Background: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected from patient records and a research questioner. Result: a total of 60 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection have been included (mean age, 47 years [range, 12-80 years]; 72% male. Comorbidities were identified in 32 cases (53 %) including respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Fever and headache were reported in 27 (45%) and 15 (25%) of the cases respectively. Respiratory manifestations recorded as wheezing observed in 3 (5%), rhinorrhea 12 (20%), crackles 3 (5%) sore throat 22 (36%), bronchial breathing 23 (38.3%) with the most of the patients experienced cough 41 (68.3%) and shortness of breath (SOB) 38 (63.3%). Cyanosis is recognized in 3 (5%), convulsion 4 (6.7%), malaise 41 (68.3%). Gastrointestinal manifestations were diarrhea 8 (13.3%), vomiting 12 (20%). Overall mortality was higher in male gender 8 (18.6%) and the overall average age of the died cases was 60.5 years. Conclusion: the infection with COVID-19 is more likely to infect older men with hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease as significant risk factors for COVID-19 patients. The understanding of these factors can enhance defining those COVID-19 patients at higher risk, and allow a more targeted and approach to prevent those deaths.
Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving Rituximab intravenous i
... Show MoreCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most prevalent cutaneous parasitic protozoan infections in Iraq; characterized by a chronic infection and granulomatous disease that invades the skin. Type 1 immune was predominates in CL patients with exacerbated production of pro-inflammatory cytokine, therefore this study aimed to evaluate serum level of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and monokine induce by interferon gamma (MIG/CXCl9) as a useful markers of disease development in patients during different stage of infection (<1 month .. early , 1-6 month.. chronic and >6 months.. late). The result showed that there was an early effort to eliminate the parasite proliferation which illustrated by a high significant increase of both IFN-γ
... Show MoreAnalyze the relationship between genetic variations in the MTHFR gene at SNPs (rs1801131 and rs1801133) and the therapy outcomes for Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study was conducted on a cohort of 95 RA Iraqi patients. Based on their treatment response, the cohort was divided into two groups: the responder (47 patients) and the nonresponder (48 patients), identified after at least three months of methotrexate (MTX) treatment. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) technique was employed to analyze the MTHFR variations, specifically at rs1801133 and rs1801131. Overall, rs1801131 followed both codominant and dominate models, in which in
Objectives: With the advent of ongoing novel modalities toward the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/NEU - positive malignancies, the serious side effects of chemoradiotherapy have been minimized. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the patterns of immunohistochemical expression of the promising therapeutic target (HER2/NEU) among Iraqi patients with medulloblastoma in an attempt to provide basic histological information’s that would help in future clinical researches.Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 42 formalin - fixed paraffin - embedded tissue blocks represent cases of surgically removed medulloblastomas were retrieved from the archived materials in a specialized surgical ho
... Show MoreAfamin, which is a human plasma glycoprotein, a putative multifunctional transporter of hydrophobic molecules and a marker for metabolic syndrome. Afamin concentration have been proposed to have a significant role as a predictor of metabolic disorders. Since NAFLD is associated with metabolic risk factors, e.g., dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and visceral obesity, it is considered as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. The objective of this study is to determine Afamin levels in hypothyroid patients with and without fatty liver disease and compare the results with controls. Also to study the relationship of Afamin level with the Anthropometric and Clinical Features (Age, Gender, BMI and Duration of Hypothyroidism) , Serum
... Show MoreChronic renal disease (CRD) is a pathophysiologic process with multiple etiologies, resulting in the inexorable attrition of Nephron number and function and frequently leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In turn, ESRD represents a clinical state or condition in which there has been an irreversible loss of endogenous renal function, of a degree sufficient to render the patient permanently dependent upon renal replacement therapy (dialysis of transplantation) in order to avoid life threatening uremia, reflecting a dysfunction of all organ systems as a result of untreated or under treated acute or chronic renal failure. The current study was involved 80 patients, the age range within 25-70 ye
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to measure serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP7), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), Growth Hormone (GH), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and insulin in acromegaly patients and healthy controls. The acromegaly group had 60 patients, while the population group had 30 people who had never had acromegaly before. The concentration of IGFBP7, IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin were determined. The results of the present study indicate that IGFBP7 level in the acromegaly group was significantly lower (1.690.07 ng/mL vs. 2.740.12 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.001). IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin concentrations were also significantly higher in acromegaly patients. The diagnostic accuracy (2.194) was exce
... Show MoreDetermining risk indicators for dental implants is an essential strategy for preventing peri-implant diseases and effective diagnosis of dental implant success. To investigate the impact of certain potential factors on the osseointegrated dental implant. Eighty-four individuals were included in our study, 50 cases as a patient’s group and 34 participants as a control group. All cases were diagnosed based on certain criteria, 30 (60%) of patients had peri-implantitis, 20 (40%) with severe periimplantitis, 36(72%) were generalized, and 15 (30%) as localized peri-implantitis cases. The study has indicated that 44.7% of dental implants were in the anterior maxilla, followed by (27.3%) posterior maxilla, (17.4%) posterior mandible, and (10.4%)
... Show MoreType 2 diabetes mellitus which abbreviate as T2DM is a complex endocrine and metabolic disorder arisingfrom genetic and environmental factors interaction which in turn induce various degrees of insulin functionalalteration on peripheral tissues. Globally, T2DM has develop into a public health problem. Therefore, Thestudy included (75) patients(37 female and 38 males) suffering from T2DM who visit al-kadhimiya teachinghospital with age range 20-80 years and (70) as healthy controls with age range 20-70 years. All studiedgroups were evaluated CMV IgG by ELISA,B. urea, S. Creatinine, cholesterol and triglyceride the resultsshowed that B.urea, S.creatinine and serum cholesterol showed a non-significant differences between studiedgroup,
... Show MoreObjective: To identify the role and importance of the clinical pharmacist in the Emergency Department on prevent
or reduced the medication error.
Methodology: We collected the medical file of 3400 patients, 1400 patient's file in (A) hospital, and 1000 patient's
file in each of (B and C) hospital, who admitted to the ED, at primary weekdays between 8 am to 2 pm, and
recorded all the intervention made by clinical pharmacist through an active search in clinical charts, with analysis
of the daily medical prescription. The potential severity of harm of the medication error judged by two reviewers,
a permanent emergency physician, and clinical pharmacist based on the National Coordinating Council (NCC) of
Medication Error