ARAK MEDICAL UNIVERSITY JOURNAL (AMUJ)
Year:2003 | Volume:6 | Issue:1 (22)|Papers Count:12

Chemical weapons are among the most violent weapons of mass destruction used during wars. Unfortunately, these dreaful weapons were frequently used by Iraq against Iranian soldiers during Iran-Iraq war, so that we are still witnessing the late onset consequence of the exposure to these weapons among their victims.Regarding the fact that the usage of chemical weapons is a threat against humanity with many hazardous effects which tend to appear even after years of exposure, it seems very important to have a complete and correct undestanding about the nature of these gasses in order to gain more information about the clinical pictures of their victims leading to a better approach to the management of there patients. The present article in the result of thorough review and analysis to the textbooks articles and papers published in the last two decades. There are minor and major complications associated with the exposure to these lethal gasses, ranging from simple medical problems like skin colour changes to more serious conditions such as severe ophthalmologic and pulmonary injuries and malignancies. There complications are reviewed in two separate categories (regarding early onset as late onsent complications) in this article.

Introduction: The existence of acoustic trauma secondary to drill noise during chronic ear surgeries has not yet been clearly demonestrated. This investigation aims to document the hearing loss that occures in patients who underwent mastoidectomy.Materials and Methods: Sixty-three (38 male and 25 female) consecutive patients (11-57 years) who underwent modified radical mastoidectomy were included. In a concurrent clinical trial design, we measured bone conduction thresholds before and after (1 week and 1 month) operation on both sides.Bone conduction thresholds were assessed in 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz frequencies. Results: Paired-test results showed a satistically significant temporary (TTS) and permanent threshold shifts (PTS) were occured in the 2000-4000 Hz region for operated (on addition to 1000 Hz) and non-operated ears, but clinically PTSs were not remarkable and TTSs were important only for operated ear (P<0.05). The correlation between duration of noise exposure and magnitude of threshold shift was only significant in operated ear in 2000-4000 Hz region (P<0.05).Conclusion: We could not demonestrate any permanent hearing loss caused by drill-generated noise, but resultant noise is able to produce TTS in the operated ear in 2000-4000 Hz region. We found poor relationship between duration of noise exposure and magnitude of threshold shifts.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluting of salivary estriollevel in hospitalized women with diagnosis of preterm labor.Materials and Methods: This was an analytic observationat investigation. During this study, salivary estriol specimens were obtained from 43 women at 24 to 34 weeks 6 days gestational age with symptoms of preterm lab or .We compared maternal salivary estriollevels between case group with preterm labor.Results: This study showed that the mean of salivary estriollevels in 31, 32, 33, 34 weeks in case group were higher than control group. Reciever-operator curve showed that exceeding a 0.1875 ng/ml salivary estriollevel was associated with occurrence of preterm delivery.Conclusion: This study showed a wide range of salivary estriollevels in different pregnants and this distinction became more extent with lengthening gestation. Detection of increased estriollevel may be clinically helpful in defining at risk woman for preterm birth.

Introduction: Sympathetic skin response (SSR) is a central, polysynaptic process which is attributed to sympathetic sudomotor activity. The descinding pathway presents spinal sympathetic system to sweat glands of hands and feets skin. The glands which are affected in reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). Materials and Methods: In present study, SSRs were recorded from left hands of 62 adult healthy subjects and 12 affected hands of RSD patients in relaxed, supine position at room temperature. Recording were performed by a pair of silver cup electrodes (1cm2) after stimulation of contralateral median nerve at volar aspect of wrist, all connected to a polygraph (physiograph, Narco, USA) to record at least five stimulation recording prosedure in each subject. Results: Comparison of mean latency, amplitude, duraion and shape of responses in RSD 'patients with normal control group showed significant differences between duration and amplitudes (P=0.0007 and P=0.0001) while the latencies were not different and the shape of responses were mostly biphasic in both RSD and normal group. Conclusion: Hyperactivities of SSRs in RSD patients are due to sudomotor changes of skin resistance, the SSR may also play a role in the quantitive evaluation of patients with suspected RSD.

Introduction: Nausea and vomiting are a common manifestation in anatomic and functional disorders and these are current complication after general anesthesia and are unpleasent and with secondary complication. Nausea and vomiting are the most common complications after general anesthesia.Materials and Methods: In this study we compared three methods which one of them is droperidol with other methods consisting of IV metoc1opramide and placebo. This controlled study was done in teaching Vali Asr hospital. Total number of patient was 300. Type of sampling was random. Type of operation was laparatomy and all of them had general anesthesia. We divided them in three equal groups (droperidol group, metoclopramide group and placebo group). In this study we used from history and examination and we finished puzzles and we use from statistication.Results: We concluded that there is valuable difference between metoclopramide and droperidol group (with considering P=0.000). The results were shown that: droperidol is more effective than metoclopramide in the prevention of postoperative vomiting after abdominal surgery.Conclusion: With comparison of these data we fined that droperidol is a suggestive and valuable method also effective method in preventing postoperative vomiting. Also finding were shown that there isn't a meaning relation between age the kind of abdominal surgery and postoperative vomiting.

Introduction: Saffron (crocus sativus L.), an important spice rich in carotenoids, is used in folk medicine to treat numerous diseases. This study examines the effects of saffron consumption on innate and humoral immunity of healthy male students.Materials and Methods: 41 healthy volunteered university students in two control and case groups were included in this study and consumed respectively milk and milk containing saffron for 6 weeks. Blood samples were collected from the subjects at weeks 0, 3 and 6. Innate immunity was evaluated by determining the percentage and counts of monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, platelets and the total white cells, CRP concentration and C3 and C4 concentrations and humoral immunity was assessed by deterning the percentage of lymphocytes and the concentrations of IgG, IgM and IgA.Results: Three weeks after saffron consumption, monocytes percentage and IgG concentration increased significantly (P<0.05, P=0.01). Total white blood cells and platelets count also reduced significantly (P <0.05). After 6 weeks, monocytes percentage and IgG concentration reduced significantly (P<0.05, P< 0.001) and platelets count increased significantly (P<0.05) as compared with week 3.Conclusion: This investigation demonstrated that saffron consumption enhances innate and humoral immunity systems and has anti-inflammatory effects. These effects depending on the duration of saffron consumption.

Introduction: Compensatory renal growth (CRG) is growth of the remaining functional nephrons and interstitium after some nephrous have been surgically removed or damaged due to disease. This growth includes the increase of kidney weight caused by hepertrophy and hyperplasia. Although uremic patients are often treated with growth hormone (GH), it is thought that GH may actually increase the degree of renal hypertrophy and the progress of CRG to the scarring and therefore accelerate renal failure. The aim was ultrastructural study of the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on the renal tubulointerstitial changes following 5/6th nephrectomy (SNX).Materials and Methods: For this 48 rats from male Lewis and Dwarf Lewis rats strains were used. Each strain was divided to control, control +rhGH, SNX and SNX +rhGH groups. Dwarf rats strain have only 10% of circulating GH compared to the normal strain. One month later the rats were injected with exogenous growth hormone (rhGH) or saline two times per day for 30 consecutive days.Results: The results showed tubular basement membranes was partially thickened in control +rhGH group and it was too thickened and multi-layered in the SNX groups. Tubular basement membrane was too thickened in the SNX-rhGH group in compared to SNX only. Many of Convoluted tubules lost their apical architecture and mitochondria often appeared damaged and cytoplasm contained increased numbers of lysosomes. After SNX areas of focal fibrosis were common.These areas were become infiltrated with modified fibroblasts and myofibroblasts were present. The interstitium become filled with extracellular fibres and amorphous material.Conclusion: It is evident that many of these changes were made more sever by treatment with rhGH in both strains following SNX. So it seems GH caused more synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins and ultrastructural changes of the renal tubulointerstitial.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of pneumococcal infections, to determine penicillin and ceftriaxone susceptibility pattern among Streprococcus pneumoniae and to evaluate the risk factors of acquisition of pneumococcal infections in patients of Sari hospitals.Materials and Methods: In this prospective study during one year (2002-2003), all patients admitted with pneumococcal infections in teaching and non-teaching hospitals were included. Diagnosis of pneumococcal infection was performed based on positive microbiological and appropriate clinical and standard laboratory findings. MICs of penicillin and ceftriaxone were determined by Agar dilution method and interpreted by NCCLS methodology. For statistically analysis Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used and P < 0.05 was defined statistically significant.Results: Seventy five episodes of pneumococcal infections among 32 pediatric patients and 43 adults were identified. The pattern of Streprococcus pneumoniae infections was similar between children and adults, and the most common infections were pneumonia (65.3%) and bacteremia (24%). The rate of penicillin and ceftriaxone nonsusceptible Streprococcuspneumoniae isolated from pediatric patients was higher than that in adult patients (93.8% versus 53.4%, P < 0.01). This finding was correlated to prior penicillin use that was more common in children (37.5%) than in adults (7%), P=0.001.The susceptibility pattern of Streprococcus pneumoniae to penicillin and ceftriaxone isolated form pediatric patients and adults was different (6.2% from children, 46.6% in adults, P = 0.0009). Eighty four percent of adults and 6.2% of pediatric patients had major underlying diseases (P<0.0001). These findings explain why adult patients tended to run higher mortality (30.2%) than children (6.8%).Conclusion: This survey emphasis on vaccination of young children and elderly with major underlying diseases to prevent pneumococcal infections.