The typical test for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, but the chest CT scan might play a complementary role at the first detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of CT scan on patients with COVID-19 in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and to compare the accuracy of CT scan with that of RT-PCR technique. Material and Method: This is a prospective study. The patients suspicious of having COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms were registered. All patients were diagnosed by RT-PCR and chest CT. Diagnostic performance of CT was intended using RT-PCR as the reference standard in the centre of coronavirus investigation in Al-Najaf city, Iraq from March 2020 to September 2020. Results: The study population included 125 consecutive participants (males and females; mean age = 53 ± 17 years). Of the 125 participants, fever was observed in 93 (74.4%), cough was observed in 81 (64.8%), dyspnoea was observed in 47 (33%), and lymphocytopenia was observed in 89 (71.2%) subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of chest CT scan was 94% (95% confidence interval). Conclusion: The typical diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 pneumonia is by RT-PCR at the first stage of infection which can then be confirmed by chest CT.
313 blood samples were collected from bacteremia patients, including 146 samples (30 from patients and 116 from outpatients) from Azadi teaching hospital, 36 samples from the dialysis unit at Kirkuk General Hospital, 126 samples (42 from inpatients and 84 from outpatients) from the Children's Hospital, and 5 samples from the Women's and Obstetrics Hospital in Kirkuk province, for the period from January 24, 2022, to September 10, 2022. The study, including the isolation and diagnosis of bacteria and the study of their resistance to antibiotics, The results show that 32 (17.87%) positive growth cultures were obtained from febrile patients, 3 (8.33%) from dialysis patients in the dialysis unit, and 15 (65.21%) from burn and wound patients.
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic destructive inflammatory disease associated with destruction of joint connective tissues and bones, affecting 0.5%–1% of the population worldwide reporting higher prevalence of periodontitis among rheumatoid arthritis patients. The purpose of this study is to estimate level of salivary C-reactive protein in relation to the occurrence and severity of the periodontal disease and other oral parameters among group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis Material and methods: Fifty women patients with rheumatoid arthritis; twenty five on Methotrexate treatment and twenty five on combination treatment of Methotrexate and Etanercept selected as study groups with an age range (30-40) years old and
... Show MoreAs COVID-19 pandemic continued to propagate, millions of lives are currently at risk especially elderly, people with chronic conditions and pregnant women. Iraq is one of the countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, in Iraq, there is a need for a self-assessment tool to be available in hand for people with COVID-19 concerns. Such a tool would guide people, after an automated assessment, to the right decision such as seeking medical advice, self-isolate, or testing for COVID-19. This study proposes an online COVID-19 self-assessment tool supported by the internet of medical things (IoMT) technology as a means to fight this pandemic and mitigate the burden on our nation
The clinical impact of interaction between body iron status (serum iron and ferritin) and type 2 diabetes has been investigated in this study. Thirty-six females were enrolled, eighteen type 2 diabetes and eighteen apparently healthy. These two groups were matched for age and body mass index BMI. The eighteen diabetes females were matched for age, BMI, pharmacological treatment (oral hypoglycemic agent), and chronic diabetes complications. The biochemical parameters measured for both groups (control and diabetes patient) were fasting insulin (Io), fasting blood glucose (Go), serum iron and ferritin. A significant increase in all parameters in patients compared to healthy control was noticed. The insulin resistance (IR) which was calculat
... Show MoreThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption in medical education and healthcare systems worldwide. The disease can cause life-threatening conditions and it presents challenges for medical education, as instructors must deliver lectures safely, while ensuring the integrity and continuity of the medical education process. It is therefore important to assess the usability of online learning methods, and to determine their feasibility and adequacy for medical students. We aimed to provide an overview of the situation experienced by medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of medical students regarding electronic medical education.
... Show MoreMedulloblastomas and ependymomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. However genetic abnormalities associated with their development and prognosis remain unclear. Recently two gene fusions, KIAA1549–BRAF and SRGAP3–RAF1 have been detected in a number of brain tumours. We report here our development and validation of RT-RQPCR assays to detect various isoforms of these two fusion genes in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues of medulloblastoma and ependymoma. We examined these fusion genes in 44 paediatric brain tumours, 33 medulloblastomas and 11 ependymomas. We detected both fusion transcripts in 8/33, 5/33 SRGAP3 ex10/RAF1 ex10, and 3/33 KIAA1549 ex16/BRAF ex9, meduloblastomas but none in the 11 ep
... Show MoreBackground: This study aimed to find whether there is a relation between the mesio-distal crown diameters of the deciduous second molars and the permanent first molars in an Iraqi sample from Baghdad city. Material and methods: The sample consisted of 54 Iraqi children aged 8-9 years at the mixed dentition stage. The measurements included the mesio-distal crown width of the deciduous second molars and the permanent first molars on the study casts using digital sliding vernier. Results: The results revealed absence of the side difference of the widths of teeth measured. High significant gender difference was detected for the permanent first molars and the deciduous second molars except mandibular permanent first molar. On the other hand, hig
... Show MoreThe covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world and has rendered a large proportion of the workforce as they are unable to commute to work. This has resulted in employees and employers seeking alternative work arrangements, including the software industry. Then comes the need for the global market and international presence of many companies to implement the global virtual teams (GVTs). GVTs members are gradually engaged in globalized business environments across space, time and organizational boundaries via information and communication technologies. Despite the advancement of technology, the project managers are still facing many challenges in communication. Hense, to become a successful project manager still a big challenge for them. This study
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