BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis (AA) remains a complex case even for experienced surgeons. Rate of negative appendectomy is 5–40% and delayed intervention result in perforated appendicitis in 5–30% of cases. AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate NPT as a marker for the diagnosis of AA concerning its severity. And compare the diagnostic value of it with the ALV scoring system. METHODS: One hundred twenty patients presented with signs and symptoms of AA and underwent appendectomy, only 84 patients proved to be AA by histopathological examination, were included in the study. Blood samples for neopterin (NPT) estimation and Alvarado (ALV) score was calculated. Control group consists of 45 healthy individual. RESULTS: NPT levels were significantly higher in patients’ group than control with p = 0.001 at a cutoff point 5.3 nmol/L. The diagnostic accuracy of NPT was higher than ALV score. NPT sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 85.4%, 76.9%, 89%, and 70%, respectively. CONCLUSION: NPT significantly elevated in patient with AA and has a high diagnostic accuracy, with correlation to clinical features and severity of the inflammation.
Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for the efficient functioning of living organisms. Cu can enter the body in different ways, and when it surpasses the range of biological tolerance, it can have negative consequences. The use of different nanoparticles, especially metal oxide nanoparticles, is increasingly being expanded in the fields of industry and biomedical materials. However, the impact of these nanoparticles on human health is still not completely elucidated. This comparative study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and copper sulphate (CuSO4 0.5 (H2O)) on infertility and reproductive function in male albino mice BALB/c. Body weight, the weight of male reproductive organs, mal
... Show MoreBackground: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common GI disorders in people under 50 years of age.
Objective: To Formulate an overview about demographics of IBS and patterns of presentation, to determine IBS patients severity ranking, and to recognize the main regimens with their patient satisfaction.
Methods: This is a cross sectional clinical study that is conducted in Outpatient Consultant Internal Medicine Clinic in Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital from 11/12/2017 to 24/12/2017. The patients suffering from IBS are diagnosed by a consultant according to the symptom-based Rome criteria for functional GI disorders, by implementing a questionnaire collecting thorough information. 77 cases of IBS patients were collected (2
Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coro
With their strategic and geographical positions, Japan and Iraq are one of the major
countries in the world, especially to the United States. Japan lies near the two American
Continents, separated only by the Pacific and it is only normal to have the interests of both
countries crossed and joined in the Far East region. This made the occupation of Japan an
inventible matter in the second half of the 20th century. Iraq, on the other hand, has strategic
position in the Middle East, being surrounded by many active countries like Turkey, Iran, and
Gulf countries, besides Iraq’s oil wealth which is needed by such industrial country like the
United States.
Background: Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a group of conditions affecting the reticuloendothelial system. It includes Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease and eosinophilic granuloma and most often presents in childhood. Materials and methods: Twenty-five cases of LCH were diagnosed histologically and confirmed by CD1a antibody and assessed immunohistochemically using anti-RANKL and anti-RANK antibodies to evaluate osteoclastogenic mechanism. Results: Regarding jaw cases, there was a significant correlation between CD1a and RANK (P=0.016). While in the skull, highly significant correlation existed between RANK and RANKL (p=0.001). Among the sites, there was no statistically significant difference found for each
... Show MoreSeveral types of laser are used in experimental works in order to study the effects of laser on blood vessel. They differ from each other by a lot of properties mainly in wavelength, energy of the laser and pulse duration. In this study argon laser (488 nm- 514 nm) and continuous Nd: YAG laSer (1064 nm), have been applied to 50 samples of sheep blgod tesselS. Histologically, tha results of the study were different According to the txpe of L`sar used; apgon larer had distrabtave effects on $he blood vessal while continuous Nd: YAG laser Appeaped to be the safesd one on the blmod vessel architecture. This study concluded that argoj laser has da-aging ef&ect on
... Show MoreBackground: The final stage of endodontic therapy is complete obturation of the root canal system to provide as perfect as possible at the cementodentinal junction of the apical foramen. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the sealing ability of injection molded thermoplasticized gutta percha and lateral condensation techniques with and without the use of sealers. Materials and Methods: Forty freshly extracted adult human maxillary central incisors with complete formed apices were utilized in this study. The teeth were randomly divided into four groups for evaluation of the apical seal. Group (1) lateral condensation gutta percha technique without sealer, (2) lateral condensation gutta percha technique with sealer, (3) Inject
... Show MoreBackground: Sex variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) are well documented. However, sex differences in coronary artery calcium (CAC) and its role in the detection of coronary artery stenosis remain controversial. Objective: To assess the impact of sex variation on coronary artery calcification and its efficacy in predicting coronary artery stenosis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study including 230 consecutive patients with suspected CAD (120 men and 110 women) referred for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study analyzed sex-based differences in the sensitivity and specificity of coronary artery calcification (CAC) for detecting moderate to severe stenosis across various coronary arteries
... Show MoreThis study examined the problematic of the ambiguous relationship between the media and terrorism and the problems that result from press coverage of terroristic incidents. The paper sought to show the classification and confrontation of such incidents had been established from the point of view of a sample of media professionals, researchers and writers who are frequenters of Al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad. The media outlets that carry this coverage would not give up their media mission as well as the terrorists would not be given an opportunity to take advantage of this coverage in achieving their goals and objectives. Furthermore, the terrorist organizations would have no chance to exploit these means to deliver their terroristic messa
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