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Ixodes ricinus is a hard tick that can infest a large array of hosts. It is mostly abundant in the cool, humid deciduous and coniferous woods and forests of Europe. All I. ricinus life stages are potential vectors of many diseases, most notably Lyme disease, which affects millions of people yearly. Lebanon, an Asian Mediterranean country with mild cool winters and hot dry summers, lacks many reports concerning ticks. A study on tick abundance and identification on dogs presented to veterinary facilities, over the course of the years 2020 and 2021 was done. Several species of ticks were identified, with the least abundant being I. ricinus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the tick species in the country. More studies on the distribution and abundance of I. ricinus in Lebanon should be made in order to properly estimate the pathogens it carries, and consequently implement the appropriate prophylactic measures concerning public health.

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Although many risk models have been tested in patients implanted by veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), few scores assessed patients' prognosis in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with refractory cardiogenic shock. We aimed at assessing the performance of risk scores, notably the prEdictioN of Cardiogenic shock OUtcome foR AMI patients salvaGed by VA-ECMO (ENCOURAGE) score, for predicting mortality in this particular population. This retrospective observational study included patients admitted to Tours University Hospital for STEMI with cardiogenic shock and requiring hemodynamic support by VA-ECMO. Among the fifty-one patients, the 30-day and 6-month survival rates were 63% and 56% respectively. Thirty days after VA-ECMO therapy, probabilities of mortality were 12, 17, 33, 66, 80% according to the ENCOURAGE score classes 0-12, 13-18, 19-22, 23-27, and ≥28, respectively. The ENCOURAGE score (AUC of the Receiving Operating Characteristic curve = 0.83) was significantly better compared to other risk scores. The hazard ratio for survival at 30 days for each point of the ENCOURAGE score was 1.10 (CI 95% (1.06, 1.15); p < 0.001). Decision curve analysis indicated that the ENCOURAGE score had the best clinical usefulness of the tested risk scores and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test suggested an accurate calibration. Our data suggest that the ENCOURAGE score is valid and the most relevant score to predict 30-day mortality after VA-ECMO therapy in STEMI patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. It may help decision-making teams to better select STEMI patients with shock for VA-ECMO therapy.

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The safety of dabigatran versus adjusted-dose vitamin K antagonist (VKA) treatment is the subject of debate. We evaluated the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated in clinical practice with dabigatran or a VKA. We performed a meta-analysis of observational studies that included an adjusted or matched analysis and reported MI, or death in AF patients treated with dabigatran or a VKA. Ten published analyses met the inclusion criteria. Of the 539,559 patients, 17,365 (3 %) patients were on dabigatran 110 mg twice daily (bid), 150,948 (28 %) were on dabigatran 150 mg bid, and 371,246 (69 %) were on VKA. Adjusted risk for MI versus VKA was 0.71 (0.47-1.07; p=0.10) in patients starting oral anticoagulant (OAC) treatment with dabigatran 110 mg, 0.82 (0.71-0.96; p=0.01) in patients starting dabigatran 150 mg, 1.40 (1.04-1.88; p=0.03) in patients switching OAC treatment to dabigatran 110 mg, and 1.28 (0.88-1.87; p=0.19) in patients switching OAC treatment to dabigatran 150 mg, with statistical homogeneity in each subgroup. Risk of death was consistently lower in patients treated with dabigatran 110 mg (HR 0.79; 0.65-0.96; p=0.02) or 150 mg (HR 0.65; 0.57-0.73; p<0.00001) versus VKA. In conclusion, dabigatran use, as currently prescribed in routine practice for AF patients, was associated with a lower risk of MI in OAC-naïve patients treated with dabigatran 150 mg compared with VKA, and a higher risk of MI in patients switching from VKA to dabigatran 110 mg. Risk of death was lower in AF patients treated with either dose of dabigatran versus VKA.

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