Background: The occurrence of seizures in bacterial meningitis is important, as it has been reported to increase the risk of complications; however, its frequency and predictors are not well studied yet. Objective: To assess the frequency, clinical, and biochemical predictors of seizures in children with acute bacterial meningitis. Method: A cross-sectional study recruited confirmed acute bacterial meningitis cases based on positive CSF culture and sensitivity among children aged 2 months to 15 years admitted to the Central Child Teaching Hospital emergency department in Iraq. Patients were divided into two groups based on seizure at presentation time. Demographic characteristics [age, gender, residence, duration of fever and disease, presenting complaints and antibiotic intake]; hematological [WBC, neutrophils] Lymphocyte, N/L ratio, packed cell volume, platelets, blood sugar, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indices were compared between groups. Results: Seizures had a frequency of 18% among the 122 children and were significantly higher in younger cases with female predominance. By multivariate analysis and odds ratio (OR), predictors for seizure were as follows: CSF lymphocytes (OR=0.25, 95%CI=0.08–0.26), lethargy (OR=8.15, 95%CI=1.03-68.65), headache (OR=0.09, 95%CI=0.02-0.45), neck stiffness (OR=0.07, 95% CI=0.01-0.61) and poor feeding (OR=4.8, 95%CI=1.21–18.97). Conclusions: CSF lymphocytes reliably predicted seizure with good sensitivity and specificity of 75% and 73%. Lethargy and poor feeding had the highest odds as clinical predictors of seizures. Together, those results can help with risk stratification and allocate resources for high-risk cases to improve patient outcomes
Adhesion (type 1 fimbriae) and host defense avoidance mechanisms (capsule or lipopolysaccharide) have been shown to be prevalent in Escherichia coli isolates associated with urinary tract infections. In this work, 50 uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolated from children with urinary tract infections were genotypically characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. We used two genes; fimH and kpsMTII, both of them previously identified in uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) isolates. The PCR assay results identified fimH (90.0)% and kpsMTII (72.0)% isolates. In the present study, was also demonstrated that these genes may be included in both or one of them within a single isolate.
Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have increased morbidity and mortality from premature cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD). Framingham risk score (FRS) is a simplified coronary prediction tool developed to enable clinicians to assess the risk of a cardiovascular event and to identify candidate patients for risk factors modifications worldwide. The predictive ability of the FRS varies between populations, ethnic groups, and socio-economic status. The aim of this study is to find if there is any correlation between the Framingham risk score and the inflammatory and biochemical parameters used to measure disease activity and functional ability in Iraqi patients with active RA.
A process of bacterial cellulose gold nanocomposite has been investigated based on experimental work and cited literature. A literature review on the production process is carried out in this study. Bacterial cellulose is a high crystalline fabric material generally used in biomedical applications. A Nanocomposite was made by synthesis from gold and bacterial cellulose. The experimental work includes growing, and isolating bacterial cellulose, preparation of gold Nanoparticles and preparation of Nano composite. Nanoparticle’s formation and adsorption on the cellulose tissue have been observed visually, where a colour change was observed. The predicted particle size for the gold nano
This study aimed to explore self and public stigma towards mental illness and associated factors among university students from 11 Arabic‐speaking countries. This cross‐sectional study included 4241 university students recruited from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. The participants completed three self‐administrative online questionnaires—Demographic Proforma (age, gender, family income, etc.), Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale and Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire. There was a significant difference in the average mean between the 11 countries (
Background: Tear of MCL of the knee is a frequent problem among knee ligaments injuries.Injuries to the MCL are usually caused by contact on the outside of the knee and are accompanied by sharp pain on the inside of the knee. Contrary to most other knee ligaments the medial collateral ligament (MCL) has an excellent ability to heal, being fairly large and well vascularised structure. The vast majority of isolated medial ligament injuries heal without significant long-term problems
Objectives: is to compare between the early clinical examination, and assessment under general anesthesia (GA), and to find out the best methods to assess the MCL tear especially in suspected cases.
Type
... Show MoreBacterial strains were isolated from oil-contaminated soil, in 2018, these isolates were identified, and with the aim of finding out the ability of these isolates to degrede the oil compounds, the color change of medium which added to it isolates was read by the method of Pacto Bushnell Hans. Then the change in the petroleum compounds was read by gas chromatography, for the most effective isolates.
The nine isolated bacterial showed different degrees of color change, and the isolates (Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Micrococcus) outperformed the color change amount (78, 78, 77) %, respectively, compared to the control, and the three isolates together showed the best color change of 90.7. % Compared to the control, and the
... Show MoreBackground: COVID-19 is a disease that started in Wuhan/China in late 2019 and continued through 2020 worldwide. Scientists worldwide continue to research to find vaccines, treatments, and medication for this disease. Studies also conenue to find the pathogenicity and epidemiology mechanisms. Materials and Methods: In this work, we analyzed cases obtained from Alshifaa center in Baghdad/Iraq for 23/2/2020-31/5/2020 with total instances of 797, positive cases of 393, and death cases of 30. Results: Results showed that the highest infection cases were among people aged between 41-45. Also, it was found that males' number of cases was more than females. In contrast, death cases were significantly higher in males than females. It was not
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to determine the organic and inorganic components of bile and gallstones in Iraqi patients. Forty seven patients were included in this study with mean age (53+7) years and BMI (30.82+4.18) Kg/m2. Bile was classified according to its corresponding stones into: Bile of Mixed stones and Bile of pigment stones. IR spectra were studied for both types of stones and their bile in addition to biochemical analysis for organic and inorganic components. The organic components include: (cholesterol, bilirubin, bile salts, and phospholipids), while inorganic components include salts of: (calcium, phosphorus, iron, cupper and magnesium). The results reveal to there was significant low levels (p<0.005) of bile salts and phospholi
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