Tanaffos Respiration Journal
Volume:15 Issue: 1, Winter 2016

Despite widely available data about childhood asthma, there are limited data about the prevalence of asthma among young adults in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms among medical students in the city of Sari in Northern Iran.
The prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms was studied using a standard questionnaire. Based on the information obtained from the questionnaires, the study participants were divided into two groups of asthmatics and non-asthmatics. Pulmonary function tests including forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) before, and after salbutamol inhalation were measured in all subjects with asthma and approximately 10% of those without asthma.
A total of 1,011 subjects (374 males, 637 females) participated in this study. Asthma was found in 3.5% of the subjects (3.2% males and 3.6% females). The 12-month prevalence of wheezing, coughing at rest, coughing at night, breathlessness at rest, exercise-induced wheezing, and exercise-induced coughing in the entire study population was 11.1%, 12.4%, 13.4%, 13.3%, 17.7%, and 16.7%, respectively. The prevalence of all asthma-related symptoms was significantly higher among asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics. Moreover, asthmatic subjects showed lower FEV1 and FVC values compared to nonasthmatic subjects (P The high prevalence of asthma related symptoms in the present study strongly suggests that asthma is under diagnosed and under treated among participants.

The frequent use of corticosteroid inhalers (CSIs), especially at higher doses, has been accompanied by concern about both systemic and local adverse reactions. The local adverse reactions of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are considered to constitute infrequent and minor problems. However, while not usually serious, these local adverse reactions are of clinical importance. This study assessed the prevalence of local adverse reactions, their clinical features, role of inhaler devices and current measures that have been suggested to prevent the problem.
This study was performed in YAS clinic in Tabriz on 500 asthmatic patients. A questionnaire about the patients’ demographic information, methods of using CSIs, local care after using CSIs, using spacer devices, doses of ICSs, and adverse reactions were filled then the patients were clinically examined for local adverse reactions.
Only 56% patients were using CSIs properly. In general, the incidence of complications was: oropharyngeal candidiasis 25.6%, laryngeal weakness 8.8%, choking 17.6%, tooth decay 15.2%, speechlessness 36.2%, taste decrease 20.8%, tongue burning 29.8% and tongue abrasion 27.8%.
Persistent asthma can be effectively controlled with currently available CSIs. Although not life-threatening, local adverse reactions of ICSs are clinically significant and warrant attention. Use of spacer devices and changes in CSI usage, dosage amount and frequency and rinsing and gargling are the methods that have been used to reduce the incidence of local adverse reactions.

Several studies have shown that smoking, as a modifiable risk factor, can affect tuberculosis (TB) in different aspects such as enhancing development of TB infection, activation of latent TB and its related mortality. Since willingness to quit smoking is a critical stage, which may lead to quit attempts, being aware of smokers’ intention to quit and the related predictors can provide considerable advantages.
In this cross-sectional study, subjects were recruited via a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Sampling was performed during 2012-2014 among pulmonary TB (PTB) patients referred to health centers in Tehran implementing the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) strategy and a TB referral center. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 22 and the factors influencing quit intention were assessed using bivariate regression and multiple logistic regression models.
In this study 1,127 newly diagnosed PTB patients were studied; from which 284 patients (22%) were current smokers. When diagnosed with TB, 59 (23.8%) smokers quit smoking. Among the remaining 189 (76.2%) patients who continued smoking, 52.4% had intention to quit. In the final multiple logistic regression model, living in urban areas (OR=8.81, P=0.003), having an office job (OR= 7.34, P=0.001), being single (OR=4.89, P=0.016) and a one unit increase in the motivation degree (OR=2.60, P The study found that PTB patients who continued smoking had remarkable intention to quit. Thus, it is recommended that smoking cessation interventions should be started at the time of TB diagnosis. Understanding the associated factors can guide the consultants to predict patients’ intention to quit and select the most proper management to facilitate smoking cessation for each patient.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition in adults. In most cases, first-line therapy includes treatment with positive airway pressure devices. However, because of discomfort, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compliance is often poor. To determine the willingness of patients to use CPAP device, the relationship of demographic and polysomnographic variables with tolerance and the willingness to use CPAP, was evaluated.
In this cross- sectional study, 120 OSA patients who were treated with CPAP in Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were selected by convenience sampling. Polysomnographic variables, willingness to use CPAP for short and long periods of time and possible complications were evaluated.
One hundred-twenty cases with a mean age of 53±10.3 years were assessed. The mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was 11.9 ± 6.2 in CPAP users versus 11.8±6.1 in patients who did not use CPAP. The willingness to use CPAP for short-term was significantly different between the two groups (P=0.008). The average minimum oxygen saturation rate of patients was 75.21% in CPAP users versus 71.63% in non CPAP users. Also, the average desaturation index was higher in CPAP users (54.5 vs. 44.98). The mean ESS was 14.03 ± 6.19 in those who accepted long-term treatment versus 8.85 ± 4.89 (P=0.003). Skin wounds and rhinitis were reported in 4.1% and 4.1% of patients, respectively.
It is concluded that high CPAP compliance rates are achievable through comprehensive CPAP therapy.

Malnutrition is very common among chronically hospitalized patients, especially those in the intensive care unit (ICU). Identifying the patients at risk and providing suitable nutritional support can prevent and/or overcome malnutrition in them. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and partial parenteral nutrition (PPN) are two common routes to deliver nutrition to hospitalized patients. We conducted a multicenter, prospective double blind randomized controlled trial to evaluate the benefits and compare their adverse effects of each method.
97 patients were enrolled and divided into two groups based on the inclusion criteria. Serum protein, serum albumin, serum transferrin, and total lymphocyte count were measured on days 7 and 14.
We did not find any statistically significant differences in clinical status or laboratory values between the two groups but there were significant improvements in measured lab values between days 7 and 14 (p This study shows that both TPN and PPN can be used safely in chronic ICU patients to provide nutritional support and prevent catabolic state among chronic critically ill patients. We need to develop precise selection criteria in order to choose the patients who would benefit the most from TPN and PPN. In addition, appropriate laboratory markers are needed to monitor the metabolic requirements of the patients and assess their progress.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic bacterial disease, which despite the presence of effective drug strategies, still remains a serious health problem worldwide. Estimation of survival rate is an appropriate indicator for prognosis in patients with pulmonary TB. Therefore, this research was designed with the aim of accurate estimation of the survival of patients by taking both the death event and relapse into consideration.
Based on a retrospective cohort study, information of 2,299 patients with pulmonary TB that had been referred to and treated in Masih Daneshvari Hospital from 2005 to 2015 was reviewed. To estimate the survival of patients with pulmonary TB, the competing risks model, which considered death and relapse as competing events, was used. In addition, the effect of factors affecting the cumulative incidence function (CIF) of death event and relapse was also examined.
The effect of risk factors on the CIF of death events and relapse showed that patients’ age, marital status, contact with TB patients, adverse effect of drugs, imprisonment and HIV positivity were factors that affected the CIF of death. Meanwhile, sex, marital status, imprisonment and HIV positivity were factors affecting the CIF of relapse (P The use of competing risks model in survival analysis of patients with pulmonary TB with consideration of competing events, enables more accurate estimation of survival.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has emerged as a new marker of inflammation associated with the severity of several respiratory and cardiac diseases.
We investigated whether the degree of systemic inflammation in sarcoidosis patients as measured by the NLR is associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH).
A NLR > 3.5 occurred with a significantly higher frequency in sarcoidosis patients with PH (50% vs. 24%, P=0.016) yielding a sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 78%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 41.9% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.4% and remained independently associated with PH in multivariate analysis (OR: 3.254, 95% CI: 1.094– 9.678, P=0.034).
We conclude that level of inflammation in sarcoidosis patients may be associated with the development of PH. Owing to the relatively good specificity and NPV, NLR may be a good negative test, which is a simple, inexpensive and widely available in office-based setting to predict the risk of PH in sarcoidosis patients.

Hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) is a major adverse effect of abacavir (ABC), which occurs in 5-8% of Caucasians. The relationship between Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and ABC HSR has been reported in various populations. It has been proposed to administer ABC only to HLA-B*5701 negative patients to avoid this reaction. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of HLA-B*5701 in Iranian HIV positive patients. We also sought to find the relationship between this allele with ABC HSR in patients who received the medication.
We screened patients for HLA-B*5701 allele using SybrGreen real time PCR-melting method on blood samples from HIV positive patients who were referred to our hospital. The quality of the extracted genome was evaluated by B-globin housekeeping gene as internal control prior to HLAB*5701 allele screening.
Of 198 HIV-infected patients, 6 (3.0%) had the HLA-B*5701 allele (95% CI, 1%–5%). Among the 28 patients who were given ABC, one individual had the HLA-B*5701 allele and experienced ABC HSR.
Prevalence of HLA-B*5701 in Iranian patients was lower than that in Caucasians but was comparable with that of other Middle Eastern populations. Screening for HLA-B*5701 before ABC administration as part of antiretroviral therapy may reduce the risk of HSR.

Penicillium notatum is a fungus that widely exists in the environment and is often non-pathogenic to humans. However, in immunocompromised hosts it may be recognized as a cause of systemic mycosis. A 44-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was admitted to our hospital with fever and neutropenia. Due to no improvement after initial treatment, he underwent bronchoscopy. The patient was found to have P. notatum and Pneumocystis jiroveci infection, and therefore was given voriconazole, primaquine and clindamycin. The patient was successfully treated and suffered no complications.
This case highlights P. notatum as a cause of infection in immunocompromised patients. To the best of our knowledge, mixed lung infection with P. notatum and P. jiroveci in a patient with AML has not been previously reported.

Rupture of thoracic aortic aneurysm is a life threatening condition. Rupture in the right pleural cavity is extremely rare. We report the case of an 80-year-old man with a spontaneous right hemothorax. Diagnosis was made by computed tomography (CT) scan. He was managed with chest tube and stabilization. The patient died before any surgical intervention. We report this case to emphasize that rupture of aortic aneurysm should be considered in the evaluation of spontaneous hemothorax even if it is right-sided particularly in the elderly. Emergent therapy is necessary to prevent mortality.