Journal of Inflammatory Diseases
Year:2009 | Volume:12 | Issue:4 (49)|Papers Count:14

Background: Pulmonary complications are known to occur in over half of the patients exposed to sulfur mustard (SM). There is controversial regarding the role of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in different airway diseases.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between lung function and ECSOD activity in patient with lung injuries due to SM.Methods: This was a case-control study carried out on 220 patients with lung complication due to SM in the city of Sardasht (Iran) in 2007. Spirometry was used to assess pulmonary function followed by measurement of EC-SOD activity. T test was employed to examine the differences between study groups. Pearson correlation coefficient was also used to find the possible correlation between EC-SOD activity and the lung function.Findings: The mean EC-SOD activity in control group (70.5±10.8U/L) was higher than that of moderate to severe group 67.0±6.1 U/L (p<0.001). There was no significant difference for mean EC-SOD activity between mild and control groups. Significant and direct association between ECSOD activities and lung function was established (p<0.001).Conclusion: According to our findings, inactivation of EC-SOD may lead to progressive inflammation and lung injury due to sulfur mustard.

Background: Consequence analysis of toxic chemicals releases has important influence on emergency response planning and reduction of fatalities.Objective: To determine consequences of toxic chemicals releases in petrochemical feed and product pipelines network. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (Petzone, Iran) during 2006-2007. Initially, a total number of 60 pipelines were evaluated using the chemical exposure index and the most hazardous chemicals selected for further analysis. Later, the lethal concentrations of chemicals were calculated by probit equation and local meteorological data assessed. In the end, the toxic release dispersion modeling was performed using of areal location of hazardous atmospheric program, and the fatal length for emergency response planning offered.Findings: Butadiene pipeline showed the highest chemical exposure index value however, the chlorine pipeline was found to have the most hazard distance based on life-threatening health effects of emergency response planning guideline (ERPG-3). The LC1, LC50 & LC99 in F condition were about 703m, 413m and 248m, respectively.Conclusion: Determination of hazard distance and emergency response planning for chlorine pipeline based on LC1 and in F condition will supply the lowest level of fatality and highest margin of safety in areas adjacent to petrochemical feed and product pipelines network.

Background: Several studies have shown that the dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers such as nimodipine, nifedipine, and amlodipine have anticonvulsant effect in a range of animal models.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of nimodipine, nifedipine and amlodipine on PTZ-induced seizure threshold with further comparison of results in mice.Methods: In 2007, this experimental study was carried out in School of Veterinary Medicine of Tabriz Islamic Azad University. Male NMRI mice were randomly divided into groups of ten members. Mice were intraperitoneally pretreated with vehicle or dihydropyridines (0.5-20 mg/kg) before the determination of intravenously PTZ-induced seizure threshold.Findings: The PTZ seizure threshold was 33.4±0.42 mg/kg in control group. In animals pretreated with nimodipine, nifedipine and amlodipine, the PTZ seizure threshold dose-dependently increased, compared with vehicle group. Nimodipine and nifedipine were found to have the highest and lowest anticonvulsant effects, respectively.Conclusion: Our results suggest that the dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers induce an anticonvulsant activity probably via an antagonistic effect on voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.

Background: Multiple Sclerosis is the most common disabilitating neurological disease. More than 80% of MS patients show symptoms of lower urinary system impairment. Although rarely life threatening, these complications can affect the quality of life.Objective: The aim of this study was to find the frequency of bladder and sexual impairments among MS patients.Methods: All patients with diagnosis of MS with no previous history of bladder or sexual dysfunctions, referred to Farshchian hospital in Hamadan during 2006, were included. Information regarding the demographic characteristics and urinary/sexual problems were collected using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS ver.10.Findings: Out of 103 individuals, 85 (82.5%) and 18 (17.5%) were males and females, respectively. 76.6% of cases were found to have at least one sign of urinary problem. Also, it was revealed that 43.8% of individuals had at least one symptom of sexual dysfunction. A minimum of one sonography on urinary system to control the possible roblems was performed in 14.6% of patients. Additionally, 7.8% of patients had experienced at least one period of urinary infection.Conclusion: Considering the high frequency of bladder and sexual dysfunctions in patient with MS, it is recommended that in addition to clinical examinations, the routine urinary test, urinary tract sonography, and urology and gynecology consultations to be performed for patients with MS.Appropriate and symptomatic treatment should also be considered for motor /bladder function/ atiguability& depression to improve the quality of life & reduce the burden of disease.

Background: The last two decades have witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of people suffering a variety of painful syndromes.Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the correlation between body mass index and chronic pain in hospital workers during 2006.Methods: In this prospective descriptive study 210 cases were enrolled during 2006 at Beheshti and Ayatollah Kashani medical centeres. Variables such as demographic information, BMI, clinical presentations of chronic pain, and VAS were included. The data were analyzed using regression and correlation coefficient statistical tests.Findings: All cases were female. Most cases aged between30-39 years. The most common types of chronic pain were low back pain, knee pain, headache, and a combination of these discomforts. Nearly 65% of cases had severe pain. BMI range was at 19-24. There was no significant difference between BMI and VAS for chronic pain.Conclusion: Many workers suffer chronic pains leading to economical damages. Decrease in chronic pain could be achieved by considering the association between an individual's bodily strength and the person's physical activities and also vocational psychology hygiene.

Background: Job stress is one of the important subjects in organizational behavior. It could cause physiological and psychological disruptive effects on personnel leading to possible diverse effects on their well being.Objective: To determine effect of nurses empoverment on coping with job stresses in Booali and Qods Hospitals.Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental study in which 78 nurses were included using a simple randomized sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed by spss software. Finding: Our data showed that the educational program caused a reduction in stress level from 43.6±3.4 to 38.3±3.2 and the difference was found to be significant when paired T-test used (p<0.001).Conclusion: Education of stress management could help nurses in coping with stress leading to reduction of unpleasant effects of stress on their health and professional performance, effectively.

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in children and a preventable cause of mental retardation. Treatment with thyroid hormones must be initiated before the fourth week after birth to avoid irreversible CH complications.Objective: Study conducted to determine the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in newborns in Qazvin province in 2006 to 2008.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted based on data collected through the Neonatal CH Screening Project in Qazvin Province during two years between March 2006 and March 2008. All newborns in rural and urban areas were screened at the third to fifth days of their lives. TSH concentration was tested by filter paper and ELISA.Finding: A total of 33488 neonates were screened. The coverage rates of screening in the first and second years and also the recall rates during the same period were 84%, 95%, 2.6%, and 3.2%, respectively. The incidence rate of hypothyroidism was one per 446 newborns (0.22%) in the first year and one per 447 newborns (0.22%) in second year. Among the neonates with hypothyroidism, 40%, 26.7%, and 33.3% were found to have TSH levels of 5-9.9, 10-19.9 and values > 20 mU/L, respectively.Conclusion: The Neonatal Screening Program for CH was shown to have a high caliber to be implemented as the first screening test for newborns at a nationwide level. This could provide a basis for better understanding and timely detection of CH and other metabolic diseases in the country.

Background: Success rate in composite restorations is associated with the degree of polymerization and light intensity. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the light intensity of curing units in private offices in Qazvin 2003.Methods: In this analytical study the light intensity of 62 light curing units were investigated before and after cleaning their light emitting tips using a radiometer. The results were classified in 3 groups as follows: A: sufficient intensity> 300 mw/cm2, B: borderline intensity (200-299 mw/cm2), and C: insufficient intensity<200 mw/cm2. Data were analyzed using chi-square and Pearson correlation tests.Findings: Mean intensity of curing units was 350.96 mw/cm2 which increased significantly to 371.6 mw/cm2 (p=0.01). Before cleaning, 67.8% of curing tips were in group A, 14.5% in B and 17.7% in C. After cleaning, 72.6% were in sufficient intensity group, 11.3% in borderline intensity, and 14.1% in insufficient intensity. Removing curing tips' contamination caused a significant increase in light intensity (p=0.01).Conclusion: Periodic assessment of light intensity and quality control of light curing units are mandatory.

Background: Clinical longevity is a primary concern when selecting a restorative dental material. Clinical failure is the point at which the restoration is no longer useful and may pose sever risks if not replaced. Objective: The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the failure in CL II amalgam restorations in operative department of dental school affiliated to Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was an analytic-descriptive study performed on 69 patients who were previously treated at Yazd dental school and invited to be reexamined for treated teeth. All Patients (220 teeth) with problems in their amalgam restoration were thoroughly examined under appropriate light. Evaluation criteria were direct observation, probing by explorer, dental floss, and radiography. Patients were requested to fill a questionnaire regarding a number of subjective questions and oral hygiene.Findings: Objective observations were overhang 25.5%, secondary caries 15%, improper contact 7.3%, fracture 1.4%, improper anatomic form 3.6%, ditch 3.6%, gap 0.4%, and restoration avulsion 0.5%. Regarding the subjective criteria, problems such as food impaction 13.2%, sensitivity to cold 8.2%, sensitivity to heat 5.9%, sensitivity to pressure 3.2%, gingival discomfort 3.2%, spontaneous pain 2.3%, and poor oral hygiene 15.8% were revealed.Conclusion: Although he difference in failure of amalgam restoration among all study groups was shown to be insignificant however, more strict supervision by dental attending concerning the proper implementation of procedures for an ideal restoration is recommended.

Background: Microalbuminuria is a marker for nephropathy in diabetic patients and recognition of albuminuria is an important step for early detection and evaluation of diabetes complications.Objective: To assess the reliability of urine dipstick tests for detection of albuminuria.Methods: The first morning urine samples from candidates for urinanalysis were collected and the results of dipstick tests for protein on 200 selected samples recorded. Urine albumin concentration was determined by electroimmunoassay and the level of urine creatinine determined by Jaffe method. The albumin/creatinine ratio was further calculated as an index of urine albumin excretion rate. Comparing with reference method, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PV+), and negative predictive value (PV-) of dipstick test for detection of microalbuminuria were calculated.Findings: Based on results obtained by dipstick test, 69 urine samples were negative for presence of protein, 51 trace (±), 22 (1+), 27 (2+), and 31 (3+). Detection limit of dipstick for urine albumin concentration ranged from 58 to 585 mg/L with a mean of 280 mg/L. When the reference method for detection of protein in urine samples was used, 35 urine specimens were negative for albuminuria, 85 with microalbuminuria, and 80 with macroalbuminuria. Dipstick test was found to produce false positive and negative results of 3 and 25%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PV+, PV- of dipstick test for detection of microalbuminuria were calculated at 70, 86, 96, and 37.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Chemical dipstick test is of poor sensitivity for detection of microalbuminuria. However, the severity of albuminuria among considerable numbers of diabetic patients is high enough to be detectable by urine dipsticks. While the positive predictive value of chemical urine dipstick tests are more or less at acceptable limit, the negative predictive values are controversial and need to be reevaluated by more sensitive and specific methods.

Background: Regarding the high prevalence of substance use among youth, its destructive effects and consequent problems, this research was performed.Objective: to determine the prevalence of substance use among students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS).Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on a representative sample of 845 students of GUMS in 2006. The data such as demographic information and history of substance use were collected using a questionnaire which completed by every single student. Later, the data were analyzed by EPI 2002 software and chi-square and Fisher-Exact tests.Findings: Due to incomplete responses, 18 questionnaires were excluded. Out of a total of 827 students, 30.1% had a history of substance use at least once during their lives. The prevalence rate of each substance in use was: cigarette (26.36%), alcohol (17.04%), opium (3.86%), cannabis (2.78%), ecstasy (2.05%), heroin (1.08), crystal (0.84%), cocaine (0.84%), morphine (0.6%) and others (0.6%). Substance use was significantly associated with male gender, higher age groups, living with friends or alone, and marital status. There were significant relationships between substance use during past 30 days and studying medicine and dentistry. In addition, a relationship between substance use; once or more during life and residency period, was observed. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the substance use among students of GUMS is considerably high and specific interventions seem to be necessary in preventing or reducing the rate of substance use in students.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is resistant to most antibiotics and is an important pathogen of nosocomial infections. Colonization with MRSA is no longer limited to hospitalized patients or persons with predisposing risk factors and at present there are several strains of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA).Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and also the colonization-associated risk factors. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted through random sampling of 1083 patients admitted to Qazvin hospitals from 2004 to 2006. Nasal swabs were obtained at admission and cultured on mannitol salt agar. Oxacillin-screening plate was used to demonstrate methicillinresistance strains of SA (according to NCCLS guidelines). Demographic and specific information were collected by questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Chi square test.Results: The participants’ age group ranged between 2 to 94 years (mean 42.24) among those, 468 (43.2%) were males and 615 (56.8%) females with 613 (56.6%) living in urban areas. Of 1083 individuals, 56 (5.2%) were SA carrier, 51 (4.7%) colonized with MSSA and 5(0.5%) with MRSA strains. Several factors such as occupation, family size, previous hospitalization, history of antibiotic therapy within the previous 2 months, and also the presence of chronic diseases were assessed, however, no significant relationship with MRSA colonization was found (p> 0.05).Conclusion: This study confirmed the presence of CA-MRSA in Qazvin. There was no significant relationship between the prevalence of CA-MRSA strains and the risk factors.

Background: Outbreaks of human parasitic diseases associated with the consumption of raw vegetables, often occur in developing and developed countries.Objective: To evaluate parasitic contamination of edible vegetables in Qazvin.Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study in which 150 samples of different vegetables including leek, parsley, lettuce, coriander, radish, spring onion, tarragon, basil, mint, and cress; collected from several greengroceries in Qazvin during 12 months between 2006-2007 were examined. Samples were evaluated for presence of metazoan and protozoan parasitic contaminations. The vegetable samples were washed with water and tested microscopically after performance of sedimentation method.Findings: Fifty three out of 150 samples (35.3%) were found to have parasitic contamination. Among those 45 (30%) and 8 (5.3%) were revealed to be metazoa and protozoa, respectively. Metazoan contaminations were detected by observation of helminthes’ eggs 13 (8.6%) and rhabditoid larva 32 (21.4%) in vegetables. The highest rate of contamination was detected in leek (60%), and the lowest in coriander and radish (20%). Regarding the parasitic infestation, rhabditoid larva with 21.4% and Hymenolepis nana ova with 0.7% were shown to have the highest and lowest rates, respectively.Conclusion: Based on our results, edible vegetables in Qazvin are the potential sources of several parasitic infections in human.  

Background: Choledochal cysts are congenital cystic dilatation of the extrahepatic and / or intrahepatic billiary tree. Treatment of choice is surgery which varies according to the type of choledochal cysts. The present case was a woman with abdominal pain, jaundice, nausea, vomiting and pruritus, underwent surgery at Shahid Rajai Hospital in Qazvin. Intraoperative finding was choledochal cyst (Type V). The extrahepatic cysts were excised and Roux- en-y hepaticojejunostomy, end to side jejunojejunostomy and cholecystectomy was performed which was accompanying with a good response.