Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of chronic, recurrent inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system, including Crohn's disease (CD). Infliximab is one of the biological medications used to treat CD. Therapeutic drug monitoring has evolved as a treatment in IBD, aiming to optimize benefit while meeting more demanding, objective end criteria. Objective: To determine the achievement of target trough level (TL), develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to infliximab, assess response to therapy, and study TL relations with different variables. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional and conducted from May 2022 to November 2022. It included 40 CD patients allotted into 2 groups: group 1 patients achieved the TL target, and group 2 patients did not achieve the TL target. Results: Twenty-two patients achieved target TL, while 18 patients did not. Dose escalation is recommended for 11 patients, switching therapy for 15 patients, and continuing the same dosage regimen for 14 patients. In addition, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, serum calprotectin and ADAs were significantly lower in patients who achieved target infliximab TL. Only serum calprotectin can be used to predict the achievement of the target TL of infliximab. Conclusions: Therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab to determine the TL and ADAs can help to explain why some patients do not respond to this drug. Serum calprotectin may be used as a novel marker to predict the TL and response to infliximab.
This study included 46 patients with liver hydatid cyst diagnosed clinically and surgically. Control group consist of 22 healthy volunteers. The patients were divided according to the size of the cysts into more and less than 5 cm diameter size, 33 and 13, respectively. Also they were divided into primary and secondary hydatid cyst infection, 30 and 16, respectively. Significant increase of GOT, GPT and ALP levels were recorded due to hydatid cyst infection and had direct effect on the liver function, beside an increase in total bilirubin in patients serum compared with the control, also the same occurred in the secondary infection compared with primary infection, patients with> 5 cm showed significant increase in the above levels compared
... Show MoreColon cancer is an abnormal growth of cells that occurs in the large intestine. Sometimes growth remains restricted for a relatively long time before it becomes a malignant tumor and then spreads through the intestinal wall to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body. The study aims to estimate the effectiveness and partial purification of lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme and measure gamma-glutamyle transferase (GGT) activity in serum patients of colon cancer in Baghdad. The study included (80) case male patients with colon cancer with (50) samples of apparently healthy males (control) as comparison group. The result displayed a noteworthy increase in lipoxygenase effectivene
... Show MoreThe aim of present study was to develop solid and liquid self-microemulsifying drug delivery system of poorly water soluble drug mebendazole using Aerosil 200 as solid carrier. Microemulsions are clear, stable, isotropic liquid mixtures of oil, water and surfactant, frequently in combination with a co-surfactant having droplet size range usually in the range of 20-250 nm. Oleic acid, tween 80 and polypropylene glycol were selected as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant respectively and for preparation of stable SMEDDS, micro emulsion region was identified by constructing pseudo ternary phase diagram containing different proportion of surfactant: co-surfactant (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1), oil and water. In brief S/ CoS mix means su
... Show MoreA cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 type 2 diabetic patients aged 20-60 years in Baghdad and 20 non diabetic persons as controls. Laboratory assessment of glucose related parameters; Fasting blood sugar (FBS), Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), Insulin and Insulin resistance (IR), renal function test; Blood urea, serum creatinine, Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P), Calcium regulating hormones; Parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin and vitamin D, cytokines, Adiponectin and Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and comparison these parameters between patients and controls. The results: a high significant (p˂0.01) increase in FBG level in the patients (211.34 ± 11.20 mg/dl) as compared with control (85.89 ± 3.07 mg/dl). A high significant (p˂0.01
... Show MoreObjective Thalassemic patients present with multiple immune abnormalities that may predispose them to oral Candida, however this has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess oral candidal colonization in a group of patients with β-thalassemia major both qualitatively and quantitatively. Study design The oral mycologic flora of 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects was assessed using the concentrated oral rinse technique. Candida species were identified using the germ tube test and the Vitek yeast identification system. Results Oral Candida was isolated from 37 patients (74%) and 28 healthy subjects (56%; P = .04). The mean candidal count was significantly higher in thalassemic patie
... Show MoreBackground: Normal Left Ventricular systolic function is present in nearly 50% of patients with congestive heart failure, the majority of such patients have systemic hypertension. Recent studies have demonstrated Left Ventricular dyssynchrony among patients with heart failure and normal systolic function. The co-existence between Left Ventricular dyssynchrony and hypertension with normal systolic function (with no clinical evidence of heart failure) is less well understood.
Objective:
To assess the Left Ventricular dyssynchrony among hypertensive patients with normal systolic function by using Tissue doppler imaging.To find out the associations between the LV dyssynchrony and other global
... Show MoreBackground: psychiatric and behavioral side effects
are common in patients with epilepsy and it may
represent an intrinsic feature of the disease itself or a
side effect of the antiepileptic use. Our aim in the
present study is to assess the psychiatric side effects of
Sodium Valproate and Carbamazipine .as these drugs
are the most commonly used antiepileptic drugs in Iraq.
Methods: 80 patients with primary generalized
epilepsy on Carbamazipine and 50 patients on Sodium
Valproate were enrolled in the present study; all the
patients were assessed for any psychological
disturbances using semi-structural interview based on
the tenth edition of the international classification of
the diseases(ICD 10) ad
Background: psychiatric and behavioral side effects are
common in patients with epilepsy and it may represent an
intrinsic feature of the disease itself or a side effect of the
antiepileptic use. Our aim in the present study is to assess
the psychiatric side effects of Sodium Valproate and
Carbamazipine .as these drugs are the most commonly
used antiepileptic drugs in Iraq.
Methods: 80 patients with primary generalized epilepsy
on Carbamazipine and 50 patients on Sodium Valproate
were enrolled in the present study; all the patients were
assessed for any psychological disturbances using semistructural interview based on the tenth edition of the
international classification of the diseases(ICD 10)
adopte
Objective: The present study aims to assess the stressful life events for patients with substance abuse in Baghdad city.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at (Baghdad teaching hospital and Ibn-Rushed Psychiatric hospital).
Starting from 1
st of December 2012 to 3
rd of July 2013, A non-probability (purposive) sample of 64 patients that
diagnosed with substance abuse, the data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview by
questionnaire, which consists of three parts sociodemographic data, medical information, and Life events scale
consists of 49-items distributed to six domains including, family and social domain, health domain, security, legal and
criminal domain, work and school do