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
Abstract Since unmethylated CpG motifs are more common in DNA from bacteria than vertebrates, and the unmethylated CpG motif has recently been reported to have stimulatory effects on lymphocytes, we speculated that bacterial DNA may induce inflammation in the urinary tract. To determine the role of bacterial DNA in lower UTI, we intraurethrally injected prokaryotic DNA (extracted from E. coli) in white mice and performed histopathological study for the kidneys and urinary bladders, 24 h after the exposure. The results showed infiltration of inflammatory cells, shrinkage of glomerulus and increase the capsular space, as well as edema formation in kidney tissues. Moreover, urinary bladder sections showed infiltration of inflammatory cells.
... Show MoreT-cell activation and alteration of cytokine levels are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, the profile of circulating T-lymphocyte subsets and related cytokines during asthmatic attacks is still unclear. We compared the serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines Interleukine-18( IL-18) and Interleukine-12(IL-12), T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokine Interleukine-13(IL-13 ) and Immunoglobuline-E ( IgE) in 27 asthmatic children and 21 sex and age matched healthy control subjects. Serum cytokines and IgE concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IL-13 , IL-18 and IgE concentrations were significantly higher in asthmatic patients than normal control subjects ( IL-13: median 9.73 versus 4.43 pg/ml, P&l
... Show MoreThe performance quality and searching speed of Block Matching (BM) algorithm are affected by shapes and sizes of the search patterns used in the algorithm. In this paper, Kite Cross Hexagonal Search (KCHS) is proposed. This algorithm uses different search patterns (kite, cross, and hexagonal) to search for the best Motion Vector (MV). In first step, KCHS uses cross search pattern. In second step, it uses one of kite search patterns (up, down, left, or right depending on the first step). In subsequent steps, it uses large/small Hexagonal Search (HS) patterns. This new algorithm is compared with several known fast block matching algorithms. Comparisons are based on search points and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). According to resul
... Show MoreGum Arabic is a natural gummy exudate gained from the trees of Acacia species (Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal), Family: Fabaceae. Gum Arabic considers as a dietary fiber with a high percentage of carbohydrates and low protein content. Sugars arabinose and ribose were originally discovered and isolated from gum Arabic and it is representing the original source of these sugars. A gum emanation from trees occurs under stress conditions such as heat, poor soil fertility, drought, and injury. Mainly gum is produced in belt region of Africa, mainly Sudan, Chad, and Nigeria. In the food industry, it is used in confectionery; in the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as emulsifier, film coating and others. Traditionally the g
... Show MoreOsteoarthritis is the most prevalent arthritic disease and a leading cause of disability. The pathogenesis of osteoarthritis involves multiple etiologies, including variable degree of synovial inflammation. Metformin and pioglitazone could potentially reduce the levels and activity of inflammatory mediators. This may consider as a new therapeutic approach added to the current used drugs in an attempt to decrease the pain, inflammation, and improve daily activity and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
This study designed to evaluate the clinical utility of using metformin or pioglitazone as anti-inflammatory agents in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) of selective type of cyclooxygen
... Show MoreBackground: Acute myocardial infarction
(AMI) is one of the most common diagnoses
in hospitalized patients. The stimulus that
initiates the acute inflammatory process in AMI
has not been identified. Conventional risk
factors account only for approximately half of
the patients with clinically apparent
atherosclerosis which can leads to AMI.
Recently a potential link between infectious
agents and atherosclerosis has been suggested
Objective: To find a possible association
between Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori)
infection and AMI.
Method: We studied the prevalence of antiH. pylori antibodies in 94 patients who were
admitted with the diagnosis of AMI and a
similar number of healthy individuals w
Through the early childhood and after the ablactating the child learns acquired food habbits that might studying with him throughout his life. Here the parents role arises: teaching the child the sound food habits and hygienic styles and whatever beneficial to the health and with the sufficient quantities for the body. In this way the experiences the child learns at home will be of great help in his future life in choosing the suitable food after becoming more dependent in making his decisions and choices away from his parents. The results in this study showed that the averages of the children’s consumption of the high energy foods in comparison with the other highest consumption average , after that comes the con sumption of soft drills
... Show MoreObjective: To determine the ability of uVDBP to discern SRNS from steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in Iraqi children. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled children with SRNS (n=31) and SSNS (n=32) from the pediatric nephrology clinic of Babylon Hospital for Maternity and Pediatrics over three months. Patients' characteristics in terms of demographics, clinical data, and urinary investigations were collected. Quantitative analysis of uVDBP levels was undertaken via a commercially available ELISA kit. Results: The median uVDBP values were significantly higher (p-value<0.001) in the SRNS group (median=10.26, IQR=5.91 μg/mL) than in the SSNS group (median=0.953, IQR=4.12 μg/mL). A negative correlati
... Show MoreMK Al-Janabi, NA Nasir, RK Jaber, AO Oleiwe, Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2018 - Cited by 7
The downhole flow profiles of the wells with single production tubes and mixed flow from more than one layer can be complicated, making it challenging to obtain the average pressure of each layer independently. Production log data can be used to monitor the impacts of pressure depletion over time and to determine average pressure with the use of Selective Inflow Performance (SIP). The SIP technique provides a method of determining the steady state of inflow relationship for each individual layer. The well flows at different stabilized surface rates, and for each rate, a production log is run throughout the producing interval to record both downhole flow rates and flowing pressure. PVT data can be used to convert measured in-situ rates
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