The diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) sometimes is illusive and the accompanying clinical and laboratory manifestations cannot be used for definitive diagnosis. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in detection of AA. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included a total of 80 adult patients with AA and 62 age- and gender-matched patients with abdominal pain due to causes other than AA. Three milliliter of peripheral blood were collected from each participant. The NLR was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of NLR in detection of AA cases. Results: Mean NLR in AA patients was 7.18 ± 2.11 compared with 2.68 ± 1.08 in patients with abdominal pain due to causes other than AA with a highly significant difference. The area under the curve was 0.916 (95%confidence interval = 0.842–0.989), P < 0.001. The sensitivity and specificity of the test at NLR = 4.45 were 90% and 83%, respectively. Conclusions: NLR is an easy, inexpensive test that can be used for AA detection. This test is more sensitive and more specific than either total white blood cell or absolute neutrophil count
Background: Childhood diarrhea remains one of the leading causes of preventable mortality and disease burden throughout the developing world. It generated by several pathologic states, most commonly infections. Although the human large intestine ordinarily harbors a huge microbial population, most bacteria, protozoan, and viral agents of diarrhea are not members of this normal gut flora, but are aquired through contaminated food or water.
Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the main microbial causative agent of diarrhea in children below five years of age, and to evaluate the relationship between the incidence of diarrhea with sex and age group of the patients.
Patients and Methods: Total of two hundred twenty three
Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a common disease, and a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in all races. The pleiotropic effects of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) such as modulation of cell survival, mineralization and inflammation, make it an interesting candidate mediator in the progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic lesions.Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the role of RANKL in the pathogenesis of ACS.Methods: The levels of RANKL were measured by ELISA method in sera of 60 ACS patients, 31 patients with unstable angina (UA) and 29 patients with myocardial infarction (MI) in comparison with 20 apparently healthy controls.Results: Current data indicate
... Show MoreAcute lymphoblastic leukemia which developed after first primary solid organ malignancy (1M) considered as secondary acute lymphoblastic leukemia (sALL) and it is rare. The observational study that researches for(sALL) in worldwide and even in Iraq is limited. This study investigated (sALL) among 50 (ALL) Iraqi patients (30 children; 20 adults). Five (4 female;1 male) out of 50 (ALL) patients (10%) were with(sALL) .They asked through questionnaire form about their age , 1M , latency period and immunophenotype .They were in 14-40 years age group and with previous malignancies breast , ovary, lung and thyroid cancers. The median latency period (from 1M to sALL) was 30 months. Four of (sALL) were with B cell immunophenotype , while on
... Show MoreA computer simulation was conducted using Optics Software for Layout and Optimization (OSLO) to design a Cassegrain telescope system for on-axis rays. In order to establish such a telescope, the two mirrors of the optical system were designed as spherical surfaces: a concave mirror and a convex mirror. The obscuration ratios of the Cassegrain telescope's secondary mirror were examined using different values, which ranged between 0.1 and 0.3, to determine the best obscuration ratio. This work adopted three criteria to decide which obscuration ratio is the best for the Cassegrain telescope. The first criterion was the number of rays that reached the final image. The second criterion was calculating the modulation transfer function
... Show MoreAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is heterogeneous disorders originated from the abnormalities in the proliferation and maturation of myeloid progenitors in bone morrow. There is a clinical correlation between immunity engines and disease progression, but this relationship is not completely clear yet. This study was designed to assess the full immune response in Iraqi patients diagnosed with AML. Patients and healthy volunteers were divided into three groups: newly diagnosed untreated, under chemotherapy treatment patients and control group. A significant reduction were seen in C4 and IFN-γ levels in both untreated and treated groups with no significant difference between untreated and treated groups. On the other hand, IL-2 and IL-8 levels inc
... Show MoreAffinity is a term used to describe the amount of the adhesion bond between asphalt binder and aggregate. Adhesion force may be used as indicator to the amount of energy or work required to breakdown the adhesive bond between asphalt binder and aggregate. In order to study affinity between asphalt binder and aggregate, a modified device is manufacture locally similar to Rolling Bottle Test (RBT) to Predicted the degree of affinity between asphalt binder and aggregate; taking into consideration mineral composition with physical properties of asphalt binder to measure required force to separate asphalt binder from aggregate surface. In this study, suggest new parameters to represent the stripping or affinity phenomena (aff
... Show MoreThe dipstick test was evaluated for sero-diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. We compared two types of dipstick (rKE16, rK39) tests . The sensitivity of both tests were determined using sera from fifty-two children suspected of having visceral leishmaniasis and thirty healthy children as a control group collected from Central Teaching Hospital of Pediatric in Baghdad. Fifty (96.15%) cases were confirmed to have infection by rKE16 dipstick test while, fourty-six (88.46%) cases were positive by rK39 dipstick test. Non of the sample taken from healthy control showed reactivity in any of these tests. The study indicated that rKE16 test had better sensitivity than rK39 in the diagnosis of VL(100%) ,(92 %) respectively.
Leukemia or cancer of the blood is the most common childhood cancer, Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), is the most common form of leukemia that occurs in children. It is characterized by the presence of too many immature white blood cells in the child’s blood and bone marrow, Acute lymphoblastic leukemia can occur in adults too, treatment is different for children. Children with ALL develop symptoms related to infiltration of blasts in the bone marrow, lymphoid system, and extramedullary sites, such as the central nervous system (CNS). Common constitutional indications consist of fatigue (50%), pallor (25%), fever (60%), and weight loss (26%). Infiltration of blast cells in the marrow cavity and periosteum often lead to bone
... Show MoreBackground: Malnutrition is an adverse prognostic factor in the outcome of children with standard risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia due to a significantly higher rate of bone marrow relapse in the malnourished patients. The event free survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in developed countries has increased substantially in the last two decades as treatment with intensive protocols has brought the estimated probability of event free survival at 5 years close to 75%. Although the prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia has also been improved in underdeveloped countries, the figures for event free survival are lower, even when aggressive protocols are used. Unfavorable socioeconomic fa
... Show MoreBackground: The post-operative acute abdominal complication is one of the most difficult clinical problems facing the surgeon, and it represents a unique challenge for him not only because of the difficulty in making a precise diagnosis but also in the decision for further management . Objective: discuss the post-operative acute abdominal complications requiring re-interventionType of the study: Cross sectional study. Methods : Patients with early post-operative Acute Abdominal complications ( within 30 days from the initial operation ) who required re-intervention were studied prospectively Results :The study included 82 patients 47 of them were females, their age ranging 7-87,Different types of the initial operation were reported,51 %
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