BACKGROUND: Febrile neutropenia occurs in more than 80% of patients with hematological malignances specially after chemotherapy cycles and an infectious source is identified in approximately 20–30%. Various bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogen contribute to the development of neutropenic fever and without prompt antibiotic therapy mortality rate can be as high as 70%. AIM: The objective of the study was to document the current sites of infection in patients with febrile neutropenia in hematological ward in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, the microorganisms and antibiotic susceptibly in culture positive cases and mortality rate in 1 week and 4 weeks after episode of fever. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred cases of febrile neutropenia were evaluated in Hematological Ward of Baghdad Teaching Hospital from January 2019 to January 2020. Detailed history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations were conducted and statistical analysis of the results was done. RESULTS: One hundred cases of febrile neutropenia, mean age of presentation was 41.56 ± 10.5 years. Acute myeloid leukemia (36%) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (26%) were the most common underlying hematological disorder, followed by Aplastic Anemia, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and Hodgkin Lymphoma. Temperature ranged from 38°C to 39°C with mean temperature of 38.4°C and most of the patient presented with short duration of fever, 57% had absolute neutrophil count below 150 cells/μL with mean duration of neutropenia was 14.01 days. Respiratory tract was the most common site of infection (52%) followed by urinary tract (18%) and in 16% had no obvious focus of infection. Thirty percent of cases were culture Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganism which were more common 62.9% which were generally sensitive to Aminoglycosides while Gram-positive microorganism constituted 29.6% of isolated bacteria and were generally sensitive to vancomycin. No mortality documented 1 and 4 weeks after fever. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the most frequent sites of infection in patient with febrile neutropenia were respiratory tract followed by urinary tract infection, while 16% had undetermined source of infection. Thirty percent of patients had a positive blood culture with Escherichia coli being the most common infecting microorganism, Gram-negative microorganisms were more common than Gram-positive microorganism and fungal infection constituted about 6% of growth. Significant association was found between the fever and longer duration of neutropenia and the greater severity of neutropenia was observed. No mortality related to febrile neutropenia was documented.
Background: Oxidative stress is a deleterious process that can be an important mediator of damage to cell structures and consequently various disease states. Exposure to free radicals from a variety of sources has led organisms to produce a series of defense mechanisms. The antioxidant ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing ferroxidase that can oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to its nontoxic ferric (Fe3+) form. Ferrous iron (Fe2+) is extremely damaging because of its ability to generate toxic free radicals. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Previous studies reported that reactive oxygen species may be involved in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. The aim of this study was to estimate the
... Show MoreAbstract:Leukemia is a cancer of early blood forming cells. Most of them are cancers of white blood cells , however some leukemias start in other blood cell types.Electrolytes have modulatory effects on several biological mechanisms in the body namely as stabilizers,element of structures, essential element for hormonal function and also co-factors for a number of enzymes.In this study serum electrolytes levels were measured in patients with acute leukemia (AL) disorders before and after chemotherapy(anthracycline, doxorubicin, cytarabine ,prednisone, vincristine and doxorubicin) during one month and compared with that of control group. Blood samples were obtained from (43) patients (28 males and 15 females) aged (15-55)years;juset before an
... Show MoreHBV and HCV are the major causes of chronic liver diseases throughout the world, and constitute a major global health risk. There is accumulated evidence that the imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatic infections and may influence the clinical outcome and disease progression. This study was undertaken to analyze the circulating levels of Tumor Necrotic Factor (TNF-α) and Th2 cytokine IL-10 in patients infected with Hepatitis B and C virus. The study population consisted of 30 patients with chronic HBV, in addition to other 30 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited on their first examination at the Al-Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad
... Show MoreBackground: Both bladder cancer and schistosomiasis are endemic in Egypt. The former has a unique epidemiological pattern, which has been linked to bladder infestation by Schistosoma. The last decades have witnessed a great reduction in the infection rate of schistosomiasis and a decline in the incidence and changes in the patterns of bladder cancer. Whether these changes are linked to each other or a co-incidence is a subject of investigations.
Method: Literature on epidemiological data of bladder cancer and Schistosoma in Egypt was searched for in Medline, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Furthermore, a hand search for literature and reports released by the Egyptian government and involved agencies was perfo
... Show MoreBackground: Cigarette smoking (CS) is a periodontal disease risk factor, affecting clinical parameters such as bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and proinflammatory cytokines level. This study examines the impact electronic cigarette use on proinflammatory cytokines and periodontal parameters. Methods: In this non-randomized study, ninety participants diagnosed with gingivitis were assigned into three groups. examined the effect of oral hygiene instructions on periodontal parameters and inflammatory biomarkers. Thirty CS (n=30) vaping electronic-cigarettes (e-cig) (n=29), and non-smoker (NS) (n=31) was included. Clinical parameters including PI, BOP, and GI were recorded at baseline and after 3 weeks
... Show MoreObjective To highlight the main demographic characteristics and clinical profiles of female patients registered with breast cancer in Iraq; focusing on the impact of age.Methods This retrospective study enrolled 1172 female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer at the Main Center for Early Detection of Breast Cancer/Medical City Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. Data were extracted from an established information system, developed by the principal author under supervision of WHO, that was based on valid clinical records of Iraqi patients affected by breast cancer. The recorded information regarding clinical examination comprised positive palpable lumps, bloody nipple discharge, skin changes, bilateral breast involvement, tumor
... Show MoreOsteoporosis (OP) is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in bone strength reduction and increased fracture susceptibility. Estrogen deficiency in post-menopausal women is possibly responsible for the instability between bone formation and resorption, which is managed by specific osteoclastogenic cytokines that may be leading to resorption. This study aims to estimation of the concentrations of interleukins −8, −17, −22, beside to certain parameters in blood serum and explained their roles in the development of osteoporosis pathogenicity in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods A case-control study included 108 Iraqi postmenopausal women participa
... Show MoreOnomatopoeia has always been a functional poetic device which enjoys a high sound significance in the poetry of many languages. In modern English and Arabic poetry alike, it proves to be vital and useful at different levels: musical, thematic and at the level of meaning. Still, the cultural difference looms large over the ways it is employed by the poets of each. The present paper investigates the employment of onomatopoeia in the poetry of D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) and Badr Shakir al-Sayyab (1926-1964) who are chosen due to the importance they enjoy in modern English and Arabic poetry and the richness of their poems in onomatopoeias. The conclusions reached at are in a sense related to cultural differences which govern the use of onomato
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