Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a significant consequence that is becoming more common in COVID-19 patients. The current study sought to determine the prevalence and risk factors for PE in a study population of COVID-19 patients, as well as the relationship between PE and neurological sequelae. The research also sought to analyze the consistency of neurological examination and imaging techniques in detecting neurological problems. The research comprised a total of 63 individuals with COVID-19. The incidence of PE in the study group was 9.5% for smokers, 23.8% for obese patients, 33.3% for hypertensive patients, and 19% for diabetic patients, according to the findings. After adjusting for possible confounders such as age, gender, BMI, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes, a logistic regression analysis indicated that the probabilities of having neurological complications were 3.5 times greater in individuals who had PE. In conclusion, the present study highlights the high incidence of PE among patients with COVID-19 and the association between PE and neurological complications. The study also emphasizes the importance of a thorough neurological examination and imaging studies in the detection of neurological complications in patients with PE.

Introduction. Saudi Arabia (SA) is one of the top countries in the world when it comes to the number of bariatric procedures performed each year. There is still some debate on whether to do regular or selective upper endoscopy during the preoperative examination. The purpose of this study was to explore various endoscopic findings and Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients having laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) prior to surgery. Methods. We investigated a cohort of 132 patients referred to the endoscopy unit from the bariatric surgery outpatient clinic for prebariatric esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) as a part of preoperative LSG. Data extraction from medical records included clinical data such as body mass index (BMI), gastrointestinal symptoms (that include heartburn, regurgitation, epigastric pain, and nausea), medical comorbidities, and laboratory investigations. It included data about the endoscopic findings of EGD procedure as esophageal, gastric, and duodenal findings results as well as the results of biopsy specimens that were taken. Results. Out of 132 patients, 29 (22%) had a BMI of less than 40 kg/m² whereas 103 (78%) had a BMI of 40 kg/m² or above, with an average of kg/m². The average age of participants was years. HP was detected in 36 patients (35.0%) with a slightly greater prevalence in patients with a higher BMI (33.7%) than in patients with lower BMI (35.0%). Collectively, 73 patients (55.7%) had positive endoscopic findings of various grades, sites, and combinations. Incompetent cardia (35.6%) was the most often seen esophageal finding, antral gastritis (34.1%) was the most frequently encountered gastric finding, and duodenitis 1st part was the commonest duodenal endoscopic finding (7.8%). Among asymptomatic patients, incompetent cardia was detected in 33.3%, antral gastritis was found in 30.1%, and around one-quarter of them were positive on HP testing (26.6%). Additionally, 16.1% of them had signs of reflux esophagitis, 17.2% had hiatal hernia, and 14.0% had nodular gastritis. Conclusion. The current study revealed a high prevalence of positive endoscopic findings as well as HP infection upon routine endoscopic examination among patients undergoing bariatric surgery even those who were asymptomatic from any gastrointestinal symptoms.