Researcher Mohammed Abdulmalek Ahmed Ghalib was awarded a Medical Doctorate (MD) in Cardiovascular Diseases for his dissertation titled: Clinical Presentation and In-Hospital Outcomes of Infective Endocarditis among Patients Admitted to the Cardiac Center at Al-Thawra Hospital in Sana’a,which was submitted to the Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences –Sana’a University. The dissertation defense was held on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
The PhD Viva-Voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following:
·Prof. Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi – Professor of Cardiology, Thamar University – External Examiner and Chair
·Prof. Mohammed Mohammed Al-Kebsi – Professor of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sana’a University – Main Supervisor and Committee Member
·Assoc. Prof. Adnan Al-Radhi – Associate Professor of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sana’a University – Internal Examiner and Committee Member.
The dissertation aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of patients with infective endocarditis admitted to the Cardiac Center at Al-Thawra Hospital in Sana’a.
The study found that infective endocarditis affected a relatively young patient population, with rheumatic heart disease being the most common underlying cardiac condition. Culture-negative infective endocarditis accounted for 68.3% of cases, a finding likely associated with the high rate of antibiotic use before hospital admission.
The results also revealed a high incidence of serious in-hospital complications, including acute heart failure, embolic complications, acute kidney injury, uncontrolled infection, and septic shock, alongside a high in-hospital mortality rate. Septic shock and acute kidney injury emerged as the strongest independent predictors of in-hospital mortality, highlighting the significant impact of systemic complications and multiorgan dysfunction on short-term outcomes.
In light of these findings, the dissertation recommended prioritizing the early detection of septic shock and acute kidney injury in patients with infective endocarditis and intensifying therapeutic interventions to manage these complications, given their association with in-hospital mortality. It also recommended strengthening multidisciplinary care involving cardiologists, infectious disease specialists, intensivists, nephrologists, and cardiothoracic surgeons to improve patient outcomes, alongside expanding access to advanced cardiac surgery services in Yemen.
The recommendations further emphasized the importance of responsible antibiotic use and the need to collect blood cultures before initiating antimicrobial therapy. These measures are intended to improve microbiological diagnosis and reduce the high proportion of infective endocarditis cases in which the causative organisms are not identified through blood cultures.
The dissertation defense was attended by a number of academics, postgraduate students, researchers, as well as the researcher's colleagues and family members.
