment. This report aims to describe the clinical and radiological characteristics of LDD and its relationship with CS according to age group. Methods: PubMed electronic databases were searched in August 2022. The search terms included “Lhermitte– Duclos disease” and “dysplastic gangliocytoma,” which yielded 297 and 103 research articles, respectively. The articles were collected and reviewed by three researchers. Results: Out of 400 identified articles, we analyzed 302 reported cases. The mean age at presentation was 33.6 ± 16 years; 171 patients (56.6%) were female, and 123 (40.7%) were male. The most commonly reported symptom was headache (174 patients, 57.6%), followed by ataxia (109, 36.1%). In addition, 99 cases (32.8%) were associated with CS, and 60 (19.9%) had a confirmed phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) mutation. A tiger-stripe appearance was observed in 208 cases (58.7%); surgical resection was performed in 64.2% of the cases. Mortality and recurrence rates were 4.3% and 8.6%, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between adult- and pediatric-onset LDD for the association with CS (P = 0.128). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that adult and pediatric LDD have major commonalities; however, further prospective studies are warranted.

Backgroundand Objectives: COVID-19 is a novel infectious disease caused by a single-stranded RNA coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We aimed to conduct a nationwide multicenter study to determine the characteristics and the clinical prognostic outcome of critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Materials and Methods: This is a nationwide cohort retrospective study conducted in twenty Saudi hospitals. Results: An analysis of 1470 critically ill COVID-19 patients demonstrated that the majority of patients were male with a mean age of 55.9 ± 15.1 years. Most of our patients presented with a shortness of breath (SOB) (81.3%), followed by a fever (73.7%) and a cough (65.1%). Diabetes and hypertension were the most common comorbidities in the study (52.4% and 46.0%, respectively). Multiple complications were observed substantially more among non-survivors. The length and frequency of mechanical ventilation use were significantly greater (83%) in the non-survivors compared with the survivors (31%). The mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 6 ± 5. The overall mortality rate of the cohort associated with patients that had diabetes, hypertension and ischemic heart disease was 41.8%. Conclusion: Age; a pre-existing medical history of hypertension, diabetes and ischemic heart disease; smoking cigarettes; a BMI ≥ 29; a long mechanical ventilation and ICU stay; the need of ventilatory support; a high SOFA score; fungal co-infections and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use were key clinical characteristics that predicted a high mortality in our population.

Background/aim: Statin medications (hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors) are the agents most commonly used to lower lipids in people with dyslipidemia but are well known to exert unfavorable side effects such as myalgia, which may result in medication discontinuation. In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship between statin use and the development of gastric acid reflux symptoms. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2022 and December 2023 at King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, among individuals diagnosed with dyslipidemia who had used statin medications regularly for a minimum of 3 months. A simple random sampling technique was utilized. Patients were asked for demographic information, statin type, dose, duration, past medical history, and gastroesophageal reflux symptoms using the Ar-GerdQ tool. Results: A total of 386 participants enrolled in our study. Participants’ mean age and standard deviation was 55.4 ± 13.4 years, and the most used statin medication was atorvastatin (69.9%). The total mean GerdQ score was 6.40 (standard deviation 1.90), whereas only 11.4% of participants had gastric reflux symptoms. Different statin types, intensity, and duration were not statistically significantly correlated with gastric reflux symptoms (all P > 0.05). In comparison with those not using proton pump inhibitors, those who were using proton pump inhibitors were more frequently predicted to have an increased risk of developing gastroesophageal reflux disease (adjusted odds ratio = 2.991; 95% confidence interval: 1.359–6.585; P = 0.007). Conclusion: Statin medications were not associated with gastroesophageal symptoms, regardless of the statin type, dose, or intensity. Multicenter studies on a national level are warranted to affirm this conclusion further.