Journal of Inflammatory Diseases
Volume:25 Issue: 4, Winter 2022

The initial reports of an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia suggest that COVID-19 is a severe disease.

We aimed to investigate the clinical parameters and mortality of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Velayat Hospital in Qazvin, Iran.

In this single-centered, cross-sectional, and retrospective study, we enrolled all adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Velayat Hospital from March 20 to April 30, 2020. Sociodemographic data, laboratory values, and disease outcomes of the patients were collected. Then, the obtained data were compared between survivors and non-survivors.

Of 1100 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, 74 adult patients were included in this study. The Mean±SD age of the 52 patients was 60.1±16.46 years. All patients had underlying diseases. The Mean±SD time from admission to discharge from the ICU was 12.39±6.48 days. The logistic regression test indicated that the amount of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) during hospitalization in the ICU was associated with increased mortality risk (OR=1.081, 95% CI=1.024-1.141; P=0.005). Moreover, the same test showed that platelet count (OR: 0.991, 95% CI: 0.985-0.997; P=0.002) and hemoglobin concentration (OR: 0.691, 95% CI: 0.502-0.951; P=0.023) were associated with a decreased mortality risk in ICU patients; this means that patients with higher hemoglobin concentration and platelet counts had a lower mortality risk in ICU.

The mortality rate of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia is high. The BUN level was a predictor of mortality in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, it is recommended that BUN be measured during initial referral, and based on that, timely and appropriate corrective actions be conducted.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) have a high risk of catching SARS-CoV-2 infection. Seroprevalence studies can provide related data on HCWs with a history of infections. Despite numerous seroepidemiological reports of COVID-19 in different groups, there are no such reports for HCWs working in Rafsanjan City, Iran. This study aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among HCWs.

Blood samples were obtained from 295 participants, including healthcare personnel and administrative staff. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody was measured by the ELISA method, and the obtained data were analyzed with the Chi-square test and logistic regression. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The previous exposure to COVID-19 was higher in HCWs than in administrative department staff. Fifteen out of 130 (11.5%) participants had experienced SARS-CoV-2 infection without any symptoms. The results of logistic regression indicated that traveling (OR: 018, 95% CI: 0.08–0.74, P=0.001), occupation (OR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.01–0.94, P<0.05), history of respiratory problems (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.01–1.94, P<0.05), and major clinical signs (OR: 8.09, 95% CI: 3.7-17.66, P<0.001) are important factors which affect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. 

Our results indicated an occupational risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs. Because some HCWs are asymptomatic, their communication, such as traveling, must be controlled, and it is necessary to ensure the safety of HCWs and reduce their transfer to the community and patients.

Despite the fast spread of COVID-19 around the world, no definitive treatment has been found for the disease yet. Various drugs have been tried to reduce the mortality rate of the disease. In this regard, convalescent plasma therapy is a beneficial method to control the illness.

This study aims to determine the outcomes of patients receiving this therapy in Bu-Ali Hospital, Qazvin, Iran.

The present study is a case series of 60 samples. The samples were selected by purposive sampling method. The study was conducted after ethical approval and patients’ consent in 2020. The inclusion criteria were having a lung scan confirming the disease by an internist or infectious disease specialist, a positive PCR test, and a history of receiving plasma during treatment.

Out of 60 patients with COVID-19 who received convalescent plasma, 33 (55%) survived. The findings indicate that patients who received plasma and died were not significantly different from surviving patients regarding age, sex, underlying disease, and length of hospital stay (P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference between the deceased and surviving patients regarding plasma receiving time (P=0.005).

If the convalescent plasma therapy of patients starts closer to the time of admission, the effect of therapy on reducing patient mortality will be greater.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprises a group of conditions that happen together and increase the risk of heart disorders. MetS has known characteristic diagnostic criteria and is diagnosed through physical examination and blood tests. This syndrome is extremely prevalent in patients with acute myocardial infarction. We aimed to determine the prevalence of MetS and its relationship with myocardial infarction and response to treatment in patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction under fibrinolytic treatment.

In this cross-sectional study, 145 patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were enrolled. They were referred to Bu-Ali Sina Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, between January 2018 and January 2019 and were candidates for thrombolytic therapy. The patients were divided into two groups with and without MetS according to the NCEP ATP III definition (the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III). In each group, the ST resolution of more than 50% in electrocardiogram was evaluated 90 minutes after thrombolytic administration. In addition, angiographic information and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were compared between the two groups.

Overall, the prevalence of MetS was 57.2% in the study population. After treatment, ST-segment resolution of more than 50%, the number of involved coronary vessels, the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grade, mean LVEF, and type of myocardial infarction were similar in both study groups.

Our study indicates that MetS does not affect the response rate to thrombolytic treatment.

This study aimed to compare the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin in the first trimester of pregnancy between normal and abnormal pregnant women (complicated with gestational diabetes) to determine if these chemicals have any predictive value in the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

This prospective cohort study was carried out on 300 pregnant women attending the Prenatal Clinic of Kosar Hospital, Qazvin City, Iran, during 2017-2018. Based on Carpenter and Constant criteria, the pregnant women undertook an oral glucose tolerance test with 75 g glucose to diagnose gestational diabetes. We also measured the serum levels of CRP and ferritin in all the women in the first trimester. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software version 24. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant

A total of 40 pregnant women were found to have gestational diabetes. The levels of CRP and ferritin were slightly higher in women with gestational diabetes, although this increase was not statistically significant. Regarding the receiver operating characteristic curve, body mass index (BMI) could predict the incidence of gestational diabetes (72.5% sensitivity, 53.1% specificity, P=0.023). The higher BMI and CRP levels in the first trimester were also significantly associated with macrosomia, which could predict macrosomia with 75% sensitivity, 73.6% specificity for BMI (P=0.005), and 87.5% sensitivity, 58.1% specificity for BMI. 

There was no correlation between CRP and ferritin levels and gestational diabetes in the first trimester of pregnancy. BMI before pregnancy was the only variable related to gestational diabetes. Increased values of both CRP and BMI were associated with fetal macrosomia

Preeclampsia is one of the common disorders in pregnancy. It is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria in the second half of pregnancy. It is also one of the three main causes of death in pregnant women.

This study investigated the risk factors of preeclampsia in women referred to Kowsar Hospital in Qazvin Province, Iran.

In this case-control study, after reviewing 7855 cases of pregnant women referred to Kowsar Hospital in 2016, 171 hospitalized patients with severe preeclampsia were put in the case group, and 171 patients with delivery problems were in the control group. Then, we compared the collected data about risk factors, such as a history of preeclampsia, hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus, infertility, twin, and body mass index, in both groups.

The Mean±SD age of the pregnant women with preeclampsia was 31.19±6.42 years with an interquartile interval of 26-35 years. History of preeclampsia (P=0.02), hypertension (P=0.001), and body mass index (P=0.001) were significantly higher in the preeclampsia group than in the control group. Also, there was no significant relationship between a history of diabetes mellitus, infertility, or twin with preeclampsia (P<0.05).

This study showed that the risk factors of a history of preeclampsia, hypertension, and body mass index significantly differed between the case and control groups.

Physicians’ knowledge and comments are important in the uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) screening among women. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge of ​senior medical students on HPV as future physicians of Iran.

A cross-sectional study was performed between March 2021 and May 2021. All final-year medical students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were invited to complete an online standardized questionnaire through a mobile app. The Independent samples t test was performed for data analysis in SPSS software version 16.

In the present study, 215 female medical students and 128 male ones participated, with an average age of 23.14 (SD=1.21) years. Most of the students (85.67%) were single. The average knowledge score of the students was 9.25 (SD=6.21), demonstrating their low level of knowledge of HPV. Furthermore, no significant score differences were observed between students regarding their gender and marital status.

Regarding the low scores of final-year medical students’ knowledge of HPV, educational programs should be directed to HPV to improve medical students’ knowledge about this virus and its related diseases.

Peri-implantitis is an infectious disease around dental implants characterized by inflammation of the peri-implant connective tissues and progressive loss of supporting bone, with an estimated prevalence of around 22%. Peri-implantitis microbiota is different from that observed in both periodontitis and healthy implants. Knowledge of this microbiota is crucial for the proper treatment of the disease.

To assess the differences in the oral microbiota in dental implant-bearing patients with and without peri-implantitis.

A search for studies on microbiota and peri-implantitis up to June 2021 was conducted in the following databases: PubMed (MEDLINE, Cochrane Library), Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, LILACS, and Google Scholar. For dichotomous outcomes, the effects of the intervention were expressed as odds ratios (OR) using Mantel-Haenszel (M-H) method with 95% confidence intervals.

Twelve studies with 1324 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Peri-implantitis patients were more likely to be carriers of the following microorganisms: Tannerella forsythia (OR=3.17, 95% CI: 1.55 to 6.51, P<0.01); Prevotella intermedia (OR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.73 to 2.82, P<0.001); Treponema denticola (OR=2.18, 95% CI: 1.70 to 2.79, P<0.001); Porphyromonas gingivalis (OR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.16 to 3.59, P=0.01); Fusobacterium nucleatum (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.21 to 2.72, P<0.01), and Campylobacter rectus (OR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.32 to 2.17, P<0.001). In contrast, the bacteria Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Streptococcus mitis were more prevalent in peri-implantitis patients but not significantly (P>0.05).

Peri-implantitis modifies the quantitative and qualitative composition of the oral microbiota.