Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's chest and Internal Medicine consultation clinics, and in private internist clinics in Kirkuk City, Iraq between January and April 2023. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI-COPD) measured the Burden of COPD. The symptom burden was assessed by the COPD assessment test (CAT). The level of IL-6 monoclonal antibodies was measured via a Roche Cobas 6000 analyzer and TNF-α using the ELISA sandwich technique. All these devices and machines were authorized by the Ministry of Health, Iraq. Results: The mean age was (54.1 ± 8.12) years, 62.5% being males and 37.5% being females; 41.7% were public sector employees, and 39.2% were self-employed. Due to COPD, the overall work loss was (45.9±18.91) days, the mean percentage of absenteeism was (10.9% ± 12.31%), activity impairment was (47.5% ±17.79%) among all patients, presenteeism was (40.8 ± 15.05%,) and COPD-related retirees were 14.2% of the study group. The mean CAT score (19.3±5.63) was high and the most troubling symptom among patients was chest tightness. WPAI-COPD scores were higher in older age and longer disease duration. The levels of biomarkers were above the reference ranges, the mean IL-6 level was (69.4 ± 35.29) pg/ml, and the mean TNF-α was (72.3 ± 22.45) pg/ ml. Conclusions: COPD patients exhibit a disease burden in terms of productivity loss at work and activity impairment that increases with aging and disease duration. COPD patients with low BMI are more prone to a decline in lung functions and to worse symptoms.
Throughout this paper, three concepts are introduced namely stable semisimple modules, stable t-semisimple modules and strongly stable t-semisimple. Many features co-related with these concepts are presented. Also many connections between these concepts are given. Moreover several relationships between these classes of modules and other co-related classes and other related concepts are introduced.
Abstract:
Objectives: This study aims to (1) find out the association between patients' age, years of getting the disease, and their spiritual coping ability, and (2) investigate the differences in illness perception and spiritual coping ability between gender groups, level of education groups, monthly income groups, residence groups and satisfaction with health services groups.
Methodology
A descriptive correlational design is used in this study. The study sample includes a convenience sample of (158) patients with chronic kidney failure.
The study instrument consists of two parts; the first one focuses on participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, and the second part deals with participants’ spiritual coping by us
Background: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one of the largest causes of mortality worldwide. Clopidogrel, antiplatelet drug, has been widely used for management of CAD. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of clopidogrel on the oxidative stress in CAD patients. Methods: One hundred CAD patients, who were followed-up for 5 days after receiving clopidogrel, and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters include catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant capacity (TOC), total protein, albumin, and globulins were determined before and after treatment with clopidogrel. Results: CAT, TAC, and Tp were significantly decreased (P<0.0001) in CAD patients compared to healthy control and
... Show MoreAdherence to cardiac medications makes a significant contribution to avoidance of morbidity and premature mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. This quantitative study used cross‐sectional survey design to evaluate medication adherence and contributing factors among patients with cardiovascular disease, comparing patients who were admitted to a cardiac ward (
Abstract The results of isolation, morphological and microscopic diagnosis, Chromic Agar, Vitik technology and Bact Alert showed that the diagnosis of fungi isolated from blood samples of end-stage renal patients who did not undergo dialysis and those who underwent dialysis was 60 samples for each type. The total number of fungal isolates isolated from people who did not undergo dialysis was 26 pathogenic fungal isolates, with a percentage frequency of 43.33%. In this study, 4 genera of pathogenic fungi were identified: Candida spp, Rhodotorula spp, Cryptococcus spp. and Aspergillus spp. The number of Candida isolates reached 13 isolates, with a frequency of 50%. The results also showed that the diagnosed species from the genus Rhodotorula
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is common, yet no curative treatment identified. Cinnamon is a herbal substance, which has many applications in medicine. AIM: The aim of the study was to study the effect of cinnamon on patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome. METHODS: Sixty patients with documented CP/CPPS randomized into two groups during 2018 and 2019 in Baghdad. The first group received 60 capsules each contained 1 g of cinnamon. The other group received 60 capsules each contained 1 g of sugar powder (placebo). All the patients instructed to take one capsule twice daily for 1 month. National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) was reported for bot
... Show MoreTo determine the important pathogenic role of celiac disease in triggering several autoimmune disease, thirty patients with Multiple Sclerosis of ages (22-55) years have been investigated and compared with 25 healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies IgA IgG by ELISA test, anti-reticulin antibodies IgA and IgG, and anti-endomysial antibodies IgA and IgG by IFAT. There was a significant elevation in the concentration of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies IgA and IgG compared to control groups (P≤0.05), there was 4(13.33%) positive results for anti-reticulin antibodies IgA and IgG , 3(10%) positive results for anti-endomysial antibodies IgA and IgG . There were 4 pos
... Show MorePeriodontitis is one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases affecting man with up to 90% of the global population affected. Its severe form can lead to the tooth loss in 10-15% of the population worldwide. The disease is caused by a dysbiosis of the local microbiota and one organism that contributes to this alteration in the bacterial population is Prophyromonas gingivalis. This organism possesses a range of virulence factors that appear to contribute to its growth and survival at a periodontal site amongst which is its ability to invade oral epithelial cells. Such an invasion strategy provides a means of evasion of host defence mechanisms, persistence at a site and the opportunity for dissemination to other sites in the mouth. However, p
... Show MoreThe theatrical show has gone through a lot of changes where the actor was the most significant factor in all the theatrical shows since the very beginning of the art of acting by the Greeks until the present day. The actor went through many stages that employed his tools in different ways. The body in the theatre had a great importance because it is the perceived physical element that creates the communication between the actor and the audience in the theatrical show. The actor's body had a special language that carries different meanings and creates the communication between the actor and the audience in the theatrical show. The audience can decipher the codes of that body, thus, the researcher found the compatibility and differe
... Show MoreThe importance of social exclusion lies in the psychological problems that cause problems in social relations and mental-physical health. For this reason, the researcher set three goals for the current research: identifying the level of social exclusion among people infected with the Coronavirus. The incubation period of the virus. Social exclusion and its relationship to the duration of incubation of the disease among people infected with the Coronavirus. The result showed that the research sample does not suffer from social exclusion. The mean value for the period from
(8-14) days is the highest value followed by the period (1-7) days and the period
(14 days or more) comes at the end. There is no statistically sig
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