Shiraz Emedical Journal
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Jan 2012

to compare the need to inotropic agents in opium dependent (OD) and non dependent (NOD) patients during the perioperative period in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods and material: 62 male patients up to 75 yrs old scheduled for elective on-pump CABG with ejection fraction>40% were assigned to two groups according to DSM- IV, TR: Opium dependent and nondependent patients. Anesthesia induced and maintained similarly in all patients. During the perioperative period blood pressure(BP),heart rate (HR, central venous pressure (CVP),cardiac output (co),systemic vascular resistance (SVR), type and length of inotropes used and the frequency of intra aortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion were monitored and recorded. Paired sample t-test, Independent sample t- test and Chi-Square test were used to compare variables among two groups. Demographic data showed no significant difference in age, body mass index (BMI), preoperative hemoglobin, ejection fraction (EF) and number of grafts in two groups. Also there was no significant difference regarding the incidence of cardiovascular risk factors and mean blood pressure(MBP). The findings indicated no significant difference in the frequency of inotrope usage[23(74.1%) vs. 25(80.6%); p=0.381] and frequency of IABP insertion [2(6.4%) vs. 3(9.6%); p=0.187] between two groups. But the lenght of the need to inotropes in opium dependent patients was significantly lower in comparison with nondependent patients (26.8± 9.9 vs. 36.1± 17.45; p=0.042). Although the length of the need to inotropic support in non opium dependent was longer as compared to opium dependent patients, frequency of inotrope need and specific inotrope usage and also frequency of IABP insertion was not different between the two groups.

Co-bedding twins is the practice of placing siblings in the same crib or bed. The objective of this study was to find out how frequently co-bedding was practiced at home among Malaysian twins. Moreover, parents’ knowledge and satisfaction was measured. Developmental millstones and sleeping pattern of twins were compared between those who practiced co-bedding versus those who did not. This is a cross-sectional comparative study. Parents of registered twins aged below 18 were interviewed to collect data on 204 Malaysian twins including socio-demographic characteristics, sleeping pattern and developmental millstones of twins as well as parent’s knowledge and satisfaction with co-bedding. Eighty nine percent of twins were co-bedded during their infancy and childhood. More than 90% of parents considered co-bedding as safe and believed it had a positive effect on psychological wellbeing of their twins (89.2%). No significant difference was found between co-bedded and separately bedded twins in terms of their developmental millstones. Duration of sleep was described as complete for 89% of co-bedded twins with similar frequency of wakening between the two understudy groups (P=0.258). Co-bedding is considered a safe practice at home and carries a high satisfaction rate among parents of twins. Randomized controlled studies are warranted to investigate the long-term benefits of co-bedding at home.

Acute poisoning, a common pediatric emergency, is one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality in children, especially in developing countries. Thousands of unwary children under the age of five years are poisoned accidentally every year throughout world. This cross-sectional study included children with acute poisoning admitted to Ali ebn-e Abitaleb hospital of Zahedan. All cases of poisoning, except for food poisoning, in patients under 17 years old presenting to Pediatrics Emergency Department (PED) from April 2008 to April 2009 were selected. The information about each case was recorded on standardized forms. Complete epidemiological and clinical data were obtained for 147 patients. The mean age of all poisoned patients (mean ± SD) was 2.93 ± 3.05 years, and the age range was 0.12 to 14 years. Of these, 59 children (86.8%) were under five years of age. Slightly more boys than girls were poisoned at ages of more than 10 years (8.5% vs. 4.68%). The majority of all cases were due to accidental poisoning (86.8% of all poisoning), which occurred mostly in children under five years old (93%). Medications (37.41%), kerosene (23.12), opium/hashish (17.68%), agricultural pesticides (6.8%), unknown substances (5.44%), and caustic/corrosive substances (4.76%) were the most frequent poisoning agents. The frequency distribution shows that the majority of parents of poisoned children had below grade school levels of literacy (84.6%), while only 6% of parents had collegiate literacy. Most of the poisonings were due to accidental ingestions by infants and primary school age children, without any gender predilection. Medications (especially benzodiazepines), opium/hashish, and kerosene were the most commonly ingested agents. The majority of parents of poisoned patients had below grade school levels of literacy, so early awareness of poisoning and appropriate therapeutic measures taken would appear to be efficacious in reducing the incidence of acute poisoning and the mortality rate.

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B infection among women attending antenatal clinic in General Hospital, Minna, Niger state. Blood samples were collected from 200 subjects and analyzed using in vitro diagnostic strip designed for the qualitative determination of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in human serum. Thirteen (6.5%) out of the 200 subjects investigated were found to be positive for hepatitis B infection. On the basis of age, the distribution of HBV infection among the subjects revealed that the age group 20-29 has the highest rate of infection of 10.3% followed in descending order by 40-49 (4.5%), 30-39 (4.2%) and 10-19 (0.0%). Infection rate was found to be related to the low level of awareness and the poor standard of living observed among the subjects. The study therefore highlights the need for an intervention through increased awareness, provision of drugs and immunization in the study area.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a sexually transmitted virus that is the most common cause of genital ulceration worldwide. The increasing evidence that HSV-2 infection could significantly enhance the rates of sexual transmission and acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in developing countries informed our design of this study. To determine the seroprevalence and co-infection of HSV-2 and HIV and to evaluate their association with demographic factors among adults (≥15yrs) in Pankshin. One hundred and eighty blood samples were collected from adults, age ≥15 years from Town Clinic Pankshin and General hospital Billang Shippang in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. DetermineTM and Stat pak rapid test kits were used to screen the collected samples for antibodies to HIV. The seroprevalence of HSV-2 was determined using Diapro HSV-2 type specific ELISA Kit according to the manufacturer’s instructional manual. The estimated prevalence of HSV-2 was 24.4% and it was higher among women (26.09%) than among men (21.53%). That of HIV was 19.49%; men had a prevalence rate of 4.69% while that of women was 5.22%. HSV-2 antibodies were frequent in the study group, genital herpes was not reported by the HSV-2 positive subjects, indicating low awareness of the HSV-2 infection. The prevalence of HIV however was not that significant. The percentage of co-infection was 2.8%.

Myeloperoxidase deficiency is a common disorder featuring deficiency, either in quantity or function of Myeloperoxidase. The patients are misdiagnosed because majority of individuals with Myeloperoxidase deficiency show no signs of immunodeficiency. Myeloperoxidase defi-ciency is noted even before the diagnosis is suspected because the machines that perform automated leukocyte differential counts rely upon neutrophil Myeloperoxidase activity to enumerate these cells. This report describes two cases of myeloperoxidase deficiency that were diagnosed after reassess of the hemograms.In one case, we got to the diagnosis after the patient went under Bone marrow Aspiration for ruling out leukemia

Any factor that damage blood supply to bone can cause osteonecrosis.Traumatic and non-traumatic factors can cause osteonecrosis.Important non-traumatic causes of avascular necrosis are alcoholism, steroid use, cigarette smoking, hyperlipidemia and systemic lupus erythematosus. We want to present a case of multifocal avascular necrosis (AVN) in an alcoholic man with antiphospholipid (APL) syndrome and associated megaloblastic anemia.