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 coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
The adsorption ability of Iraqi initiated calcined granulated montmorillonite to adsorb Symmetrical Schiff Base Ligand 4,4’-[hydrazine-1, 2-diylidenebis (methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)) bis (2-methoxyphenol)] derived from condensation reaction of hydrazine hydrate and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, from aqueous solutions has been investigated through columnar method.The ligand (H2L) adsorption found to be dependent on adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and contact time.All columnar experiments were carried out at three different pH values (5.5, 7and 8) using buffer solutions at flow rate of (3 drops/ min.),at room temperature (25±2)°C. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations. The monol
... Show MoreBackground: Neonatal intensive care unit infants frequently experience acute kidney damage. Estimates of the prevalence of acute kidney vary depending on the definitions used. In Iraq, studies addressing the prevalence and risk factors of acute kidney injury in this age group are scarce, none of which has implicated the KDIGO diagnostic and staging criteria.
Objectives: To describe the prevalence, demographics, risk factors, etiology, and staging of acute kidney injury using KDIGO criteria in the Neonatal intensive care unit and correlate these findings with patient outcomes.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit/ CWTH/ Medical Cit
... Show MoreBackground: The prevalence of obesity is continuously rising world-wide. Obesity is an important risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD), metabolic syndrome (MS), and type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Objective: To estimate the frequency of MS in obese versus non-obese subjects in Basrah, Iraq .
Methods: This is a prospective clinical study performed in Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital, Basrah, and included 86 obese subjects (with a BMI ≥ 30), 39 males and 47 females, and 132 non-obese subjects ( with a BMI < 30 ), 60 males and 73 females as a control group. Measurement of height, weight, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure ( BP ), fasting blood glucose ( FBG ), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG ) and high density lipoprotein-
Objectives:
To evaluate mothers’ attitudes toward readiness for discharge care at home for a premature baby in Intensive Care Unit at teaching hospitals in Medical City Complex and to find out the relationship between mothers’ attitudes and their socio-demographic characteristics.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental study design was carried out through the period of 6th January 2020 to 2021 to 11th March 2021, to evaluate mother’s attitude toward discharge care plan for premature babies. The study carried out in Welfare Teaching Hospital, Nursing Home Hospital and Baghdad Teaching Hospital at Medical City Complex in Baghdad City on 30 mother of premature babies in neonatal intensive care units using the nonprobability sampling
End Stage Renal Disease is a well-known global public health problem. Maintenance hemodialysis is considered a life-saving treatment for patients with such disease. This treatment method that requires patients to be adherent to hemodialysis attendance, dietary and fluid recommendations as well as adherence to prescribed medications to ensure success. The aim of the current study was to assess adherence, perception, and counseling among hemodialysis patients to different modalities of treatment (fluid restriction, dietary recommendations, medications, and hemodialysis schedules). A cross-sectional study carried out on hemodialysis patients who attended to the dialysis centers at al- Karama teachi
... Show MoreGetting knowledge from raw data has delivered beneficial information in several domains. The prevalent utilizing of social media produced extraordinary quantities of social information. Simply, social media delivers an available podium for employers for sharing information. Data Mining has ability to present applicable designs that can be useful for employers, commercial, and customers. Data of social media are strident, massive, formless, and dynamic in the natural case, so modern encounters grow. Investigation methods of data mining utilized via social networks is the purpose of the study, accepting investigation plans on the basis of criteria, and by selecting a number of papers to serve as the foundation for this arti
... Show MoreBackground: The first and second choice for vascular access in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is radio cephalic and brachio cephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF).In patients with failed previous AVF e or poorly visualized or impalpable cephalic veins, the basilic vein can be mobilized and superficialized to create an AVF with the brachial artery.Objective: The aim of this study is to report our experience at the Vascular Surgery Department/ Surgical Specialty Hospital in brachio-basilic (BB) vascular access for hemodialysis.Methods: From January 2006 to December 2009, 31 patients with ESRD whose cephalic veins were thrombosed or impalpable or had previous unsuccessful vascular access procedures were referred to the Vascular
... Show MoreDrip irrigation is one of the conservative irrigation techniques since it implies supplying water directly on the soil through the emitter; it can supply water and fertilizer directly into the root zone. An equation to estimate the wetted area in unsaturated soil is taking into calculating the water absorption by roots is simulated numerically using HYDRUS (2D/3D) software. In this paper, HYDRUS comprises analytical types of the estimate of different soil hydraulic properties. Used one soil type, sandy loam, with three types of crops; (corn, tomato, and sweet sorghum), different drip discharge, different initial soil moisture content was assumed, and different time durations. The relative error for the different hydrauli
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