Background: Hospital accreditation is a systematic external evaluation of a hospitalchr('39')s structures, processes, and outcomes by an independent professional accreditation body using published optimum, evidence‐based, and achievable standards. Accreditation is a strategy for ensuring the quality, safety, and productivity of hospital services. Implementing accreditation standards imposes a high cost on hospitals. Therefore, this cost should be offset by increased hospital efficiency. Hence, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the Iranian public hospitals’ efficiency and their accreditation status. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2019. The efficiency of general hospitals in Iran was assessed using the Pabon Lasso chart and three performance indicators of bed occupancy rate, average patient length of stay and hospital bed turnover. Then, the relationship between the efficiency of hospitals and their accreditation grade was examined. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests were used for data analysis using SPSS software. Results: There were 834 general hospitals with 108,275 active beds in Iran in 2018. The Iranian general hospitals had an average bed occupancy of 62.8%, an average patient length of stay of 2.6 days, and an average bed turnover of 93.4 times. Almost 15.3% of the hospitals performed well and were located in area 3 of the Pabon Lasso chart. About 36.1% and 48.6% of the hospitals had moderate and low efficiency, respectively. Approximately, 74% and 21% of hospitals had the accreditation status of 1 and 2, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the degree of accreditation of hospitals with their bed occupancy, bed turnover and bed turnover interval. Conclusion: The efficiency of public hospitals is low. A hospital accreditation grade is related to some of its efficiency indicators. Low efficiency and waste of resources will reduce the effectiveness of hospital and, consequently, its accreditation grade. Accordingly, the hospitalchr('39')s revenue will decrease and therefore, the hospitalchr('39')s productivity and accreditation grade will decrease and the hospital will be in a vicious cycle. Strengthening hospital accreditation standards and their proper implementation will increase the efficiency of hospitals.
Background: Several scoring systems are available to evaluate the cardiac surgery risk. Frailty increases the risk of adverse outcomes after surgery. The Frailty evaluation system is a relatively new method, and in this study, we compared the frailty scoring method with the conventional Euroscore method. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 88 elderly patients (over 65 years of age) undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in Seyed al Shohada Heart Center, Urmia, Iran, from October 2019 to March 2020. Patients undergoing other cardiac surgeries, patients with left main coronary artery involvement, patients with low-threshold chest pain, and life-threatening emergencies were excluded. At the preoperative period and based on the CAF (the Comprehensive Assessment of Frailty) Scoring System and the EuroScore system, the total score was calculated for each patient. Patients were followed up until one month after surgery in terms of morbidity and mortality. Patientschr('39') data were analyzed and the correlation between the total score of both systems and the postoperative consequences were statistically analyzed. Results: In this study, the mean age of patients was 70.84±5.07 (65-91) years and most of the patients were male, 65(73 9%).The mean ejection fraction of patients was 44.13±5%. Twelve patients (13.6%) had mild frailty (CAF score of 1 to 8), 74 patients (84.1%) had moderate frailty (CAF score of 9 to 18) and 2 patients (2.3%) had severe frailty (CAF score of 19 to 28). In the postoperative period, there were two cases of mortality (2.3%) and four cases of complications (4.55%). The mean serum creatinine level in dead patients was significantly higher than in discharged patients. We did not find any significant relationship between frailty CAF score and EuroSocre with postoperative complications. In a comparison of two methods for predicting surgery outcomes: the mean EuroScore in the two dead patients was significantly higher than discharged patients (8.11 vs 2.89 with p value=0.001). Conclusion: EuroSocre evaluation was a better predictor of postoperative mortality and its measurement is easy.
Background: The Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus (ECRL) and the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis (ECRB) are muscles of the posterior forearm compartment. variations in this area of the forearm are common and are usually diagnosed during surgery. Sometimes these variations are symptomatic and can be helpful in clinical procedures such as surgery. Diagnosis and identification of abnormalities can be used in academic studies to evaluate limb function. Reporting such variations is important in clinical practice and will help treat limb dysfunction. In this report, we report two cases of ECRL and ECRB muscle tendon variations in the upper third of the forearm. Case presentation: During routine dissection of the body of a 70-year-old man fixed in 10% formalin in the Department of Biology and Anatomy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, two cases of ECRL and ECRB muscle tendon variations were observed in the upper third of the left forearm. The fascia of the ECRL and ECRB muscles were separated, and following the ECRL muscle from the external epicondyle of the humerus to the outer third of the forearm, we observed that the tendon of this muscle was divided into two branches. We also observed that the ECRB muscle tendon split into two branches slightly below its origin. The branch had moved obliquely toward the lower end of the radius. at the lower end of the forearm, this tendon was connected to the ECRL muscle tendon by passing over the sub-branch of the ECRL muscle tendon and the depth of the retinaculum extensor. The submandibular tendon was attached to the base of the second Metacarpal bone along with the ECRL muscle tendon. The main branch of this muscle also had its main path to the lower end of the forearm. The lower end of the forearm was connected to the dorsal base of the second and third metacarpals by passing under the retinaculum extensor. Conclusion: Knowing these variations can help radiologists and surgeons in diagnosis and treatment.
Background: Degenerative scoliosis most commonly affects the lumbar spine in the elderly, resulting in facet and disc degeneration, leading to increased pain and progressive deformity. Due to the importance of the results of long fusion and the rate of coronary and sagittal correction of imbalance in patients with degenerative scoliosis, the present study was performed to evaluate the results of long fusion surgery in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis. Methods: The present study was performed as a prospective cohort study in patients with degenerative scoliosis who were candidates for surgery at Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan. Basic patient information including age, sex, anatomical location of vertebral deviation and slip, degree of severity of deviation based on cobb angle and number of previous surgeries were reviewed and recorded. The surgical characteristics of the patient were extracted from the medical record including the approach used, the anatomical location of the fusion, whether or not to perform decompression, the number of decompression and fusion levels, the amount of bleeding during surgery, and the duration of surgery. Results: Eleven female patients participated in this study. The mean age of patients was 55.64 years with a standard deviation of 7.67 years. The minimum age was 40 years and the maximum age was 66 years. Patientschr('39') symptoms included low back pain-leg pain (3 cases), back pain-lameness (2 cases) and back pain-leg pain-lameness (6 cases). All patients underwent two stages of surgery. Mean amount of bleeding and time of surgery in the second surgery were significantly reduced compared to the first surgery (p <0.05). Complications of surgery included proximal junctional vertebral fracture (PGK) in two patients. Conclusion: Degenerative scoliosis is a complex clinical condition in which the patientchr('39')s main problems are pain and disability. Long fusion surgery in patients with degenerative scoliosis significantly reduced the mean deviation, Patient’s pain and severity of disability 6 months after surgery.
Primary Immune Deficiencies are a group of heterogeneous disorders that involve the innate or acquired immune system, or a combination of them. The underlying disorder may be related to decreased levels or function, or a complete lack of one or more components of the immune system in general. These diseases can occur with a prevalence of about 1 in 10000 live births. According to the fourth update on the Iranian national registry of Primary Immune Deficiency in October 2018, the total number of registered PIDs in Iran are 3056 patients. However, it is supposed to be more prevalent and it seems increasing awareness shall reveal many new cases, especially in societies with prevalent consanguineous marriages like Iran. These disorders predispose patients to recurrent infections, autoimmunity and malignancy and can cause a huge burden on health care systems. This group of diseases has a wide range of symptoms, which quick recognition and timely treatment of them, can greatly reduce the complications of the disease. These symptoms may include recurrent or severe infections, failure to thrive, autoimmune disorders, as well as articular-skeletal manifestations. A variety of skeletal manifestations are seen in patients with primary immunodeficiency, among which septic arthritis caused by pyogenic bacteria or mycoplasma arthritis is the most common joint-bone manifestation. Joint and skeletal involvement is less commonly seen as a sign of primary immune defects. This issue is importance in reducing the cost of diseases and improving the patients’ quality of life. Our review attempted to introduce the most common manifestations of bone and joint in patients with primary immunodeficiency and available treatments for these manifestations. Because of the wide range of symptoms in these patients, it is recommended to observe the rare and suspicious manifestations in the patients with any atypical bone and joint presentations such as: recurrent septic arthritis, infection with unusual germs, immunodeficiency in their relatives, and any history of well-known red flags of PIDs. The Rheumatologist should consider these manifestations and think about the possibility of deficiency disorder.
Background: Long-term and intensive physical exercise can change the function of different cells in the immune system in athletes, predisposing them to viral infections such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The purpose of this brief report was to provide protocols related to the immune system in athletes to prevent infectious diseases. Methods: To examine immune system responses to sports activities, articles were collected from all databases: Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Springer, Google Scholar, SID, and the most recent articles were selected. Results: High-intensity and long-term physical exercise can be effective in suppressing immune responses. Therefore, moderate-intensity exercise can be an effective strategy. Maintaining the function of the immune system in athletes was dependent on nutritional strategies, sleep control, stress management, and strict adherence to proper exercise principles and health protocols. Athletes are more prone to viral infections in the early hours after strenuous, prolonged physical exercise; and they should be limited in contact with people who may increase their risk of infectious diseases. We should mention that moderate-intensity physical exercise can improve the function of immunoglobulins, anti-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils, natural killer cells, cytotoxic T cells, and immature B cells. Maintaining social distance, especially immediately after strenuous exercise, is also recommended for athletes due to the increased risk of infectious diseases. The immune system has been considered an effective part of sports activities in athletes in recent years. The prevalence of viral diseases such as COVID-19 has not been and will not be for the first and last time in life. Therefore, using questionnaires and initial monitoring (adherence to diets, corona testing, adherence to health protocols) can be the first step. Conclusion: Finally Due to the pandemic of coronary heart disease and its unknowingness, providing some health and nutrition guidelines for starting exercises and sports competitions to prevent the transmission of this disease is on the agenda of this article.
Background: Heart failure is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders and is considered a chronic, progressive and debilitating disorder. The medical treatment of this disease is accompanied by many problems. Today, stem cells are being used increasingly to reduce the problems of heart failure treatments. Since pro-inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the prognosis and progression of cardiovascular disease, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous injection of human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells on the levels of interleukins 4 and 12 in the serum of male rats in the heart failure model. Methods: This is an experimental study that was conducted from October 2018 to May 2019 in the Physiology Research Center of Iran University of Medical Sciences. In this study, 28 male wistar rats (180-200 gr) were randomly divided into four groups: control group, heart failure group, heart failure group that received culture medium and heart failure group that received mesenchymal stem cells by intravenous injection. After 30 days, echocardiography was done and then serum levels of interleukin 4 and 12 were measured in these groups by Elisa test. Results: The results of this study showed that intravenous injection of human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells into male rats with heart failure, improved echocardiographic parameters such as ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) in the cell injection group compared to the heart failure group (P<0.05). Also, the levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-12 were significantly reduced in the cell injection group compared to rats with the heart failure group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Due to the improvement of cardiac parameters and the reduction level of inflammatory cytokines in this study, it seems that human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells play an important role in improving heart failure by reducing the level of inflammation.
Background: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin (LMWH) is recommended as the first-line treatment in patients with active cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE), but many patients prefer to take oral anticoagulants and non-injectable forms with more reasonable price. Venous thromboembolism is a very common comorbidity in patients with cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the rivaroxaban compared with enoxaparin in patients with cancer and VTE. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 50 patients with non-hematologic cancer and deep vein thrombosis (DVP) or pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) enrolled into Imam Khomeini hospital, from November 2019 to March 2020 in Ahvaz. The participants randomly assigned in two treatment groups (25 patients in each group) of rivaroxaban (15 mg every 12 hours for the first three weeks and then orally at 20 mg daily) or enoxaparin (1 mg/kg by subcutaneous injection every 12 hours) and followed for 6 months to evaluate the efficacy, complications and safety (incidence of recurrent VTE, major bleeding and deaths) of these therapies in Ahvaz. Results: The three most common cancer diagnoses were breast (n=11, 22%), colon (n=10, 20%), and lung (n=7, 14%). Major bleeding at 6 months was only seen in one patient (4%) in the enoxaparin group and did not occur in the rivaroxaban group (P>0.05). Minor bleeding occurred in 1 patient (4%) in the rivaroxaban group and did not occur in the enoxaparin group (P>0.05). One patient in the enoxaparin group died because of fever and neutropenia. The prevalence of DVT and PTE in cancer patients was not significantly different based on patient age (P=0.154), gender (P=0.430), BMI (P=0.490), underlying disease (P=0.294), smoking (P=0.955), type of cancer (P=0.527), and metastatic cancer (P=0.280). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the efficacy of rivaroxaban is not less than that of enoxaparin and therefore can be a potential option for patients with non-hematologic cancer and VTE. However, further randomized, controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.
Background: The goal of the study was to investigate the effect of 5 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the levels of resistin and adiponectin and liver enzymes in Wistar rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver. Methods: To do this basic research, 24 Wistar male rats were purchased and transferred to Baqiyatallah University then, they were allocated randomly into three groups: Control group (CG, n=8), induced fatty liver diseases group (FG, n=8), and induced fatty liver diseases+exercise group (FEG, n=10). The present study was conducted in July and August of 2019. To induce fatty liver disease, 140 mg per kg of bodyweight oral tetracycline drug was administered to rats by gavage for seven days. Fatty liver (steatosis) was confirmed by measuring liver enzymes. The training group performed HIIT for five weeks and five days per week. First, the maximum aerobic test (MAT) was performed, and based on data of this test; the HIIT protocol was conducted as 5×2 min-intervals with (50-120% Mat) and with 1 min recovery (30-50% MAT). Blood and tissue sampling were taken 48 hours after the last training session. Blood samples were centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes, and serum samples were frozen at -20 degrees. One-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test were used to analyze data. Results: Following performing HIIT, serum levels of adiponectin and resistin in the FEG compared to FG increased and decreased significantly, respectively (P=0.001). In addition, the FEG experienced a significant decrease in serum levels of AST and ALT enzymes. The aerobic capacity of the rats in the HIIT group increased significantly compared to the other two groups. Conclusion: By modulating body fat levels and the secretion of adipokines such as adiponectin and resistin, HIIT was involved in improving the condition of rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Background: Inlet patch (IP) lesion is the presence of gastric columnar epithelial tissue outside of the stomach. Symptoms such as a lump in the throat, chronic cough, laryngitis, or other mouth-throat symptoms may be IP-related only and have no other abnormalities. This study aimed to determine the relationship between globus sensation and structural disorder of Inlet Patch in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease Methods: The case-control study was performed in patients who were referred to the endoscopy ward of Sina Hospital in Tehran from October 2016 to October 2017. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux and endoscopic indications. Patients who had endoscopic indications and underwent endoscopy were evaluated. Information on reflux esophagitis and inlet patch structural disorder were determined. Symptoms of reflux, including a lump in the throat, were identified and recorded. Then the frequency of globus sensation in patients with inlet patch structural disorder (patient group) and without it (control group) was compared. Results: A total of 100 patients with gastric reflux participated in this study. Patients included 42 men (42%) and 58 women (58%). The mean age of patients was 41.17±10.35 years (18-77 years). The severity of mild reflux was 57%, moderate reflux was 27% and severe reflux was 16%. 28% of patients had a lump in the throat and 12 patients had an inlet patch. There was a statistically significant relationship between inlet patch and globus sensation (p=0.001). All patients with inlet patch had globus sensation. 81.8% of patients without inlet patch did not feel a lump in the throat. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups with and without inlet patch in terms of globus sensation in general and in terms of different clinical variables (p=0.001). Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that inlet patch had a significant relationship with the feeling of a lump in the throat and all patients with inlet patch felt Globus sensation.As the result, to diagnose a patient with an inlet patch, other causes such as esophagitis, hernia, heartburn and metabolic syndrome should be ruled out.
Background: Emphysematous cholecystitis is a rare variant of acute cholecystitis with high mortality and morbidity rate. Emphysematous cholecystitis most often occurs in older men and Emphysematous cholecystitis often occurs in patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and vascular disease. The combination of emphysematous cholecystitis and pneumoperitoneum is even rarer. In this study, we reported a rare case of pneumoperitoneum on plain abdominal X-ray with emphysematous cholecystitis in an 83-year-old woman. Case Presentation: The patient was 83 years old, lady who had been referred to the emergency department of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in April 2019, due to diffuse abdominal pain that had started suddenly 3 days earlier. Pneumoperitoneum, the air in the gallbladder wall and the air encircling the gallbladder were reported in standing and supine abdominal x-rays and standing chest X-rays. At first, the patient was resuscitated and treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. After initial treatment, the patient underwent open cholecystectomy with a subcostal incision on the right and a diagnosis of emphysematous cholecystitis. After surgery, the patientchr('39')s general condition improved and she was discharged without mortality and morbidity with oral third-generation Cephalosporin antibiotics. The general condition of the patient after discharge was good in the examinations performed in the clinic of Ghaem Hospital, 1 and 3 months after discharge. Conclusion: Emphysematous cholecystitis is a rare and severe form of acute cholecystitis that occurs due to the process of arterial ischemia caused by contamination with anaerobic bacteria and the formation of gas in the wall and lumen of the gallbladder. Emphysematous cholecystitis is more severe than other types of acute cholecystitis and has higher mortality and morbidity and is life-threatening. Due to the acute and progressive course of emphysematous cholecystitis, correct and timely diagnosis and treatment are important.
Background: The median nerve is one of the most important branches of the brachial plexus. Due to the role of the median nerve in sensory and motor innervation of the forearm and hand in the upper limbs, its blood supply is very important. Awareness of variations in the blood supply pattern to this nerve reduces the incidence of necrosis and ischemia of the nerve during surgical and diagnostic procedures. Case Presentation: During routine dissection of the cadaver of a 65-year-old man fixed in formalin (10%), in the Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, a rare variation was observed in the median nerve nutritional artery at the distal end of the left forearm. After dissection of the skin, superficial and deep fascia, anterior compartment forearm muscles, nerves and blood vessels were exposed from surrounding tissues. The median nerve passed through the two heads of the pronator teres muscle and left the cubital fossa in the depth of the flexor digitorum superficialis and the surface of the flexor digitorum profundus in the forearm. It was observed that at the distal end of the left forearm between the flexor carpi radialis and the flexor digitorum superficialis, a relatively thick branch originates from the radial artery and supplies blood to the median nerve. This branch was separated from the radial artery (before the artery enters the anatomical snuffbox) and crossed the surface of the flexor carpi radialis muscle and inserted into the median nerve sheath. In the forearm, this branch was the only artery supplying blood to the median nerve. Conclusion: Due to the superficial position of the median nerve at the distal end of the forearm, physical damage to the nerve and its nutritional artery leads to necrosis and ischemia of the nerve, and ultimately disturbed the transmission of sensory and motor messages.
Background: Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRLS) is a clinical and radiological syndrome of heterogeneous etiologies that are grouped because of the similar findings on neuroimaging studies which may occur at any age. The pathogenesis of RPLS remains unclear, but it appears to be related to disordered cerebral autoregulation and endothelial dysfunction. The syndrome is more commonly seen in women, RPLS has been described in several medical conditions, with hypertensive encephalopathy, eclampsia, and the use of cytotoxic and immunosuppressant drugs being the most common conditions. Prompt recognition and treatment are important in preventing the permanent damage that can occur in this otherwise typically reversible condition. The pathogenesis of RPLS remains unclear, but it appears to be related to disordered cerebral autoregulation and endothelial dysfunction. This report aimed to introduce a case of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy following postpartum thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Case presentation: The patient was a 30-year-old primigravid woman at 33 weeks of pregnancy who was referred to the Ghaem hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad in July 2017 due to high blood pressure, blurred vision, headache and generalized tonic colonic seizure. She did not report in previous history of high blood pressure or seizure before pregnancy. With a diagnosis of eclampsia remote from delivery, she underwent a cesarean section. After delivery, generalized tonic colonic seizure repeated several times and a significant reduction in consciousness level happened. Renal failure also occurred, so she underwent daily plasmapheresis with a diagnosis of TTP. After 35 days, she was discharged with a good general condition. Conclusion: In predisposing conditions, such as high blood pressure in pregnancy, in the case of clinical suspicion of posterior leukoencephalopathy, any attempt for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important factors in reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality.
This review was conducted between December 2018 and March 2019 at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. A review of various studies revealed what data mining techniques to predict the probability of survival, what risk factors for these predictions, what criteria for evaluating data mining techniques, and finally what data sources for it have been used to predict the survival of breast cancer patients. This review is based on the Prism statement consisting of published studies in the field of predicting the survival of breast cancer patients using data mining techniques from 2005 to 2018 in databases such as Medline, Science Direct, Web of Science, Embase data and Scopus. After searching in these databases, 527 articles were retrieved. After removing duplicates and evaluating the articles, 21 articles were used. The three techniques of logistic regression, decision tree, and support vector machine have been most used in articles. Age, tumor grade, tumor stage, and tumor size are used more than other risk factors. Among the criteria, the accuracy criterion was used in more studies. Most of the studies used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) dataset. Typically, in the field of survival probability prediction, data mining techniques in the field of classification are given more attention due to their adaptation to this field. Accordingly, data mining techniques such as decision tree techniques, logistic regression, and support vector machine were used in more studies than other techniques. The use of these techniques can provide a good basis for clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments and the impact of each of these methods on patientschr('39') longevity and survival. If the output of these techniques is used to provide the data input required by a decision support system, clinicians can provide risk factors related to the patient, the patientchr('39')s age, and the patientchr('39')s physical condition when providing services to breast cancer patients. Through the outputs provided by the decision support system, they provided the most optimal decision to choose the best treatment method and consequently increase patient survival.
Background: Since pulmonary angiography is the only non-invasive method for diagnosing pulmonary embolism, the use of radiation reduction methods without affecting the quality of images seems necessary. One of the simplest reasons for unnecessarily increasing of patient exposure is repetitive imaging due to poor image quality. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the factors that reduce the image quality, which leads to duplication of imaging or reduced accuracy. In this study, the reasons for decreasing the image quality of pulmonary computed tomography (CT) angiography were investigated. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed over a period of 6 months (May to November 2018) in a university-affiliated hospital. Data of 75 patients suspected of pulmonary embolism who were referred for CT angiography were collected. All CT scans were performed by a 16-slice CT scanner (Lights Speed, GE Healthcare) with fixed imaging parameters including 100 kVp and 100 mA. In order to evaluate the adequacy of pulmonary artery enhancement, the Hounsfield unit (HU) of the main pulmonary artery was measured in the aortic arch, upper, and lower segmental parts. Also, 8 factors affecting the image quality were examined. Results: The mean HU of the main pulmonary arteries was 312 in the range of 124 to 677. The mean HU in patients with and without pulmonary embolism was 358 and 302, respectively. Most CT images (61%) had poor quality for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Only 2% of the images were acceptable compared to standard images and protocols. Late imaging was the most common quality confounding factor in this study. Conclusion: A low-quality image reduces the accuracy of the physicianchr('39')s diagnosis that leads to misdiagnosis. Besides, sometimes poor image quality leads to repetitive imaging, which results in increased patient exposure and therefore increased radiation hazards. Therefore, modifiable confounding factors must be identified and corrected which one of the most important ones is wrong imaging timing protocols after contrast injection.
Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of intravenous Ibuprofen Apotel analgesia in comparison with intravenous Morphine alone regimen in patients undergoing lubmar disc surgery. Methods: This study was a double-blind clinical trial that was performed on patients with moderate to severe lumbar disc pain (VAS score or Visual analog scale more than 4) in August 2019 at Shohada Tajrish hospital. Patients in the Ibuprofen-Apotel group (group A) recieved intravenous Ibuprofen (800 mg) in 100 cc Normal saline in the first 30 minutes of Recovery, then 400 mg in 100 cc Normal saline every 6 hours (48 hours after surgery), plus 30 mg Apotel for each kilogram in100 cc Normal saline in 15 minutes every 8 hours. In group B, Morphine has injected with 70 µg/kg bolus and then 20µg/kg/h infused with a PCA pump with a Maximum Rate of 1mg/hr. Then 60 minutes after surgery, patientschr('39') pain was measured using an analog scale. The primary outcome was defined as a reduction in pain intensity of 3 or more VAS units (which was considered as therapeutic success) and the incidence of side effects was considered as secondary outcomes. Results: Based on the results of this study, the mean age of the subjects was 33.28±12.48 years. Also, the mean age in the group of Ibuprofen-Apotel and Morphine alone were 35.4±13.6 and 31.16±11.75 years. So, there is not a significant difference between the groups. 77.14% of the subjects (54 people) were male and 22.86% (16 people) were women. In comparing the frequency distribution of individuals in terms of gender and the method of creating analgesia, no significant difference was observed between the groups studied. According to the results, after the intervention, the highest pain intensity in both groups was significantly decreased. However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups. Conclusion: The study indicated that Ibuprofen can be effective in controlling postoperative pain.
Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo and nystagmus in clinics. Vertigo has many causes and the recurrence of vertigo is unknown. Among a lot of factors, vitamin D deficiency is more important. This study was conducted to determine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on torsional nystagmus in BPPV patients. This study wants to show the deficiency of vitamin D leads to the recurrence of BPPV. Methods: This case-control study was conducted from April 2017 to May 2018. All eligible patients with BPPV were presented to the Audiology clinic of Babol Rouhani hospital consecutively. Diagnosis of BPPV and the presence of nystagmus were confirmed and serum vitamin D was assessed. Dix-halpike maneuver and videonystagmography (VNG) for assessing nystagmus were done and for serologic assessment, ELISA was performed for analyzing the level of hydroxy 25 vitamin D.Vitamin D sufficient patients (more than 20 ng/ml) with BPPV were considered as the control group and vitamin D deficient patients (less than 20 ng/ml) were as the test group. In all the patients of two groups, torsional nystagmus (vertical, horizontal and oblique) were studied and compared. Results: Twenty-seven patients in each group have completed the study. The mean age of the control group and test group was 48.2+4.8, 47.8+5.7 and 47.2+4.9 years respectively (P=0.91). Two groups were comparable regarding nystagmus severity. All patients had at least two attacks During the last six months. The mean of serum 25 OHD was 33.81 in the control group and 11.41 in the test group that was statistically significant (P=0.001 for all) and the severity of torsional nystagmus in three axes of horizontal, vertical and oblique in the control group was 4.98, 9.06, 5.40 respectively and 3.32, 8.86, 6.93 in the test group that was statistically significant as compared with the control group (P=0.001). Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and recurrence of nystagmus in BPPV patients
Background: Accurate and early detection of non-alcoholic fatty liver, which is a major cause of chronic diseases is very important and is vital to prevent the complications associated with this disease. Ultrasound of the liver is the most common and widely performed method of diagnosing fatty liver. However, due to the low quality of ultrasound images, the need for an automatic and intelligent classification method based on artificial intelligence methods to accurately detect the amount of liver fat is essential. This paper aims to develop an advanced machine learning model based on texture features to assess liver fat levels based on liver ultrasound images. Methods: In this analytic study, which is done from April to November 2020 in Tehran, ultrasound images of 55 obese people who have undergone laparoscopic surgery have been used and the histological result of a liver biopsy has been employed as a reference for liver fat. First, 88 texture-based features were extracted from the images using the Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) method. In the next step, using the method of minimum redundancy and maximum correlation, the top features were selected from among 88 features and applied to the classifier input. Finally, using the three classifiers of linear discriminant analysis, support vector machine and AdaBoost, the images were classified into 4 groups based on the amount of liver fat. Results: The accuracy of the automatic liver fat prediction model from ultrasound images for AdaBoost classification was 92.72%. However, the accuracies obtained for support vector machine and linear discriminant analysis classification were 87.88% and 75.76%, respectively. Conclusion: The proposed approach based on texture features using the GLCM and the AdaBoost classification from ultrasound images automatically detects the amount of liver fat with high accuracy and can help physicians and radiologists in the final diagnosis.
