Background: Pruritus often constitutes a major problem for patients with end stage renal disease. The pathophysiological mechanism of chronic kidney disease -associated pruritus is poorly defined.
Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of uremic pruritus in dialysis patients and their correlation with the laboratory and clinical parameters in some Iraqi patients with chronic renal disease.
Patients & methods: This analytic, descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 103 patients on haemodialysis. Blood urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone were determined. Complete blood count was also performed.
Results: Of the 103 patients included in the study the, 79 patients (76.7%) had pruritus of whom, 27 (34.1%) had mild pruritus, 30 (38%) had moderate and 22 (27.9%) had severe pruritus. No significant association (p> 0.05) was found between pruritus and each of age and haemodialysis duration. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, neutrophils, eoisinophils, basophils mean values among patients who had no pruritus, mild, moderate and severe pruritus. A significant positive correlation (p > 0.05) was found between severity of pruritus in pruritic patients and each of age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels.
Conclusion: Our study showed that age, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels had a significant positive correlation with the severity of pruritus in pruritic patients.
As many expensive and invasive procedures are used for the diagnosis or follow-up of clinical conditions, the measurement of cell-free DNA is a promising, noninvasive method, which considers using blood, follicular fluid, or seminal fluid. This method is used to determine chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, and indicators of some diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome, pre-eclampsia, and some malignancies. Cell-free DNA, which are DNA fragments outside the nucleus, originates from an apoptotic process. However, to be used as a marker for the previously mentioned diseases is still under investigation. We discuss some aspects of using cell-free DNA measurements as an indicator or marker for pathological conditions.
Social marketing seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to social change and aims to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and societies for the social good. The study investigates the type and level of influence of social marketing on customer behavior in tourism companies in Baghdad (Iraq). The sample size of the study is 135 people comprising directors, assistant directors, and marketing staff in tourism companies in Baghdad. A questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data and information, and was prepared by the researcher after it underwent validity, stability, and arbitration tests. The data was analyzed using the statistical program (SPSS v. 25, AMOS v. 23) and statistical methods have been
... Show MoreEfficacy of Several Forms of Storage Medium on Avulsed Teeth's Enamel Surface Roughness (An in Vitro Study), Rawaa Sadiq Obeid1*, Muna Saleem Khalaf2
Background: Osteoporosis affects almost all of the bones in the female body; the most important one in the facial bone is mandible. Menopause is defined as an absence of the menses for one year. During this time, estrongen, progesterone and ovarian androgens production are diminished due to adult onset ovarian failure which leads to osteoporosis. This study aimed to evaluate the use of computed tomography mandibular morphometric indices for the assessment of pre and postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Subjects and material: This study conducted on 50 Iraqi females divided into 2 groups 20 -30years old as a control group and over50 years old as a study group attending Al-Karkh hospital, Department of Computed Tomography.(each group25 female).
... Show MoreBackground: Because of the demands for aesthetic orthodontic appliances have increased, aesthetic archwires have been widely used to meet patient's aesthetic needs. The color stability of aesthetic archwires is clinically important, any staining or discoloration will affect patient’s acceptance and satisfaction. This study was designed to evaluate the color stability of different types of aesthetic archwires after immersion into different types of mouth washes. Materials and methods: Four brands of nickel titanium coated aesthetic arch wires: Epoxy coated (Orthotechnology and G&H) and Teflon coated (Dany and Hubit) were evaluated after 1 week, 3 weeks and 6 weeks of immersion into two types of mouthwashes (Listerine with alcohol and
... Show MoreBackground: Several risk managem-ent standards had been developed including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards.
Objective: The study aimed at evaluating risk management among managers of model and ordinary primary health care centers in Baghdad City and comparing the risk management among these centers.
Methods: A descriptive comparative des
... Show MorePollen grains morphology have been studied for the wild species of the genus Erysimum L. which belong to Crucifereae family in Iraq. These species are E. filifolium Boiss. et Hausskn., E. oleifolium J. Gay, E. repandum L., E. eginense Hausskn. ex Bornm., E. aucheranum J. Gay, E. cheiranthoides L., E. alpestre Ky. ex Boiss., E. kurdicum Boiss. et Hausskn., E. tenellum DC., E. strophades Boiss., E. gladiiferum Boiss. et Hausskn., E. nasturtioides Boiss. et Hausskn. The study was performe by using light microscope . The study reveal that there was only one type of pollen grain named Tricoplate in all studied species . The study also demonstrated that there were differences among pollen grains morphology . The species E. kurdicum , E. alpestre
... Show MoreBackground: Molars and premolars are considered as the most vulnerable teeth of caries attack, which is related to the morphology of their occlusal surfaces along with the difficulty of plaque removal. different methods were used for early caries detection that provide sensitive, accurate preoperative diagnosis of caries depths to establish adequate preventive measures and avoid premature tooth treatment by restoration. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical sensitivity and specificity rates of DIAGNOdent and visual inspection as opposed to the ICDAS for the detection of initial occlusal caries in noncavitated first permanent molars. Materials and Methods: This study examined 139 occlusal surface of the first permanent
... Show MoreBackground:The demand for esthetic orthodontic appliances is increasing so that the esthetic orthodontic archwires were introduced. This in vitro study was designed to evaluate the surface roughness offiber-reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) archwires compared to coated nickel-titanium (NiTi) archwires immersed in artificial saliva. Materials and Methods:Three types of esthetic orthodontic archwires were used: FRPC (Dentaurum), Teflon coated NiTi (Dentaurum) and epoxy coated NiTi (Orthotechnology). They were round (0.018 inch) in cross section and cut into pieces of 15 mm in length.Forty pieces from each type were divided into four groups; one group was left at a dry condition and the other three groups were immersed in artificial saliva (
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