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.
Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) mostly associated with renal and hepatic adverse effects, and the adjunct use of compounds with potent protective effects, like silymarin, may be one of the choices to avoid these effects. This project was designed to evaluate the protective effect of silymarin against the suspected renal and hepatic injury induced with long term use of NSAIDs; 220 patients with osteoarthritis were randomized into 5 groups and treated with either silymarin 300mg/day alone, piroxicam 20mg/day alone, meloxicam 15mg/day alone or the combination of each of them with silymarin for 8 weeks. The renal and hepatic functions were evaluated before starting treatment and after 8 weeks including assessm
... Show MoreAim of the present study is Identification of specific gene for GPCR using specific primers .and identification of difference in PCR analysis in patients with heart thrombosis and compared with healthy, Sequencing of PCR product regarding GPCR compared for all three subject, Identification the similarity of human GPCR with local strain of yeast fifty healthy control and fifty patients with thrombosis which diagnosed medically with cardiac specific troponin t, troponin 1 levels and electro myocardiogram ECG. The aged for all subjects ranged (39-75) years patients were lying in cardiac care unit at Ibn- al- Nafees teaching hospital and Sheikh Zayed teaching hospital. Genomic DNA of whole blood was extracted from buffy coat and cell cu
... Show MoreOut of 150 clinical samples, 50 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were identified according to morphological and biochemical properties. These isolates were collected from different clinical samples, including 15 (30%) urine, 12 (24%) blood, 9 (18%) sputum, 9 (18%) wound, and 5 (10%) burn. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) assay revealed that 25 (50%) of isolates were resistant to gentamicin (≥16µg/ml), 22 (44%) of isolates were resistant to amikacin (≥64 µg/ml), 21 (42%) of isolates were resistant to ertapenem (≥8 µg/ml), 18 (36%) of isolates were resistant to imipenem (4- ≥16µg/ml), 43 (86%) of isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone (4- ≥64 µg/ml), 42 (84%) of isolates were resistant to ceftazidime (1
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of listening to music or Quran in reducing cancer patients’ anxiety before chemotherapy administration. Reducing anxiety in people with cancer, prior to chemotherapy administration, is a crucial goal in nursing care.
An experimental comparative study was conducted.
A simple randomization sampling method was applied. Two hundred thirty‐eight people with cancer who underwent chemotherapy were participated. They are assigned as Quran, music and control groups.
In Iraqi patients with acromegaly the present investigation included 40 control group and 70 patients with acromegaly divided 35 patients with Diabetic while another 35 patients without Diabetic, with ages between (29-72) years for the identification of GST activity polymorphisms by present and absent GSTM1, GSTT1, and PCR-RFLP, enzymatic digestions were carried out using BsmAI (Biolabs. England, UK) for GSTP1b and AciI (Biolabs, England, UK) for GSTP1c.the association GSTActivity with GST genotype were investigated in a cohort of Iraq acromegaly patients comparing with the healthy control group. The results show a non-significant change in GSTP1b gene in both groups, while show high significantly in GSTP1c in diabetic and non-diabetic acro
... Show MoreBackground: EBV infection in tissue micro-environment is challenged by the precisely regulated survivaland apoptosis mechanisms. Abnormal bcl-2 proto-oncogene expression in colonic carcinomas allowsaccumulation and propagation of these genetically altered cells.Objective: To analyze the relevant concordance of BCL-2 gene , EBNA1 s and LMP-1-EBV expression inissues from a group of Iraqi patients with colonic adenocarcinomas.Patients and Methods: One hundred (100) tissue biopsies, belonged to (40) patients with colorectalcancers, (40) patients with benign colon tumors, and (20) apparently normal colorectal control tissues,were enrolled in this study. The detection of EBNA1 s and LMP-1-EBV as well as BCL-2 was done byimmunohistochemist
... Show MoreLong-term use of sulfonylureas including chlorpropamide, is known to potentiate the antidiuretic action of arginine vasopressin (AVP), predisposing to hyponatremia.The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of long term use of glibenclamide on serum and urinary levels of sodium and potassium in Type 2 DM patients in Iraqi DM centers. Ninety eight patients with Type 2 DM who were maintained on different doses of glibenclamide for at least 1 year, attending the centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad, were enrolled in the study, in addition to 15 normal healthy subjects. Patients were allocated into three groups according to the dose of glibenc
... Show MoreThe financial statements must accurately, clearly and fairly present the financial situation and financial statements should be reliable as well. Pursuant to Board Decision No. (74) 2020, CBI obliges banks, according to the Banking Law No. (94) for the year 2004, Article (33) paragraph 2 concerning real estate owned from previous years and expropriated as a result debt settlement , to apply a real estate liquidation provision at a rate of 20% for each property expropriated and at a rate of 100% for each year of delay up to (5) years .also from the significance of the issue of real estates that become a property of banks as a result of debt settlement and the pr
... Show MoreThe purpose of this paper is to identifying the level of analytical thinking and its relationship to the skills of response and simple response to the foil weapon for students of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Basra. Achieving the objectives of the research requires the use of a research method, and accordingly, the researchers used the descriptive method using the survey method .The two researchers identified the research community with the students of the third stage - College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences / University of Basra / for the academic year (2021-2022). Their number is (45) students and the two researchers chose the entire research community to represent th
... Show MoreThe research aims to show the role or extent of the impact of financing in its various forms on the municipal performance before and after the financial deficit through relying on the analytical research methodology of the research community represented by the Directorate General of Municipalities and the Directorate of Maysan municipalities as a sample of research (13) municipal institutions for a period of (8) years, Considering the completion of the final accounts of these years, which provides the necessary data for the study, in addition to the variation in the quality and amounts of grants allocated to municipal institutions during these years, which gives a clearer and more comprehensive picture of the reality of allocatio
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