The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first reported in China, in December 2019 and since then the digestive tract involvement of COVID-19 has been progressively described. In this review, I summed recent studies, which have addressed the pathophysiology of COVID-19-induced gastrointestinal symptoms, their prevalence, and bowel pathological and radiological findings of infected patients. The effects of gut microbiota on SARS-CoV-2 and the challenges of nutritional therapy of the infected patients are depicted. Moreover, I provide a concise summary of the recommendations on the management of inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and performing endoscopy in the COVID era. Finally, the COVID pancreatic relation was explored. Conclusions: digestive symptoms in COVID-19 patients can be the only manifestation and they may be correlated with worse clinical outcomes. The likelihood of fecal-oral transmission of COVID-19 has significant consequences and requires further research. A clear link may exist between the gut microbiome and COVID-19 progression and it may have a therapeutic and prognostic value. No evidence for an increased frequency of covid-19 cases in IBD and stopping immunosuppressive medications is not advised. Triage and risk assessment of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 before endoscopy is essential; deferral of elective endoscopies should be considered.
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine and is caused by eating gluten-containing foods. This study sought to determine gene expression of NLRP3 Inflammasome in peripheral blood of Iraqi CD children using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. Thirty children with CD (12 males and 18 females) were enrolled in the study and their age range was 3-15 years. The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy. A control sample of 20 age-matched healthy children was also included. The children were stratified for age, gender, body max index (BMI), histological findings, and marsh classification. Fu
... Show MoreBackground: Significant numbers of patients with spinal tuberculosis (TB), especially in developing countries, still present late after disease onset with severe neurological deficits.
Objective:This study was conducted to assess the outcome of surgery in patients with tuberculosis of the spine with motor deficits.
Type of the study: Retrospective study.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data obtained in all the patients with severe motor deficits due to spinal TB admitted to and surgically treated in four hospitals in Baghdad/Iraq during the period from January 2012 to January 2014. History, examination, imaging, histological, postoperative, a
... Show MoreIn this paper, an eco-epidemiological model with media coverage effect is proposed and studied. A prey-predator model with modified Leslie-Gower and functional response is studied. An -type of disease in prey is considered. The existence, uniqueness and boundedness of the solution of the model are discussed. The local and global stability of this system are carried out. The conditions for the persistence of all species are established. The local bifurcation in the model is studied. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to illustrate the analytical results.
Background: 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-
Background:. Children with spina bifida occulta require early surgery to prevent neurological deficits. The treatment of patients with a congenitally tethered cord who present in adulthood remains controversial.
Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the outcome obtained in 61 adult patients with congenital TCS and no prior surgical treatment who underwent surgical untethering.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 61 adult patients who underwent surgical untethering for spina bifida occulta at four neurosurgical centers in Baghdad / Iraq between March 2000 and January 2018. Patients who had undergone prior myelomeningocele repair or tet
... Show MoreObjective(s): To determine the quality of life for adults with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out on (80) patients with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from
December 2008 through October 2009 with special inclusion criteria (adult paƟents from 18 years and above exclude
the patients who suffer complication related of disease and from psychological problems and other chronic illnesses.
The data were analyzed through the application of descriptive data analysis approach and inferential data approach.
Result: The study indicated that the determination of QoL for COPD depended on the level of effect .The grades
according to R.S are: "high" effect of disease in
Abstract: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the widespread chronic liver diseases; it is ranging from simple fat buildup in the liver (steatosis) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) presence of inflammation and hepatocyte injury. &nb
... Show MoreJuvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) represents a group of multifactorial autoinflammatory arthritis diseases. A dysregulated production of pro-inflammatory cytokines is proposed to have a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is one of these pro-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, this study aimed to define the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of JIA. Accordingly, the serum level of IL-18 was determined in 59 Iraqi JIA patients and 58 matched controls. The results revealed a significantly increased median of IL-18 in the patients as compared to the control. A similar increased level was observed in subgroups of patients characterized according to gender, seropositivity for C-reactive protein and rheumatoid facto
... Show MoreBackground: One way to target polypharmacy and inappropriate medication in hemodialysis (HD) patients is with medication deprescribing. Objective: To assess the impact of implementing a pharmacist-led deprescribing program on medication adherence among HD patients. Method: A prospective interventional, one-group pretest-posttest-only design study was conducted at a hemodialysis center in Wasit Governorate, Iraq. Medication reconciliation followed by medication review based on the deprescribing program was done for all eligible patients, and the patients were monitored for three months for any possible complications. Results: Two hundred and seventy patients were screened for eligibility. Only one hundred and eighteen were enrolled i
... Show MoreAfamin, which is a human plasma glycoprotein, a putative multifunctional transporter of hydrophobic molecules and a marker for metabolic syndrome. Afamin concentration have been proposed to have a significant role as a predictor of metabolic disorders. Since NAFLD is associated with metabolic risk factors, e.g., dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and visceral obesity, it is considered as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. The objective of this study is to determine Afamin levels in hypothyroid patients with and without fatty liver disease and compare the results with controls. Also to study the relationship of Afamin level with the Anthropometric and Clinical Features (Age, Gender, BMI and Duration of Hypothyroidism) , Serum
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