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
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave.
This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected
BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a proangiogenic factor that exerts different effects over stem cell survival growth, apoptosis, and adhesion. Its impact on leukemogenesis has been established by many studies. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of plasma HGF activity on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at presentation and after remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional prospective study of 30 newly-diagnosed, adult, and AML patients. All patients received the 7+3 treatment protocol. Patients’ clinical data were taken at presentation, and patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the clinical status. Plasma HGF levels were estimated by ELISA based methods in the pa
... Show MoreBackground Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a life-threatening condition caused by the presence of microorganisms, generally caused by a range of bacteria in the blood. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarkers of pediatric BSI. Methodology The study was conducted on 150 blood samples collected from the patient who admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad. During the period from November 2020 to March 2021, ninety blood samples from them were positive culture and 60 blood samples were negative culture (control group). The isolates were identified depending on the morphological, microscopic examination, and biochemical tests.
... Show MoreIn this study Isolated Pathogenic bacteria which causes Conjunctivitis in Children with ages between less than 3 year to17 years, admitted to Ibn Al-Haitham Eye Specialist Hospital. 102 cases were collected which include 69 Male Formed (68%) and 33 Female Formed (32%). The result of the recent study shows that the highest percentage of Male was 21% for 1113year ages and the lowest percentage was 3% for less than 3 year to 5 year ages. In Female the highest percentage was 15% for 9-11year ages and the lowest percentage was 1% for 1517year ages. In this study fifty tow isolates were identified, Gram Positive Bacteria were Predominant compared with Gram Negative Bacteria. With 32 isolates which formed (62%) whereas the number o
... Show MoreBackground: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare congenital condition that results in bone fragility, recurrent fractures, and various extra-skeletal manifestations. Currently, intravenous bisphosphonate is the mainstay of medical treatment in OI. Objective: To identify the effect of current management strategies on Iraqi children diagnosed with OI. Methods: A retrospective study enrolled OI patients who were registered in Central Child Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, from January 2015 to December 2022. We enrolled confirmed OI cases (either clinically and/or radiologically) who received cyclic pamidronate therapy for at least 3 cycles. They neither received other types of bisphosphonates nor underwent surgical intervention. Res
... Show MoreSilver nanoparticles synthesized by different species
In this study Isolated Pathogenic bacteria which causes Tonsillitis in Children with ages between 3-17 years. They are admitted to Central Children Hospital (Al-Karch) and Ebn-Albalady Hospital (Al-Rusafa). 200 cases were collected which include 120 Male and 80 Female. The result of the recent study shows that the isolation percentage was 40% from Male and 35% from Female. In this study Fifty six isolated were Identified, 20 were ?-hemolytic Streptococcus which was Streptococcus pyogenes, formed (36%) from all isolated.6 Pathogenic bacteria were ?- hemolytic Streptococcus which was Streptococcus pneumoniae formed (11%). The number of Moraxella catarrhalis bacteria was 12 formed (21%), the number of Haemophilus influenzae was 1
... Show MoreCholesteryl ester transfer protein gene contains some single nucleotide polymorphisms, which have been associated with serum high-density lipoprotein concentration and other lipoproteins. This study is done for determining of cholesteryl ester transfer protein polymorphism and evaluate its effect on serum lipid profile concentrations in some hyperlipidemic patients compared with healthy subjects in Salah Al-din governorate-Iraq. Blood samples were taken from (90) patients suffering from hyperlipidemia, and (70) samples that were apparently healthy controls. Serum lipid concentrations were measured by enzymatic assays. The polymorphism was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.&n
... Show MoreThe present study aims to evaluate the effects of methotrexate (MTX) with and without vitamin A (Vit. A) on some biochemical parameters and histological structure in male rabbits liver. Twenty male rabbits weighing 1250-1480 gm were divided into four equal number groups. The first group was given 2 ml distilled water as control group. The second group was given MTX (20 mg/kg), the third group was given Vit. A (5000 IU), while the fourth group was given MTX (20 mg/kg) +Vit. A (5000 IU) in alternative days. Following four weeks of treatment, lipid profile total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), [low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)]; in addition to thyroid hormones tr
... Show MoreResearchers are interested in the issue of children abuse and they look for its cause in the past and present. Their interest is limited to identifying penal liability which is caused by children abuse away from focusing on civil liability. So, the study is going to clarify the parents' responsibility for children abuse rather than civil liability of the medic in case he wouldn’t notify the authorities about the case according to the American law rules and the attitude of Iraqi law rather than some judicial application of civil cases that were exposed to American judiciary concerning children abuse.