Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Samir K Ballas
Thomas Jefferson University, USA
Keynote: The emergency department: A haven for patients with Sickle cell disease
Time : 09:30-10:05
Biography:
Samir K Ballas received his MD with distinction from the American University of Beirut-Lebanon in 1967. He completed his training in Hematology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology, Blood Banking, Pain Medicine and Pain Management. He is currently Emeritus Professor of medicine and Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University and honorary staff member of HEMORIO, the Hematology Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has authored or co-authored over 800 articles, book chapters and abstracts. He also published two editions of a Book on sickle cell pain in 1998 and 2014 respectively.
Abstract:
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common genetic disease globally and sickle cell anemia (SCA) is its most common and mostrnsevere form. Over 300,000 children are born each year with severe SCD mostly in Africa and about 80% of these have SCA. In the USA there are about 100,000 patients with SCD most of whom have SCA. The phenotypic expression of these disorders and their clinical severity vary greatly among patients and longitudinally in the same patient. They are multi system disorders and influence all aspects of the life of affected individuals. The clinical manifestations of SCD are extremely variable and include four distinct sets of (1) pain syndromes, (2) anemia and its sequelae, (3) organ failure, including infection and (4) co-morbid conditions. Some of these complications can have devastating potentially fatal consequences if they are unrecognized. However, acute episodes of pain commonly referred to as vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) are the hallmark of SCD and dominate its clinical picture throughout the life of patients and they are the most common cause of hospital admissions. The intermittent nature and acuity of these VOCs made the emergency department (ED) the obvious and most important site of care. Most hospital admissions for patients with SCD are for patients that come through the ED. This presentation will briefly review the common complications of SCD and their management that occur sequentially from infancy to adulthood with emphasis on dactylitis, infections, splenic sequestration, stroke, VOCs, acute cheat syndrome and organ damage.
Biography:
Prof. Dr. Amin El-Gohary completed his MBBCh in 1972 and his Diploma in General Surgery in 1975 at Cairo University, Egypt. He became a fellow of The Royal Collegernof Surgeons in UK: Edinburgh in 1979, London in 1980, and Glasgow in 1997. Prof. Dr. Amin worked initially in Egypt, then moved to Kuwait, then to UK, before coming tornUAE in 1983. In the same year, he became the Chief and Head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery of a large government hospital. Additionally, he held post as a MedicalrnDirector for the same hospital starting 1989. He was appointed as Chief Disaster Offi cer during Gulf War in 1991. He also held post as the Clinical Dean of Gulf MedicalrnCollege, Ajman for 3 years. Prof. Dr. Amin is well known in Abu Dhabi for his extensive interest and involvement in scientifi c activities. He is the President of the PediatricrnSurgical Association of UAE. He was awarded the Shield of the College of Pakistan in 1996 and the Medal of International Recognition in pediatric urology from the RussianrnAssociation of Andrology in 2010. He was given a Silver Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons – Ireland in 1978 and an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Collegernof Surgeons – Glasgow in 1997. In 2001, he became a Visiting Professor at Munster University, Germany. Prof. Dr. Amin is a member of several associations in pediatricrnsurgery: Executive Member of the International Society of Intersex and Hypospadias Disorder (ISHID), British Association of Pediatric Surgery, Egyptian Association ofrnPediatric Surgeons, Asian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, and Pan African Association of Pediatric Surgery. He is also the founder and member of the Arab Associationrnof Pediatric Surgeons. Prof. Dr. Amin has an intensive academic and teaching experience, has written several publications in distinguished medical journals, and has madernseveral poster and paper presentations in national and international conferences. Currently, he is an external examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons.
Abstract:
Gohary’s disease is a new phenomenon that has not been described before. It depicts a group of children who present to emergencyrndepartment with severe agonizing abdominal pain. Th e pain tends to start and ends abruptly, no predisposing factor andrnrecurs aft er minutes or hours. Ultrasonography revealed mesas at right iliac fossa, which is usually diagnosed as intussusception.rnTh e underlying cause of such phenomenon is the fecal impaction of stool at terminal ileum which acts as intermittent intestinalrnobstruction. We have encountered 19 cases over the last 5 years, their age varied from 9 months to 8 years with the majority underrnthe age of 2 years. Th e cadinal symptoms and signs are severe abdominal pain that warrants urgent attention, empty rectum onrnexamination and ultrasound diagnosis of intussusceptions. All these cases were managed by fl eet enemas with immediate response.rnAwareness of this condition will help to avoid unnecessary investigation and unjustifi ed exploration.