Biological drugs have an active substance that is made by a living organism or derived from a living organism. They are one of the important therapy options used in a wide range of diseases especially life-threatening diseases. Biological therapy opens new opportunities for treating different diseases for which drug therapy is minimal, but they have considerable differences in the safety consequences in comparison with non-biological drugs. The aim of the current study was to assess the post-marketing safety profile of biological drugs used in Iraqi hospitals by the analysis of the reported adverse drug reactions regarding their severity, seriousness, preventability, expectedness, and outcome. It is a retrospective study of the individual case safety reports from the Iraqi Pharmacovigilance Center/Ministry of Health. There were 446 individual case safety reports in the research, involving 899 adverse drug reactions. Rituximab was found to be the drug with the highest number of adverse drug reactions with 241 adverse drug reactions (26.81% out of total adverse drug reactions). Most of the adverse drug reactions were related to general disorders and administration site conditions (22.25%). Regarding severity of adverse drug reactions, the majority of adverse drug reactions were observed in moderate levels [Level 4 (26%), and Level 3 (18%)]. The severe adverse drug reactions in patients below 18 years age group were significantly higher compared to adults and elderly. Seriousness assessment showed that the majority of adverse drug reactions were serious (52%). Rituximab was the drug for which the highest number of serious adverse drug reactions was reported (41.28% of total serious adverse drug reactions), Most of the adverse drug reactions (66%) were probably preventable. Fatality outcome was reported for 3% of adverse drug reactions while 43% of adverse drug reactions were recovered/resolved.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa has variety of virulence factors that contribute to its pathogenicity. Therefore, rapid detection with high accuracy and specificity is very important in the control of this pathogenic bacterium. To evaluate the accuracy and specificity of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay, ETA and gyrB genes were targeted to detect pathogenic strains of P. aeruginosa. Seventy swab samples were taken from patients with infected wounds and burns in two hospitals in Erbil and Koya cities in Iraq. The isolates were traditionally identified using phenotypic methods, and DNA was extracted from the positive samples, to apply PCR using the species specific primers targeting ETA, the gene encoding for exotoxin A, and gyrB gene. The res
... Show MoreThe members of the family of Eentrobacteriaceae harbour a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island. This cluster is responsible for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin that might have an important role in the induction of double-strand DNA breaks, leading to promote human colorectal cancer (CRC). Eleven out of the eighty eight isolates (12.5%) were pks+, distributed as 7 (8%) isolates of E. coli, 2 (2.25%) of K. pneumoniae and 2 (2.25%) of E. aerogenes. The cytotoxic effects of selected pks+ isolates (E. coli and E. aerogenes) on HeLa cells were represented by decreasing cell numbers and enlarged cell nuclei in comparison to the untreated cells. Cyt
... Show MoreBackground: This clinical trial aims to evaluate the color changes of direct resin composite veneer (DCV) restorations based on spectrophotometric analysis of 4 different types of resin composites between the baseline immediately after polishing and after one year of follow-up. Materials and methods: 28 patients were assessed for eligibility for participation, aged between 18 and 38 years old, who indicated for DCV restorations in anterior maxillary teeth were considered for participation in this study. In total, 25 patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected (6 males and 19 females, mean age: 20.9 at the time of restoration placement), and 3 patients were excluded. Partic
... Show MoreKlebsiella pneumoniae is a severe opportunistic strain of enteric bacteria that is a major cause of urinary tract infection and pneumonia. This study was conducted in Baghdad City during September 2020-November 2020 on 50 clinical samples of urine, vaginal, sputum, wound swabs, ear swabs, and burn swabs. strains were identified using the VITEK-2 compact system and tested in K. pneumoniae terms of susceptibility to various antimicrobial drugs by Kirby-Bauer test. The isolates were more predominant in the females (56%) compared to males (44%). The antibiotic resistance rate of varied among different isolated clinical sample sources. K. pneumoniae K. pneumoniae isolated from different clinical specimens differed with respect
... Show MoreThe members of the family of Eentrobacteriaceae harbour a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island. This cluster is responsible for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin that might have an important role in the induction of double-strand DNA breaks, leading to promote human colorectal cancer (CRC). Eleven out of the eighty eight isolates (12.5%) were pks+, distributed as 7 (8%) isolates of E. coli, 2 (2.25%) of K. pneumoniae and 2 (2.25%) of E. aerogenes. The cytotoxic effects of selected pks+ isolates (E. coli and E. aerogenes) on HeLa cells were represented by decreasing cell numbers and enlarged cell nuclei in comparison to the untreated cells. Cytological changes were observed when the infected HeLa cells culture
... Show MoreBackground: Treatment of invasive prolactinoma, which has several characteristics including invasive growth into cavernous sinuses and formation of giant adenomas compressing adjacent neural structures, resulting in neurological dysfunction, has been very challenging. There are relatively few reports available describing long-term treatment outcome.
Aims of the study: In this study we evaluate the results of cabergoline administration as initial treatment during 4 years follow up period.
Methods: We prospectively categorized 36 patients into four groups according to the results of 3 months of cabergoline treatment: group 1, tumor volume reduction (TVR) ˃25% with normaliz
... Show MoreBackground: Blastocystis spp. distributes world widely and the genus Blastocystis include many subtypes that are isolated from human intestinal tract. It is considered the most common parasite detected in human being.
Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of Blastocystis spp. among leukemic children, to find out its association with the presence of symptoms (diarrhea and abdominal pain), and to assess the efficacy of different staining methods in detection of Blastocystis spp.
Type of the study: cross-sectional study.
Method: 103 children were enrolled in this study, 53 leukemic patients and 50 healthy con
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