Background: Pressure ulcers remain a serious complication for immobile patients and a burden for healthcare professionals. Objectives: To assess health behavior prevention among critical care nurses regarding pressure ulcer prevention for hospitalized patients and to find out the relationship between critical care nurses health behavior prevention and sociodemographic variables. Methods: A cross-sectional design study was carried out in critical care units at three teaching hospitals. The study period extended from November 1, 2022, to January 28, 2023. Non-probability purposive sampling, whose target population was 100 nurses who work in critical care units in Baghdad, Iraq. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The data was collected from November 10th through December 23rd, 2022. Study instruments consist of two parts. First, the demographic sheet included sociodemographic information about the participants. The second part includes nurses’ attitudes toward the pressure ulcer prevention instrument (APuP). The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: Findings of the current study showed nearly three-quarters (74%) of critical care nurses had positive health behaviors regarding pressure ulcer prevention based on a total mean score of 2.26. Conclusion: This study concluded that the critical care units’ nurses surveyed in this study demonstrate an acceptable level of knowledge regarding pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. Continuing education or in-service training should be provided to enhance critical care units’ nurses’ practices and positive health behaviors about pressure ulcer prevention.
Keloids are prevalent fibro-proliferative tumors, and treating them is still a challenge although intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) are effective, they have frequently linked adverse effects. Pentoxifylline (PTX) is an anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory, and vasodilator. It has not yet been tested for intralesional injection in keloids. The aim of the study is to study the efficacy of intralesional pentoxifylline versus triamcinolone acetonide in keloid scars of 40 patients. In this study, 40 patients with keloid scars regardless of the cause of keloid born, 20 patients have injected with intralesional triamcinolone acetonide, and 20 patients with intralesional pentoxifylline every two weeks until the lesi
... Show MoreBackground: Oral Lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell mediated chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Recent studies have reported an increased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in such patients. This suggests that reactive oxygen species may have a role in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. Oxidative stress in OLP release molecules consisting of granzymes resulting in local tissue damage in the effectors. Antioxidants that can defend against oxidative stress in the body cells include enzymes, as well as non- enzymatic antioxidants, such as melatonin, uric acid, vitamin A and E. Purpose: To study the level of salivary vitamin E and uric acid as antioxidant agents in patients with OLP and compared with healthy con
... Show MoreHepatitis B infection is a prominent infectious disease caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), which infect liver and is considered as the main cause of liver cirrhosis, fibrosis and liver cancer worldwide. A pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin32 is believed to have a role in chronic HBV infections. Since its role in CHB infections is remain unclear, this study was done to detect IL-32 gene expression in CHB patients in order to identify its exact role. A total number of 110 blood samples were collected from Gastroenterology and Hepatology Teaching Hospital in Baghdad Medical City from CHB patients for both males and females with different age groups according to the research ethics form then sent to Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL),
... Show MoreObjectives: to assess chronic diseases patients’ knowledge toward stroke risk factors and warning signs, besides
determining the relationship between chronic diseases patients’ knowledge and their sociodemographical
characteristics.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at public medical clinics which has started from December
2
nd, 2008 to August 8th, 2009. A purposive "non-probability" sample of (300) chronic diseases individuals who
were clients of Public Medical Clinics who have one or more of the following chronic diseases (hypertension,
diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, and previous stroke), in Baghdad city. The data were collected through the use
of a constructed questionnaire which consists
Background: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic kidney disease is a condition that results from an indefinite change in the structure and function of the kidneys. A slow, steady progression characterizes it and is irreversible. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the findings of certain biochemical and hematological tests in samples from Iraqi CKD patients. Methods: This study included 90 subjects, where 70 patients with chronic kidney disease and 20 healthy individuals. Blood samples were collected from the patients during their visits to Ghazi Al-Hariri Surgical Specialties' Hospital- Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. Age, sex and body mass index were assessed for each participant followed by renal function tests [serum blood urea, creatinine, uric acid a
... Show MoreBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu
... Show MoreThe resistance of Staphylococcus aureus to ciprofloxacin has complicated the problem of treating staphylococcal associated infections in which MRSA is the causative agent since ciprofloxacin was the drug of choice to treat such infections. Our study investigated the incidence of Ciprofloxacin resistant S. aureus isolates that were also methicillin resistant among Iraqi patients. The obtained bacterial isolates were tested for Ciprofloxacin resistance using agar dilution method and the sequence of gyrA and parC. The results revealed that about 8% of the isolated MRSA strains were Ciprofloxacin resistant and the resistance was due to mutation in gyrA rather than parC.
Background: left ventricular hypertrophy is independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The presence of diabetic complications such as autonomic neuropathy and retinopathy may predict cardiac structural changes in diabetic patients. Objective: To explore the chance of occurrence of left ventricular hypertrophy in diabetic patients and whether it is related to the presence of other diabetic complications. Methods: ninty seven (97) normotensive diabetic patients (57) type II with mean duration of diabetes of (12±6 y) and forty (40) type I with mean duration of (8±6 y) were studied by echocardiography and compared with 41 patients as control. Results: The LVMI was significantly higher in type II diabetics compared
... Show MoreThis study aims to find the chemosensitive dysfunction incidence in COVID-19-positive patients and its recovery.
We collected the data from sixty-five patients, all COVID-19 positive, quarantined in-hospital between 5 April 2020 and 17 May 2020, by a questionnaire distributed in the quarantine ward.
Smell dysfunction appeared in 89.23% with or without other symptoms of COVID-19. 39.66% of them recovered the sense of smell. Taste dysfunction found in 83.08% patients with other COVID-19 symptoms. Only 29.63% of them recovered. The recovery took 1–3 weeks, and most