Background: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical
problem that is associated with an acute-phase reaction.
Previous studies have shown that cytokines and acutephase proteins are activated and may serve as indicators for
appendicitis.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate of serum
levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in correlation to the severity
to acute appendicitis.
Methods: This is a prospective study from December 2008
to March 2009 of patients who had appendectomy in
Department of Surgery, Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital -
Baghdad/Iraq. Serum for estimating levels of interleukin-6
(IL-6) was taken pre-operatively. Depending on the
macroscopic evidence during the operation and the
histopathological examination of the specimens, the
patients were separated into 3 groups, group one with
negative appendectomy (normal appendix), group two with
non-complicated acute appendicitis (catarrhal,
suppurative), and group three with complicated acute
appendicitis (perforated, gangrenous). The
histopathological results were correlated with IL-6 values
statistically.
Results: A total number of 50 patients were included in
this study, 28 male (56%) and 22 female (44%). The mean
age was 23 year (ranged from 7 to 50). On histological
examination, there were 7 patients (14%) in group one, 29
patients (58%) in group two, and 14 patients (28%) in
group three. Serum IL-6 values gave true negative results
in 6%, true positive results in 82%, false negative results in
4%, and false positive results in 8%. We determined,
therefore, in the present study the sensitivity, specificity,
and accuracy of serum IL-6 were calculated as 95.34%,
42.85%, and 88% respectively.
Conclusion: Laboratory results should be considered to be
integrated within the clinical assessment. If used critically,
IL-6 can provide surgeons with complementary
information in discerning the necessity for urgent
operation
Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the major cause of cancer related deaths among Iraqi women. Due to the relatively late detection of breast cancer, the majority of the patients are still treated by modified radicle mastectomy. Aim: To assess the time lag between diagnosis of breast cancer and mastectomy among Iraqi patients; correlating the findings with other clinicopathological characteristics of the disease. Patients and methods: This retrospective study enrolled 226 Iraqi female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Data were registered on the exact time period between signing the histopathological report and the surgical treatment. Other recorded variables included the age of the patients, their level
... Show MoreGypseous soil covers approximately 30% of Iraqi lands and is widely used in geotechnical and construction engineering as it is. The demand for residential complexes has increased, so one of the significant challenges in studying gypsum soil due to its unique behavior is understanding its interaction with foundations, such as strip and square footing. This is because there is a lack of experiments that provide total displacement diagrams or failure envelopes, which are well-considered for non-problematic soil. The aim is to address a comprehensive understanding of the micromechanical properties of dry, saturated, and treated gypseous sandy soils and to analyze the interaction of strip base with this type of soil using particle image
... Show MoreAbstract- Asymptomatic or clinically silent kidney stones are possibly serious because, in their expected passage, they may cause infection, obstruction and renal impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of silent kidney stones in a sample of Baghdad population and consider how this value could affect the justification for a screening system. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted in Iraq. We investigated 714 consecutive patients who sustained an abdominal ultrasound at our hospital with further kidney screening. All these patients did not have clinical signs and symptoms of nephrolithiasis. Age, sex, the indication for ultrasound, the size, side, and the number of the disco
... Show MoreBanks face different types of banking risks that limit the performance of its functions and achieve its objectives, including the financial risk that is based on current research into two types including a credit and liquidity risks. And established credit risk due to the possibility of delaying the borrowers to fulfill their obligations to the bank when due or non-payments on according to the terms agreed upon, while liquidity risk arises as a result of the inability of the bank to fund the financial needs, any inability to provide cash to pay its obligations short on credit without achieving tangible loss or the inability to employ the funds properly and show the liquidity risk in the event of inadequate cash inflows to the bank for an
... Show MoreReducing global warming potential (GWP) of refrigerants is needed to the decrease of ozone-depleting of refrigeration systems leakages. Refrigerant R1234yf is now used to substitute R134a inside mobile air conditioning systems. Thermodynamic properties of R1234yf are similar to R134a. Also, it has a very low GWP of 4, compared to 1430 for R134a, making it a proper choice for future automobile refrigerants. The purpose of this research is to represent the main operating and performance differences between R1234yf and R134a. Experimental analysis was carried out on the automotive air conditioning system (AACS) with 3 kW nominal capacity, to test and compare the performance of R134a with R1234yf. Experiments were accomplish
... Show MoreThe research involved attempt to inhibit the corrosion of Al-Si-Cu alloy in 2.5x10-3 mol.dm-3 NaOH solution (pH=11.4) by addition of six different inhibitors with three concentrations (1x10-3, 1x10-2, and 0.1 mol.dm-3). These inhibitors include three organic materials (sodium acetate, sodium benzoate, and sodium oxalate) and three inorganic materials (sodium chromate, disodium phosphate, and sodium sulphate). The data that concerning polarization behaviour are calculates which include the corrosion potential (Ecorr) and current density (icorr), cathodic and anodic Tafel slopes (bc & ba), and polarization resistance (Rp). Protection efficiency (P%) and activation energy (Ea) values were calculated for inhibition by the six inhibitors. The
... Show MoreBackground: Corn Syrup is food syrup higher of carbohydrate, depending on grade. The study aimed to assess efficiency of Corn syrup as cytological fixative.
Subjects and methods: This was laboratory based study, it has been conducted at Elrazi University included apparently 30 healthy students have been involved in this study.
Results: Out of 30 smears fixed with 95% alcohol, 76.7% (n=23) shows excellent nuclear stain, 23.3% (n= 7) shows good nuclear stain. 70% (n=21) show excellent cytoplasmic stain, 26.7% (n=8) shows good cytoplasmic stain, 3.3% (n=1) shows poor cytoplasmuc stain.
Out of 30 smears fixed with corn solution, 60
... Show MoreObjective: To determine the effectiveness of the Nursing Management Education Program upon the Nurse
Managers' Knowledge about planning in Nursing Management at Baghdad City Hospitals.
Methodology: A Quasi-experimental study in which a purposive "non-probability" sample of (50) Nurse
Managers was selected from Baghdad City Hospitals. These Managers were divided into two equal groups of
(25) Nurse Managers for each (study and control ones). A questionnaire was developed as a tool for data
collection. A pilot study was carried out to test the reliability of the questionnaire for the period from April 2nd to
June 20th 2007. The pre-post test approach was applied to the study and control groups as mean for the quasiexperime
Teaching techniques are the vehicles, which are used by teachers to help pupils learn and gain experiences and create positive classroom activities, as much as these techniques are varied, they lead to successful and fruitful learning in the foreign language. They help teachers achieve their objectives (Asowrth, 1985: 124).
The English language teacher's work is an active and purposeful one when he can plan carefully and frequently make the necessary changes in the contents and methods of teaching programme to fit the interest and needs of pupils. It seems that the majority of primary English teachers' interests does not go far in planning their work, and do not understand which o
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