Background:-The Modified Alvarado Scoring
System (MASS) has been reported to be a cheap
and quick diagnostic tool in patients with acute
appendicitis. However, differences in diagnostic
accuracy have been observed if the scores were
applied to various populations and clinical settings.
Objectives:- The purpose of this study was to
evaluate the diagnostic value of Modified Alvarado
Scoring System in patients with acute appendicitis
in our setting.
Methods:-one hundre twenty eight patients, were
included in this study, admitted to Al-Kindy
teaching hospital from June 2009 to June 2010.
Patients’ age ranged from 8 to 56 years (21±10)
they were divided into three groups; paediatrics,
child bearing age females & adult males,. MASS
was calculated for each patient included as the
diagnosis & treatment were done on the bases of
surgeon's clinical decision,confirmation was done
by histopathological examination. Finally statistics
done included negative appendectomy rate,
sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive
value,negative predictive value & accuracy.
Results: - Our negative appendectomy rate was
19.5% (22.22% for paediatrics 40.9% for females
4.2% for males). MASS showed sensitivity of
61%(92.8% for paediatrics 38% for females & 58%
for males), specificity 80% (75% for paediatrics
88% for females & 50% for males), positive
predictive value 92%(92.8% for paediatrics 83%
for females 50% for males), negative predictive
value 33% (75%for paediatrics 50% for females
5% for males) & accuracy 65% (88.9% for
paediatrics 59% for females 58% for males).
Conclusion:- MASS was of limited help to junior
doctors in our setting,clinical assessment &
experience are still the gold standard for acute
appendicitis.
Objective: To determine the functional and radiological outcomes of lower third tibia closed fractures fixed by nail or plate osteosynthesis. Methodology: This randomized controlled trial included 20 patients presenting with closed fracture lower third tibia in Al-Kindy teaching hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The patients were divided as every other one into two equal groups; group I had fractures fixed by 3.5 mm locked plate and group II by intramedullary locking nail. We followed all patients for 24 weeks to assess surgical complications, fracture union, alignment and functional outcome based on Knee society score (KSS). Results: The mean union time in both groups was 10.2 ± 1.48 and 9.3 ± 1.77 weeks, respectively (p = 0.003). Mean KSS in bot
... Show MoreBackground: Axillary lymph node (ALN) enlargement with diffuse cortical thickening and conserved echogenic hilum may represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Sonographic strain elastography may help the characterization of borderline ALN.
Aim: To evaluate the strain elastography of borderline ALN and to calculate a cutoff value of strain ratio (SR) that can identify suspicious ALN with the highest sensitivity and specificity to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures.
Subjects and Methods: A prospective study included 45 patients who attended the Breast clinic in Oncology Teaching Hospital with borderline axillary lymphadenopathy (intact hilum and diffusely thic
... Show MoreIntestinal mucositis is referring to inflammatory or ulcerative lesions of the oral or gastrointestinal tract; one of the main reasons is treatment with cancer chemotherapy. The prodrug Irinotecan is converted by carboxylesterase to the active metabolite SN-38, conjugated by UGT enzyme to SN-38G and then deconjugated by ?-glucoronidase produced by intestinal bacterial flora to produce SN-38. Irinotecan induces intestinal mucositis and diarrhea due to increased concentration of its active metabolite (SN-38).To evaluate the protective effect of carvone, I.P injection of (75mg/kg/day) of irinotecan for 4 days to induce intestinal mucositis, carvone administered to mice orally for 6 days starting from day 1. Results showed that carvone (50mg
... Show MoreBuzurgan oil field suffers from the phenomenon of asphaltene precipitation. The serious negatives of this phenomenon are the decrease in production caused by clogging of the pores and decrease in permeability and wettability of the reservoir rocks, in addition to the blockages that occur in the pipeline transporting crude oil. The presence of laboratories in the Iraqi oil companies helped to conduct the necessary experiments, such as gas chromatography (GC) test to identify the components of crude oil and the percentages of each component, These laboratory results consider the main elements in deriving a new equation called modified colloidal instability index (MCII) equation based on a well-known global equation called colloidal instabi
... Show MoreATTAPULGITE clay was modified in this study by the graphene oxide sheets and the clay was diagnosed before and after modification using several techniques (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy FT-IR, X-ray powder diffraction XRD, Scanning electron microscope SEM , energy dispersive spectroscopy EDX ) ,The surface of the attapulgite clay (before (Ata) after modification by graphene oxide (Ata-GO) ) was applied to adsorption of the Alizarin dye from its water solutions through the application of several kinetic models (pseudo first-order model , pseudo second -order model , intraparticle diffusion model ),It was found that the practical results follow pseudo second -order model. The process of modification on the surface of the mud has imp
... Show MoreLignin has emerged as a promising asphalt binder modifier due to its sustainable and renewable nature, with the potential to improve flexible pavement performance. This study investigates the use of Soda Lignin Powder (SLP), derived from Pinus wood sawdust via alkaline treatment, as an asphalt modifier to enhance mixture durability. SLP was characterized using Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), revealing significant changes in its chemical structure post-extraction. These analyses showed the presence of phenolic units, including hydroxyphenyl propane, syringyl, and guaiacyl units. The morphology of SLP was identified
... Show MoreStripping is one of the major distresses within asphalt concrete pavements caused due to penetration of water within the interface of asphalt-aggregate matrix. In this work, one grade of asphalt cement (40-50) was mixed with variable percentages of three types of additives (fly ash, fumed silica, and phosphogypsum) to obtained an modified asphalt cement to resist the effect of stripping phenomena .The specimens have been tested for physical properties according to AASHTO. The surface free energy has been measured by using two methods namely, the wilhelmy technique and the Sessile drop method according to NCHRP-104
procedures. Samples of asphalt concrete using different asphalt cement and modified asphalt cement percentages(4.1,4.6 an
Abstract
In this work, the plasma parameters (electron temperature (Te), electron density( ne), plasma frequency (fp) and Debye length (λD)) have been studied by using the spectrometer that collect the spectrum of Laser produce CdTe(X):S(1-X) plasma at X=0.5 with different energies. The results of electron temperature for CdTe range 0.758-0.768 eV also the electron density 3.648 1018 – 4.560 1018 cm-3 have been measured under vacuum reaching 2.5 10-2 mbar .Optical properties of CdTe:S were determined through the optical transmission method using ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer within the r
... Show MoreRutting is one of the major distresses in pavement. The objective of this paper is to develop an improved asphalt binder grading system for Iraq based on the principal of Superpave system, and increasing performance grade of product asphalt binder in Iraq using polymers without raising the viscosity of the binder. Two types of polymers are used, Plastomers, Functionalized Polyethylene (PE) which is developed by asphalt research group in Wisconsin University in the USA, and Elastomers, Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) with and without cross linker. Mastercurve are drown for these modified binders, Rolling thin film aged, to show effects on rheological properties at high temperature for complex modulus (G*) and phas
... Show MoreTheligand4-[5-(2-hydoxy-phenyl)- [1,3,4- thiadiazole-2- ylimino methyl]-1,5-dimethyl -2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-pyrazol-3-one [HL1] is prepared and characterized. It is reacted with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) in THF to form the PVC-L compounds ,PVC-L interacted with ions of transition metals to form PVC-L-MII complexes .All prepared compounds are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, u.v-visible spectroscopy, C.H.N.S. analysis and some of them by 1HNMR