Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:21 Issue: 2, 2016 Feb

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a type of lung infection that typically affects critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (MV) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are considered to be more susceptible to several types of infections including community-acquired pneumonia. However, it is not clear whether T2DM is a risk factor for the development of VAP. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of VAP for diabetic and nondiabetic mechanically ventilated trauma patients.
This study is a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of the history of T2DM in the ICU over a period of 1 year at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Iran. A total of 186 critically ill trauma patients who required at least 48 h of MV were monitored for the occurrence of VAP by their clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) until ICU discharge, VAP diagnosis, or death.
Forty-one of the 186 patients developed VAP. The median time from hospitalization to VAP was 29.09 days (95% CI: 26.27–31.9). The overall incidence of VAP was 18.82 cases per 1,000 days of intubation (95% CI: 13.86-25.57). Risk of VAP in diabetic patients was greater than nondiabetic patients after adjustments for other potential factors [hazard ratio (HR): 10.12 [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.1–20.2); P The findings show that T2DM is associated with a significant increase in the occurrence of VAP in mechanically ventilated adult trauma patients.

Different populations have shown various patterns of association between impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and body composition parameters and risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The current study aimed at investigating the differences between persons with prediabetes and healthy people in terms of CVD risk factors including body composition parameters, blood pressure, and lipid profile in a sample of the Iranian population.
In a case-control setting, a sample containing 386 (193 prediabetic subjects and 193 normal subjects) of the first-degree relatives of diabetic patients aged 35-55 years were investigated. Samples were assessed using glucose tolerance categories. Prediabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria. Body composition parameters, blood pressure, glucose parameters, and lipid profile were measured and compared between the two groups.
Prediabetic patients had higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and body fat (BF) in comparison to the control group (P Both the risk factors of CVD and body composition parameters were different between the prediabetic and normal groups; total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and FBS were predictors of the risk of prediabetes.

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), the most common cyanotic heart defect and one of the most common congenital heart diseases, occurs mostly sporadically and nonsyndromically. The underlying molecular genetic mechanism is not known. Therefore, the existence of mutations in the homeodomain-encoding region of NKX2.5 gene in Iranian patients with tetralogy of Fallot is evaluated.
In the present study, we analyzed the peripheral blood samples of27 patients in order to find any mutation in the 180 bp homeodomain-encoding region of NKX2.5 gene, which is known to be involved in heart development and diseases. DNA was extracted and all the samples were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced.
Twenty-seven patients were included in the study. Twenty-five of them were infants and children (6 days to 11 years of age), one was a teenager (14-years of age), and another was a 33-year-old man [mean ± standard deviation (SD): 5.80 ± 3.90 years]. Thirteen patents were males (mean ± SD: 6.587077 ± 5.02 years) and 14 were females (mean ± SD: 5.0726 ± 2.81 years). One synonymous variant, i.e., c.543G>A was identified in one patient.
Mutations in the homeodomain-encoding region of NKX2.5 gene may not have an outstanding role in etiology of tetralogy of Fallot patients in Iran.

Emotional intelligence (EI) helps humans to perceive their own and others’ emotions. It helps to make better interpersonal communication that consequently leads to an increase in everyday performance and professional career. Teaching, particularly teaching in the clinical environment, is among the professions that need a high level of EI due to its relevance to human interactions.
We adopted EI competencies with characteristics of a good clinical teacher. As a result, we extracted 12 strategies and then reviewed the literatures relevant to these strategies.
In the present article, 12 strategies that a clinical teacher should follow to use EI in her/his teaching were described.
To apply EI in clinical settings, a teacher should consider all the factors that can bring about a more positive emotional environment and social interactions. These factors will increase students’ learning, improve patients’ care, and maintain her/his well-being. In addition, he/she will be able to evaluate her/his teaching to improve its effectiveness.

Various adverse effects of homologous blood transfusion detected particularly in open heart surgery, in which it is frequently used, lead researchers to study on autologous blood use and to evaluate the patient’s blood better. Due to the complications of homologous blood transfusion, development of techniques that utilize less transfusion has become inevitable. We aimed to evaluate the effects of acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) in patients undergoing open heart surgery.
In this study, 120 patients who underwent open heart surgery were included. Patients were grouped into three: Autologous transfusion group (Group 1), homologous transfusion group (Group 2), and those received autologous blood and homologous blood products (Group 3). Patient data regarding preoperative characteristics, biochemical parameters, drainage, extubation time, duration of stay at intensive care, atrial fibrillation (AF) development, and hospital stay were recorded.
A statistically significant difference (P The use of autologous blood rather than homologous transfusion is not only attenuates side effects and complications of transfusion but also positively affects postoperative recovery process. Therefore, ANH can be considered as an easy, effective, and cheap technique during open heart surgery.

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous follicles and one of the most common skin diseases.The peeling method has been recently found to be effective for acne treatment. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of pyruvic acid 50% and salicylic acid 30% peeling in the treatment of mild to moderate acne.
In a prospective single?blinded clinical trial, 86 patients with acne were randomly assigned into two groups. In both groups, the routine treatment of acne (topical solution of erythromycin 4%, triclorocarban soap, and sunscreen) were used twice a day for 8 weeks. In addition, salicylic acid 30% for the control group and pyruvic acid 50% for the case group were used. In both groups, acne severity index (ASI) was calculated before and at week 2, 4, 6, and 8 of the treatment. Patient satisfaction was assessed at the end of the treatment. Side effects were recorded using a checklist.
In both groups, the reduction in the number of comedones, papules, and ASI were statistically significant (P Both pyruvic acid 50% and salicylic acid 30% are effective in the improvement of mild to moderate acne with no significant difference in efficacy and side effects.

There are controversies regarding the usefulness of the pyloric drainage methods after esophagectomy as well as differences among various pyloric drainage techniques. Therefore, we compared the outcome of pyloromyotomy, pylorus buginage, and no intervention methods on gastric emptying among patients undergone esophagectomy.
In this randomized clinical trial, patients with diagnosed esophageal cancer or any other benign lesions candidate for esophagectomy were selected. They randomized in three groups with three different approaches for gastric pull?up esophageal surgery including esophagectomy with pyloromyotomy, esophagectomy without intervention, and esophagectomy with pylorus buginage. The outcomes of procedures regarding gastric emptying time and delayed gastric emptying were compared.
Thirty patients were allocated in three groups. Gastric emptying time was not significantly different in the three groups (P > 0.05). Frequency of delayed gastric emptying, complications and barium leakage were not different in three studied groups (P > 0.05).
Gastric emptying time and delayed gastric emptying were not different between common pyloric drainage methods after esophagectomy and esophagectomy without drainage.

Neurological complications are a problematic factor in acute bacterial meningitis; hence, its prevention is the key to ensure the success of meningitis treatment. Glycerol and dexamethasone are both applied in this regard. Oral glycerol is an appropriate alternative instead of intravenous dexamethasone because it does not have problems related to intravenous injection, the high cost, and drug complications. The main objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of adjuvant dexamethasone versus glycerol in order to improve the clinical outcome of bacterial meningitis.
We conducted a search on the available resources including PubMed, Ovid, Elsevier, Cochrane, and another search engines such as Google till 2014. All clinical trials that were performed in the field of comparing the effectiveness of the two drugs and met the inclusion criteria were gathered and after extraction the relative risk (RR) values, the pooled RR was calculated. The main outcome was neurological complications. Meta-analysis of the data was performed in Stata version 11.2 using both fixed and random effect models, weighting each study by inverse of variance.
In 5 comparative studies (1,340 patients), the rate of neurological complications of glycerol compared to that of dexamethasone was 1.02 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98 compared to 1.12]. The rate of neurological complications of dexamethasone compared to dexamethasone glycerol was 1 (95% CI, 0.97 compared to 1.03), dexamethasone compared to placebo was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.97 compared to 1.03), glycerol compared to glycerol dexamethasone was 0.98 (95% CI, 0.94 compared to 1.02), and glycerol compared to placebo was 0.97 (95% CI, 0.94 compared to 1.01). In these studies, no difference was reported between dexamethasone and glycerol in terms of reducing neurological complications.
Although there were some weak evidences for the nonstatistical significant effect of glycerol in the prevention of neurologic complication after meningitis, there was no difference between glycerol and dexamethasone.

At present, when a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is made, serious damage has already been done to nerve cells of the substantia nigra pars compacta. The diagnosis of PD in its earlier stages, before this irreversible damage, would be of enormous benefit for future treatment strategies designed to slow or halt the progression of this disease that possibly prevents accumulation of toxic aggregates. As a molecular biomarker for the detection of PD in its earlier stages, alpha?synuclein (??syn), which is a key component of Lewy bodies, in which it is found in an aggregated and fibrillar form, has attracted considerable attention. Here, ??syn is reviewed in details.

Dual malignancy is rare in adolescents. Dual malignancy with the second malignancy of thyroid is rare. No association has been
reported between dysgerminoma of ovary and carcinoma thyroid in medical literature. Despite a thorough PubMed search (key words — Papillary carcinoma of thyroid, metachronous, dysgerminoma ovary), we were unable to find a previous reported case of metachronous papillary carcinoma of thyroid (PTC) following dysgerminoma of the ovary. After surgery, the patient is being
regularly followed up for recurrence/development of new primary. We report this unusual and rare case in a 17-year-old female patient.