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.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common disease and major cause of morbidity in elderly men which may lead to bladder outflow obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Although sex steroid hormones play fundamental roles in prostate growth, their clinical significance is not completely clear. In the present study we assessed whether serum hormones levels as markers of prostate disease. This study includes (40) patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy and (40) control group with age rang (41-79) and (42-71) years respectively. The following biochemical investigations have been studied: Testosterone, Estradiol (E2), and Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA) levels using ELISA method which correlated with t
... Show MoreThis study aimed to compare lysyl oxidase-1 level in diabetic patients with and without renal dysfunction, that LOX-1 may be an indicator for the early stage of diabetic nephropathy (DN). In addition to finding it is a relationship with kidney functions in Iraqi diabetic patients with and without renal dysfunction. Blood was obtained from 25 healthy individuals as a control group (G1), 25 diabetic patients with renal dysfunction, and 25 diabetic patients without renal dysfunction. Age range 40-60 years for all subjects. BMI (25-27) Kg/m2 . The serum was used for the analysis of LOX-1, FBG, urea, creatinine and uric acid. Whole blood is used for the determination of HbA1C. Results of FBG and HbA1C revealed a significant increase in G2 and G
... Show MoreThis study tries to clear the correlation and association between asthma, obesity and leptin levels. Also it will work to indicate the main risk factors which play role in the elevation of leptin level within asthmatic patients. This is a case control study conducted on (38) asthmatic patients and (20) healthy control who were closely similar by age, gender and BMI. The main statistical tests used were student t test, linear regression test and correlation test. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Sampling method used for this study was convenience sampling method. The main results of this study show a significant association and positive correlation between age (old age ≥ 40 ye
... Show MoreIn the present paper, the features of democratization of vocabulary in the language of mass media are tackled. Particularly, the functions of this phenomenon in the context of language as an ontological reality are analysed. As well, the growing role of the language of the media, and the language of politics as an integral part pertaining to it, is noted. Further, attention is paid to the excessive saturation of the language of the media along with the literary language, by means of evaluation which may include negative results.
In this concern, scholars had different views, specifically in relation to the use of colloquial vocabulary along with some vernacular profess
... Show MoreA survey statistician for cholera in Iraq for 1980 and until 2003 show that cholera is endemic in Iraq and that the highest number of casualties recorded in the years 1998-1999 and increasing spread of the disease during the wars in hot climates, wet a study bacteriological used where circles selective and tests Alkouhaoah examinations serological system
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 MoreInformation about soil consolidation is essential in geotechnical design. Because of the time and expense involved in performing consolidation tests, equations are required to estimate compression index from soil index properties. Although many empirical equations concerning soil properties have been proposed, such equations may not be appropriate for local situations. The aim of this study is to investigate the consolidation and physical properties of the cohesive soil. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been adapted in this investigation to predict the compression index and compression ratio using basic index properties. One hundred and ninety five consolidation results for soils tested at different construction sites
... Show MoreIn this work a flowsheet has been put for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from 2.5M nitric acid solutions using 17.5% tributyl phosphate (TBP) and 2.5% trioctylamine (TOA) in kerosene diluent . The fission products (resulting from irradiated of uranium samples in nuclear research reactor) were removed from the desired actinides U & Pu .The organic phase TBP/TOA/Kerosene, containing both actinides U&Pu were stripped using 0.1 M HNO3. Trioctylamine (2.5 volume ratio ) in mesitylene , has been used in conditions appropriate for the recovery of Pu . From the experiments done using mixer- settler , the concentration of uranium in the organic phase in such conditions was very low ,not exceeding parts of a million .
Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune disease of the skin and mucous membrane. Renal transplantation is a common procedure in
To study the frequency of skin tumors and infections in patients with pemphigus vulgaris compared with renal transplant recipients and normal controls.
One hundred kidney transplant recipients, their ages ranged from 14 to 70 (46.65 ± 4.74) years
Background: lip lengthening procedure is one of the surgical options for the correction of gummy smile in patients with short upper lip. Methods: A comparative clinical study was conducted on 15 patients requiring lip lengthening procedure for the esthetic correction of excessive gingival exposure with gummy smile. Scalpel was used in seven patients and diode laser in the remaining eight patients. Under infiltration anesthesia, about one cm strip of mucosa was excised at the vestibular depth and the mucosa of the lip was sutured to the alveolar mucosa. Results: The diode laser group demonstrated less postoperative pain and swelling. Regarding postoperative ecchymosis, three patients in the scalpel group developed ecchymosis and no cases
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