Background: In developing countries, neonatal death account for 99% of neonatal deaths in the world. In Iraq, the neonatal death rates are still unknown.
Objectives: To assess the death rate and the major causes of neonatal death in the neonatal care unit (NCU) in Baghdad Teaching Hospital-Medical City/ Baghdad.
Patients &Methods: A descriptive study of 564 neonatal deaths in the neonatal care unit (NCU) from 1st of January 2007 to 31st of December 2009 in Baghdad Teaching Hospital-Medical City/ Baghdad was carried out, and the causes of death as registered in the neonatal medical records and death certificates were studied.
Results: Neonatal death rate relative to admission was (18.5%). The Neonatal death rates were lower i

Recent accumulated evidences suggest that prolactin is an important immunomodulator and may have a role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of hyperprolactinemia in women with SLE and to evaluate its correlation with disease flares. Serum prolactin levels were measured in 62 women with SLE and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In patients and control groups prolactin levels were determined by immunoradiometric assay (IRMA). The prolactin level was found to be higher than normal rang in (40.3%) of SLE patients in active stage versus only (8.06%) of the same SLE patients but in the inactive stage and in (4%) of control group, the elevation was ranging between mi

Background Bilateral cleft lip deformity is much more difficult to correct than unilateral cleft lip deformity. The complexity of the deformity and the sensitive relationships between the arrangement of the muscles and the characteristics of the external lip necessitate a comprehensive preoperative plan for management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the repair of bilateral cleft lip using the Byrd modification of the traditional Millard and Manchester methods. A key component of this repair technique is focused on reconstruction of the central tubercle.

Methods Fourteen patients with mean age of 5.7 months presented with bilateral cleft lip deformity and were operated on using a mod

      Ovarian cystic lesions are one of the most common pathologic disorders in gynecology and a common reason for surgery. The purpose of the study was to determine the histopathologic characteristics of benign cystic ovarian lesions and their correlation to age, type, laterality, locularity, and size of ovarian cystic lesions. This is a retrospective study carried out on 100 cases from the archive in the Imam Kadhimian medical city and the educational laboratories of Baghdad medical city, out of 100 patients, the most common age group that underwent cystectomy was 20-40 years old. The vast majority of the cysts were non-neoplastic (67%) while the neoplastic cysts occupy 33% of all cysts. The most common non-neoplastic cyst was cor

Background: Post-partum depression (PPD) is a form of postnatal depression that affects mothers. Clinical manifestations usually appear within six months after delivery. Risk factors that influence the severity of post-partum depression are not fully known in the Iraqi population.
Objectives: We aim to evaluate the risk factors and identify potential predictors that may influence the symptom levels (severity) of post-partum depression among Iraqi women from Baghdad.
Subjects and Methods: The current study is cross-sectional, and we used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a cut-off value of 13 to differentiate patients into two those with lower symptom levels (LSL) and higher symptom levels (HSL). We also explored p

During recent decades, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives as a result of wars, economic blockade, or acts of violence and terrorism. The loss of a family member, especially husband makes women suddenly bears full responsibility for the family. Lost could impose new changes in psychological, social, and economical roles. These changes usually combine with the negative effects aftermath the lost trauma. Some of the reports in Iraq showed there were increased and huge numbers of widows and orphans. This study aimed to identify the aspects of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) in Iraq women who lost their close relatives (especially husbands). 52 of Iraqi women who lost their husband and 49 women who experienced other traumatic events

Objective: Breast cancer is regarded as a deadly disease in women causing lots of mortalities. Early diagnosis of breast cancer with appropriate tumor biomarkers may facilitate early treatment of the disease, thus reducing the mortality rate. The purpose of the current study is to improve early diagnosis of breast by proposing a two-stage classification of breast tumor biomarkers fora sample of Iraqi women.

Methods: In this study, a two-stage classification system is proposed and tested with four machine learning classifiers. In the first stage, breast features (demographic, blood and salivary-based attributes) are classified into normal or abnormal cases, while in the second stage the abnormal breast cases are

Background: Neonatal jaundice (NJ) is a common problem worldwide and frequent in Iraq . Several reports were published on prevalence, distribution, causes and treatment of NJ.This clinical trial was carried out to demonstrate the effect of combinations of Castrol oil, riboflavin and magnesium in mechanical elimination of bilirubin after enhancing hepatic excretion by phototherapy.
Patients & methods: This clinical trial included a total of 61 significantly jaundiced neonates who were admitted to the special care baby unit of Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, medical city complex, Baghdad, Iraq, during the period June 1st to Dec.31st 2007. Phototherapy was applied alone in 30 neonates (group 1) and p

Background: Fifteen percent of small for gestational age are small as a result of fetal growth restriction, which could be due to maternal, placental or fetal factors. It is an important clinical problem associated with increase perinatal mortality and morbidity. Leptin is a protein that produced by many tissues including the placenta (syncytiotropholoast). Dysregulation of leptin metabolism may be implicated in preeclampsia and IUGR pathogenesis.
Aim of the study: To study the trend of leptin level alteration in maternal serum and cord blood in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction and its relation with fetal outcome.
Methods: An Analytic, cross- sectional study conducted in Al-Elwyia Maternity Teaching Hospital and