فهرست مطالب vaskeh

Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency has been conducted with increased risk for tuberculosis (TB). Despite this association, discrepancies exist among different studies in different regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its predictors in tuberculosis among the Iranian-Azari population. A total of 60 participants were enrolled in this study, 30 of which were newly diagnosed TB patients and 30 were healthy volunteers. At least two serum samples were collected, the first sample before the start of anti-TB treatment and the second sample 3 months after the effective treatment. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25 patients vs. 2 healthy individuals; P<0.001) and serum levels of the vitamin D (22.66±15.17 vs. 73.03±25.6 ng/mL; P<0.001) were significantly higher in patients with TB than healthy subjects. Likewise, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the extrapulmonary TB group was higher than that of the pulmonary TB, but this difference was not statistically significant (P=0 .397). Moreover, there was no significant difference between mean levels of vitamin D in patients with tuberculosis before and after treatment (P = 0.787). Linear regression analysis showed there was no significant relationship between vitamin D levels after treatment and age, gender, body site of tuberculosis, and vitamin D levels before treatment, P≥0.68. Vitamin D deficiency is higher in patients with tuberculosis than healthy individuals.

Inflammatory pseudotumor is a benign pulmonary tumor of unknown origin which is more common in young adults and children. In this study, successful treatment of total lung collapse using rigid bronchoscopy is reported. The patient was a 22-year-old woman with respiratory signs and symptoms and obstructive spirometry pattern. Computed tomography (CT) scan findings represented a total lung collapse after one month of beginning the symptoms. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy showed an endobronchial mass with total left lung collapse, and there was no evidence of malignancy in the biopsy. The patient underwent rigid bronchoscopy, and the endobronchial mass was completely removed. After total removal of the mass using rigid bronchoscopy, total left lung collapse was completely improved, and patient’s signs and symptoms resolved. There was no evidence of recurrence in the follow-up using chest X-ray and fiberoptic bronchoscopy.  Inflammatory pseudotumor may have acute presentations, and present with total lung collapse. Rigid bronchoscopy can be considered as a less invasive approach than thoracotomy in patients with pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor.

Cardiac injury is one of the significant perioperative complications in major orthopedic surgeries and its early diagnosis is useful in the reduction of postoperative comorbidity. The cardiac troponin is a sensitive and specific biomarker for detecting this damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of perioperative cardiac troponin I (cTnI) before and after arthroplasty in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The effects of related variables and probable major cardiac complications were evaluated in this study. For one year, in a prospective, cross-sectional study, the serum levels of cTnI before and 48 hours after arthroplasty were evaluated in 52 patients. Possible contributing factors including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), daily activity, history of hospitalization due to cardiovascular diseases, underlying illness, and medications were recorded. The Chi-square test, Pearson correlation, and Spearman test were used to examine the relationship between variables. The mean cTnI increased significantly after arthroplasty (P < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between age (P = 0.708), gender (P = 0.225), BMI (P = 0.195), daily activity (0.441), underlying illness (P = 0.244), and cTnI levels after arthroplasty. Linear regression showed BMI was significantly correlated with troponin changes (P = 0.006). Five patients had heart palpitations and one had chest pain, but none of the patients had any findings in favor of cardiac injury. cTnI levels after THA and TKA increased significantly, but this elevation was in the normal range. In addition, none of them had a new cardiac complication after arthroplasty.

The aim of this study was to compare the flexural strength of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), calcium-enriched mixture (CEM), and BioAggregate (BA). Methods and Materials: In this study, the flexural strength of materials was measured using a 3-point bend test. After being prepared, MTA, CEM, and BA were inserted into the intra-putty molds using amalgam plugger. The specimens were covered with a sponge wetted with synthetic tissue fluid (STF) and incubated for 96 h. They were then subjected to a 3-point bend test using Universal Testing Machine. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare flexural strength in groups. In this study, P<0.05 was considered as the significant level. There were significant differences between the three groups in terms of the flexural strength (P<0.001). The mean flexural strength in the BA, CEM, and MTA groups were 27.32±2, 9.09±1.16, and 10.25±1.6, respectively. Pairwise comparison showed significant differences between the three groups. This in vitro study showed that BA has the highest and CEM has the lowest flexural strength.