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
Aim: The study aimed to investigate the presence of the specific B1 gene T gondii in blood and milk samples from natural infected cattle and pregnant women (16-30 weeks) whose examination performed by the officers at the women's and children's Educational hospital in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq. Materials and methods: A total of 150 serum samplings were collected analysed and scanned for Anti-T gondi antibodies (75 naturally-infected goats and 75 pregnant women with Toxoplasma). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect of B1(399pb) gene in 26 goat's blood samples and 7 samples from pregnant women. Results: A quick-test anti-cassette gondii results showed 26 positive samples of goats in a percentage of 34,666 percent, while a higher percent
... Show MoreOriganum majorana (Majorana hortensis), an evergreen herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, has been well known for being used for gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory, rheumatologic and many other illnesses, but in wounds management hasn’t been qualified scientifically yet. The goal of the study was to evaluate the wound healing properties of sterols in n-hexane and phenols in ethyl acetate extract fractions of the Iraqi Origanum majorana L aerial parts by contrasting their wound healing abilities with those of commercially available MEBO ointment in a rat excised wound repair model. At various periods, the size of the wounds was measured and skin tissue samples were taken for histopathology. When compared to positive and
... Show MoreBackground: Many countries recommend the use of long-acting reversible contraceptive intrauterine device immediately after cesarean delivery. The cesarean delivery rate in Iraqi public hospitals is 32.2% and may reach 85.8% in private hospitals. Immediate post-partum intrauterine device insertion at cesarean is rarely done in Iraq.
Objectives: To assess the safety and practicality of immediate post-partum intrauterine device insertion during cesarean delivery for family planning and pregnancy spacing in Iraqi women.
Subjects and Methods: A single arm clinical trial included 150 eligible women who attended Al-Elwiyah Maternity Teaching Hospital or Al Hayat Rahibat Hospita
... Show MoreTo determine the relationship between herpes simplex virus 1, 2 and neurological disorders, sixty samples from patients with neurological diseases were collected (40 patients with Multiple sclerosis and 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease) all of whom attended both the Neurological science Hospital as well as the Neuropathology consultation Department in Baghdad Hospital In Iraq. The samples were collected in the time frame between November 2017 and April 2018. The ages of the patients that were investigated were between (17-76) years and compared to a control group consisting of 25 samples collected from apparently healthy individuals. All the studied groups were subjected to the measurement of anti-HSV 1, 2 IgG antibodies by the means
... Show MoreCovalent modification of protein by drugs may disrupt self-tolerance, leading to lymphocyte activation. Until now, determination of the threshold required for this process has not been possible. Therefore, we performed quantitative mass spectrometric analyses to define the epitopes formed in tolerant and hypersensitive patients taking the β-lactam antibiotic piperacillin and the threshold required for T cell activation. A hydrolyzed piperacillin hapten was detected on four lysine residues of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated from tolerant patients. The level of modified Lys541 ranged from 2.6 to 4.8%. Analysis of plasma from hypersensitive patients revealed the same pattern and leve
In this research, the possibility of using waste wooden materials (reed and sawdust) was studied to produce sustainable and thermal insulation lightweight building units , which has economic and environmental advantages. This study is intended to produce light weight building units with low thermal conductivity, so it can be used as partitions to improve the thermal insulation in buildings. Waste wooden materials were used as a partial replacement of natural sand, in different percentages (10, 20, 30, and 40) % . The mix proportions were (1:2.5) (cement: fine aggregate) with w/c of 0.4. The values of 28 days oven dry density ranged between (2060-1693) kg/m3.The thermal conductivity decreased from (0.745 to 0.2
... Show More إن المقصود باختبارات حسن المطابقة هو التحقق من فرضية العدم القائمة على تطابق مشاهدات أية عينة تحت الدراسة لتوزيع احتمالي معين وترد مثل هكذا حالات في التطبيق العملي بكثرة وفي كافة المجالات وعلى الأخص بحوث علم الوراثة والبحوث الطبية والبحوث الحياتية ,عندما اقترح كلا من Shapiro والعالم Wilk عام 1965 اختبار حسن المطابقة الحدسي مع معالم القياس
(