Background: Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is gram-negative bacterium, which causes Legionnaires’ disease as well as Pontiac fever. Objective: To determine the frequency of Legionella pneumophila in pneumonic patients, to determine the clinical utility of diagnosing Legionella pneumonia by urinary antigen testing (LPUAT) in terms of sensitivity and specificity, to compares the results obtained from patients by urinary antigen test with q Real Time PCR (RT PCR) using serum samples and to determine the frequency of serogroup 1 and other serogroups of L. pneumophila. Methods: A total of 100 pneumonic patients (community acquired pneumonia) were enrolled in this study during a period between October 2016 to April 2017; 92 samples were collected from patients attended and admitted to Al-Imamein Al-Kadhimein Medical City and 8 samples from those in the (Center of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation) in the Medical City of Baghdad. All patients were under therapy with antibiotics. Serum and urine specimens were obtained from all patients; urine samples were processed for urinary antigen test (rapid test). Serum samples were collected and submitted to DNA extraction for detection of L. pneumophila mip gene by q RT PCR assay. Results: The percentage of L. pneumophila in two hospitals in Bagdad was 30%. Of these 26% was serogroup 1 detected by urinary antigen testing (UAT). In the other hand, 23% of samples were positive by q RT PCR based mip gene, of these 19 % were serogroup 1 and 4% were another serogroup. The sensitivity of UAT is high (P value < 0.001), which means statistically highly significance than q RT PCR. Conclusion: LPUAT is a rapid tool for early diagnosis of Legionella infection, which highlights the need of using this test in hospitals and health institutions and there is a high prevalence of L. pneumophila in Iraq that refer to the necessity of considering this microorganism point of view in future studies for detection and treatment in pneumonic patients. Keywords: L. pneumophila, mip gene, quantitative real time PCR, urinary antigen. Citation: Gauad SA, Abdulrahman TR, Muhamad AK, Jawad AA, Hassan JS. Clinical utility of urinary antigen test and molecular method for detection of Legionella pneumophila. Iraqi JMS. 2018; 16(2): 207-215. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.16.2.13
As a marker of systemic inflammation, raised (C-reactive protein (CRP)) concentrations which are still within the normal range have been associated with an increased inflammation of chronic renal diseases (CRD). The current study aimed to establish potential determinats of raised CRP concentrations in patients who treated in Heamodialysis room,then study the relationship between CRP& some biochemical parameters related CRD We used a CRP latex reagents Kit which is based on an immunological reaction between CRP antisera bounded to the biologically inert latex particles or with CRP in the test specimens of 19 patients with (CRD) mean age 48 years ,range = 30?65 & in 21 healthy subjects as control group their age range = 30 ?45 years. The
... Show MoreBackground: Artifact waves in the ECG and Holter recording are not rare in clinical practice and can be mistaken for tachyarrhythmia.
Objective: To orient the practicing physicians to differentiate these artifacts from cardiac arrhythmias.
Patients and Methods: Thirteen patients with incorrectly diagnosed cardiac arrhythmias by ECG or Holter recording then distinguished to be ECG artifacts were included in this study. The patients were collected from the author’s private practice in the northern Iraqi governorate of Sulaimanya during the period from June 2015 to August 2020. The differentiation of the artifact waves from the arrhythmias were made by careful inspection o
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis is a transmissible infection brought about by an obligatory intracellular protozoan from the genus Leishmania. It occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and can be burdensome in resource-constrained countries. The infection ranges in severity from mild cutaneous lesions to more severe and sometimes life-threatening visceral and distorting mucocutaneous sicknesses. Importantly, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Middle East with a pooled prevalence of 12%. It imposes a significant health and socioeconomic burden
Econazole nitrate (EN) is considered as the most effective agent for the treatment of all forms of dermatomycosis caused by dernatophytes. It was formulated as a topical solution in our laboratories. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Econazol Nitrate in the prepared formula and compared with that of commercial brand, Pevaryl®. A total of 104 patient suffering from dermatomycoses were involved in this investigation. Both formula were applied to the affected skin region in the morning and evening from week to 16 weeks with light massage until complete healing effect was achieved. The data revealed that the percentage of cured patient treated with the prepared formula and reference formula of Ecanozol Nitrate 1% so
... Show MoreBackround:
chlorhexidine mouth wash one of the effective chemical plaque control method that is used to prevent plaque accumalation and subsequent gingivitis.
In Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals.
To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view.
The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire
The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in
... Show MoreBackground: Manuka honey (MH) is a mono-floral honey derived from the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). MH is a highly recognized for its non-peroxide antibacterial activities, which are mostly related to its unique methylglyoxal content (MGO) in MH. The beneficial phytochemicals in MH is directly related to their favorable health effects, which include wound healing, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of MH on pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) in patients with gingivitis and compare it with chlorhexidine (CHX) and distilled water (DW). Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized, double blinded, and parallel clinical trial. Forty-fiv
... Show MoreIn Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals. To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view. The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in Baghdad h
... Show MoreIn this research, Argon gas was used to generate atmospheric plasma in the manufacture of platinum nanomaterials, to study the resultant plasma spectrum and to calculate the cellular toxicity of those manufactured nanomaterials. This research is keen on the generation of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma using aqueous platinum salts (H2PtCl6 6H2O) with different concentrations and exposure of cold plasma with a different time period used to produce platinum nanoparticles, to ensure typical preparation of nanoparticles. Visible UV and X-rays were performed for this purpose, and the diameter of the system probe was (1[Formula: see text]mm) with the Argon gas flow of
... Show MoreThe preparation of tin metal from stannous chloride solution by wet method in the presence of aluminum powder as a reducing agent is studied. The preparation is commenced through a reduction step in the presence of reducing agent followed by smelting step at elevated temperature in a programmable electrical furnace. In the reduction step, preliminary experiments are conducted to study the effect of initial acidity, time of addition of the aluminum powder and excess amount of reducing agent on the conversion of stannous to tin metal. Three different parameters are studied through smelting step, these are : heating rate, temperature and residence time.
To characterize the product, different instrumental analyses are used:
... Show More