Archives of Iranian Medicine
Volume:23 Issue: 12, Dec 2020

Individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have prolonged cognitive impairments, resulting in long-term problems with their real-life activities. Given the urgent need for evidence-based recommendations for neuropsychological management of Iranian TBI patients, the current work aimed to adapt eligible international guidelines for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation of the TBI patients in Iran.

The project was led by an executive committee, under the supervision of the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME). Following a systematic literature search and selection process, four guidelines were included for adaptation. Clinical recommendations of the source guidelines were tabulated as possible clinical scenarios for 90 PICO clinical questions covering all relevant phases of care. After summing up the scenarios, our initial list of recommendations was drafted according to the Iranian patients’ conditions. The final decision-making, with the contribution of a national interdisciplinary panel of 37 experts from across the country, was conducted in two rounds using online and offline survey forms (Round 1), and face-to-face and telephone meetings (Round 2).

A total of 63 recommendations in six sections were included in the final list of recommendations, among which 24 were considered as key recommendations. In addition, some of the recommendations were identified as fundamental, meaning that proper implementation of the other recommendations is largely dependent on their implementation.

Iranian health policy makers and rehabilitation program managers are recommended to address some fundamental issues to provide the necessary infrastructure to set up an efficient cognitive rehabilitation service system.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disease with no exact laboratory or imaging findings. IBS is more common in areas with a history of psychological trauma and war. This study aims to report the prevalence and possible determinants of IBS in southwestern Iran, an area with a notable history of war.

We randomly enrolled 1849 permanent residents in 29 cities aged 20 to 65 years. A validated for Farsi version Rome III criteria and a questionnaire, including demographic data and health history, were administered to each subject. Participants who fulfilled the Rome III criteria were categorized into three groups: Diarrhea dominant (IBS-D), Constipation dominant (IBS-C), and Mixed type (IBS-M).

The total prevalence of IBS was 3.2%, with 70% of subjects being of Arab descent (P=0.004). IBS was more common in females, singles, illiterate subjects, and people younger than 30 years; however, none of these differences were statistically significant. People with depression, anxiety, self-report of psychological disorders, and very low socioeconomic status had a significantly higher prevalence of IBS (P<0.05). After multivariable logistic regression analysis, very low socioeconomic status had an independent role in IBS predictivity (OR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.01–5.15).

This study shows a higher prevalence of IBS symptoms in a population-based study in the region compared to counterparts in other regions of Iran. Considering the higher prevalence of self-reported psychological disorders, further studies are recommended to focus on the exact diagnosis of mental disorders and their influence on IBS

We aimed to assess the results of first- and fifth-year outcomes and the effect on quality of life (QoL) of transobturator tape (TOT) treatment in patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

The patients who underwent TOT surgery between January 2008 and June 2013 were screened retrospectively. The QoL was evaluated with Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7) and Urogenital Distress Inventory-Short Form (UDI-6). The subjective evaluation of patients in terms of incontinence outcome was classified as worsened (UDI-6 and IIQ-7 if pre-operative < postoperative), improved (UDI-6 and IIQ-7 if pre-operative > postoperative), or cured (UDI-6 and IIQ-7 postoperative <10). The first-year and fifth-year success rates were compared between the IIQ-7 and UDI-6 results.

A total of 109 patients were included in the study. There was a significant improvement (P<0.001) in the patients’ UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores when the preoperative and postoperative first-year results were compared. Comparing the postoperative firstyear and fifth-year total UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores, a significant improvement was observed and the patients’ complaints were significantly reduced (P<0.001). The results of the IIQ-7 and UDI-6 questionnaire revealed that the TOT surgery success rate was 93.3% at the end of the first year and 88.7% at the end of the fifth year.

The postoperative first-year and fifth-year data reveal that TOT surgery has a high success rate and positive effects on QoL. Low complication rates and the ease of application make TOT a good alternative to other treatment modalities in surgical treatment of SUI.

Reactivation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) either during or after chemotherapy may cause serious and sometimes fatal hepatitis. All patients undergoing chemotherapy should therefore be screened in terms of HBV before chemotherapy. The purpose of this research was to identify HBV screening rates in patients with solid cancer undergoing parenteral chemotherapy and to determine the outcomes of patients undergoing HBV screening.

Data for patients undergoing parenteral chemotherapy for solid cancer from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2018 were retrieved from our electronic health record patient files in this retrospective study. Screening was defined as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) tests carried out within six months prior the first chemotherapy session.

Four thousand fifty-eight (63%) of the 6440 patients who underwent parenteral chemotherapy were screened for HBsAg and/or HBcAb. The proportions of patients screened for HBsAg and HBcAb improved from 38.8% (2012) to 76.3% (2018), and from 0.2% (2012) to 43% (2018), respectively (P<0.001). The HBsAg and HBcAb positivity rates were 2.9% and 36.5%, respectively. Antiviral prophylaxis was started in 11.8% of HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-positive patients and 40.5% of HBsAg-positive patients. HBV reactivation did not occur in patients receiving antiviral prophylaxis, but was identified in 7.2% of HBsAg-positive patients and 0.6% of HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-positive patients without antiviral prophylaxis.

Although HBV screening rates before chemotherapy are increasing among solid cancer patients, the rate of initiation of antiviral prophylaxis is still low. It is therefore important to raise awareness regarding HBV reactivation during/after chemotherapy

Recently, we have reported mutations in LARP7 gene, leading to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), the most frequent cause of disability in children with a broad phenotype spectrum and diverse genetic landscape.

Here, we present two Iranian patients from consanguineous families with syndromic intellectual disability, facial dysmorphism, and short stature.

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) revealed a novel homozygous stop-gain (c.C925T, p.R309X) variant and a previously known homozygous acceptor splice-site (c.1669-1_1671del) variant in LARP7 gene, indicating the diagnosis of Alazami syndrome.

These identified variants in patients with Alazami syndrome were consistent with previously reported loss of function variants in LARP7 and provide further evidence that loss of function of LARP7 is the disease mechanism.

To apply a novel method to adjust for HIV knowledge as an unmeasured confounder for the effect of unsafe injection on future HIV testing.

The data were collected from 601 HIV-negative persons who inject drugs (PWID) from a cohort in San Francisco. The panel-data generalized estimating equations (GEE) technique was used to estimate the adjusted risk ratio (RR) for the effect of unsafe injection on not being tested (NBT) for HIV. Expert opinion quantified the bias parameters to adjust for insufficient knowledge about HIV transmission as an unmeasured confounder using Bayesian bias analysis.

Expert opinion estimated that 2.5%–40.0% of PWID with unsafe injection had insufficient HIV knowledge; whereas 1.0%–20.0% who practiced safe injection had insufficient knowledge. Experts also estimated the RR for the association between insufficient knowledge and NBT for HIV as 1.1-5.0. The RR estimate for the association between unsafe injection and NBT for HIV, adjusted for measured confounders, was 0.96 (95% confidence interval: 0.89,1.03). However, the RR estimate decreased to 0.82 (95% credible interval: 0.64, 0.99) after adjusting for insufficient knowledge as an unmeasured confounder.

Our Bayesian approach that uses expert opinion to adjust for unmeasured confounders revealed that PWID who practice unsafe injection are more likely to be tested for HIV – an association that was not seen by conventional analysis.

Due to the physiological changes in the body during pregnancy, the increased susceptibility to viral infections during this period and also the high prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Guilan province, Iran, this study aimed to evaluate risk factors, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings and imaging of pregnant mothers with COVID-19.

In this descriptive study, 70 pregnant women aged 17–41 years with COVID-19 who were hospitalized from early March to late April 2020 were enrolled. Sampling was performed by census and from all hospitals in Guilan. The research instruments included a researcher-made questionnaire, including demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, medical examinations, and paraclinical results. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 16. Frequency and percent were used to describe qualitative variables; for quantitative variables, if they were normally distributed, mean and standard deviation were used, and if they were non-normal, median and interquartile range (IQR) were used.

The most severe symptoms recorded in mothers at the time of hospitalization were fever (47%), shortness of breath (16%) and cough (15%), respectively. One of 68 (1%) was in the severe stage of the disease and two mothers (2%) were in critical condition and admitted to the intensive care unit and finally died. Fifty-five of 66 women (83%) had lymphopenia, 22 of 42 (52%) tested positive on PCR, and 30 of 33 (90%) had an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Results showed that 15 of 32 patients who gave birth had preterm delivery (46%).

The most common manifestations of the disease in pregnant women were fever, cough and shortness of breath, and in some cases muscle pain. The most common laboratory finding in infected mothers was lymphopenia. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth in women included an increase in cesarean delivery

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic health problem worldwide. In this study, we attempted to explain the clinical and laboratories characteristics of non-surviving patients, to identify the probable factors affecting disease progression.

In a retrospective study, we assessed the data from dead adult patients who were hospitalized and laboratory diagnosed with COVID-19 during March 2020. The data were obtained from electronic medical records. Moreover, a checklist including demographic, clinical, laboratorial, imaging, and treatment data was completed for each one of the patients. In case of lack of information, a member of the research team contacted the first-degree relatives via phone.

Totally, 50 patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 68.0 ± 14.1 years. Of them, 29 (58%) patients were male. Notably, the median (IQR) hospitalization time was 4.0 (2.7–6.2) days and the duration between the first symptoms to death was 10.0 (5.0–14.5) days. Also, pre-existing morbidity was reported in 42 (84%) patients, and hypertension was the most common one with 28 (54%) patients. Interestingly, body temperature more than 37.5°C was reported in only 20 (40%) patients. Nevertheless, neutrophilia (≥7109 /L) and lymphopenia (<1.0 109/L) were observed in 27 (54%) and 29 (58%) patients, respectively. Also, elevated levels of creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were common, which may be indicators of aggravation of the patients’ status.

Besides age and underlying diseases, elevated creatinine level, neutrophil count, and the inflammatory indices along with the reduced lymphocyte count can be considered as indicators of disease progression. Hence, they should be considered for admission and surveillance of patients

A definitive conclusion on the efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells-derived conditioned medium (MSCs-CM) in pulmonary fibrosis has not yet been reached. Therefore, the present meta-analysis intends to investigate the efficacy of MSCs-CM administration on improvement of pulmonary fibrosis.

An extensive search was performed on the Medline, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases by the end of August 2019. Outcomes in the present study included pulmonary fibrosis score, lung collagen deposition, lung collagen expression, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) expression and interleukin-6 expression. Finally, the data were pooled and an overall standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported.

Data from seven studies were included. Analyses showed that administration of MSCs-CM significantly improved pulmonary fibrosis (SMD = -2.36; 95% CI: -3.21, -1.51). MSCs-CM administration also attenuated lung collagen deposition (SMD = -1.70; 95% CI: -2.18, -1.23) and decreased expression of type I collagen (SMD = -6.27; 95% CI: -11.00, -1.55), type III collagen (SMD = -5.16; 95% CI: -9.86, -0.47), TGF- β1 (SMD = -3.36; 95% CI: - 5.62, -1.09) and interleukin-6 (SMD = -1.69; 95% CI: - 3.14, -0.24).

The present meta-analysis showed that administration of MSCs-CM improves pulmonary fibrosis. It seems that the effect of MSCs-CM was mediated by reducing collagen deposition as well as inhibiting the production of inflammatory chemokines such as TGF-β1 and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Since there is no evidence on the efficacy of MSCs-CM in large animals, further studies are needed to translate the finding to clinical studies.