مجله دانشکده پزشکی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران
سال هشتاد و یکم شماره 8 (پیاپی 271، آبان 1402)

Left ventricular thrombosis (LVT) is a very serious condition and life-threatening complication that usually occurs after acute occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery followed by acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (STEMI), which leads to significant regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA). It should be noted that its diagnosis, treatment, and management are challenging now and depend on various factors such as the type of thrombus, time of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and underlying disease. The preferred diagnostic method is cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), but transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is routinely used for diagnostic and screening purposes also follow-up of response to treatment. It is worth mentioning that when the diagnosis of left ventricular thrombus is not clear with conventional echocardiography, contrast echocardiography is used for more resolution and detailed information. Left ventricular thrombosis can appear in both acute and chronic forms and lead to significant complications, the most important of them are stroke and systemic arterial embolism (SE). According to previous studies, vitamin K antagonist (warfarin) by keeping INR within the therapeutic range currently used to treat left ventricular thrombosis. Although the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) has brought excellent outcomes, but due to the lack of large clinical trials, the routine use of these agents is controversial, and only in case of warfarin intolerance or contraindications, DOACs can be used as an alternative. Generally, the best way to prevent left ventricular thrombosis is primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty (primary PCI) which preserves left ventricular function. Depending on the sensitivity of the diagnostic method, thrombus will likely resolve in >50% of patients by six months after the MI. On the other hand, in rare cases, surgery is indicated if a thrombosis remains despite the medical treatment especially if it is accompanied by a left ventricular aneurysm. The purpose of this narrative review is to evaluate the latest evidence in the field of left ventricular thrombosis management and to adopt the best approach for these patients.

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with multi-organ involvement mostly due to fibrosis and ectopic or excessive collagen fibers production in organs. Myocardial fibrosis is the main finding of cardiac involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis. In recent studies, the presence of Fragmented QRS complexes (FQRS) has been shown in the surface electrocardiogram in relation to fibrosis.

The present study is a case-control study during March 2019 to February 2020 that was conducted in 148 patients with scleroderma referred to the Rheumatology clinic in Shariati Hospital and 101 non-ischemic individuals in the control group matched by age and sex with the patient group. All the medical records were reviewed and those who were low risk according to 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk assessment were selected as case groups. Data of ECG were evaluated for availability of FQRS or conductive abnormalities and calculating PR, QRS, QT, QTc and Tp-e intervals.

Of the 141 patients with systemic sclerosis, 127(85.81%) were female and 21(14.19%) were male. In the control group, 81 women (80.2%) were present. 61(41.2%) of patients with scleroderma and 8(7.9%) of the control group in this study had FQRS changes in their electrocardiogram. In this study, QRS, QTc and Tp-e intervals were significantly higher in patients with systemic sclerosis compared to those in the control group. The frequency of FQRS, LAHB and LPHB in patients with systemic sclerosis was significantly more than control group. The relationship between PR, QRS, QTc, Tp-e intervals with age, length of disease onset and the severity of skin involvement was assessed. There was a significant correlation between PR-interval and age. Furthermore, there were a correlation between QRS interval and Rodnan skin score, Pulmonary Artery Pressure and Finger to Palm. It is also a meaningful correlation between QTc interval and Rodnan score.

The FQRS finding in electrocardiogram in patients with systemic sclerosis, which has no obvious cardiac symptoms, may indicate myocardial fibrosis and predict future cardiac disorders.

The aim of this study was to identify the associated risk factors of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

This retrospective case-control study was conducted at Firooz-abadi Hospital between 2019 and 2021. The study included 90 pregnant women diagnosed with PROM or PPROM (case group), compared with 90 women without this complication (control group) who presented to the hospital during the specified period. Demographic and clinical information of the case group was collected and compared with data from 90 pregnant women in the control group, matched for gestational age and other relevant factors. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the differences between the groups.

Maternal age and weight were found to be significantly lower in the case group compared to the control group (P=0.02, P<0.001, respectively). This suggests that younger age and lower maternal weight may be risk factors for PROM and PPROM. Furthermore, the number of women with a history of PROM or PPROM was significantly higher in the Case group (P<0.001), indicating that a previous occurrence of membrane rupture increases the risk of subsequent incident. In addition, the study findings showed a significantly higher rate of smoking among pregnant women in the case group compared to the control group (P=0.04). Moreover, the occurrence of urinary tract infections during pregnancy and chorioamnionitis was significantly higher in the case group (P<0.001), suggesting that these infections may contribute to membrane rupture.

In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights into the risk factors associated with PROM and PPROM. It highlights that lower maternal age and weight, a history of PROM or PPROM, lower gestational age, a history of gestational diabetes mellitus and first-trimester bleeding, smoking, and urinary tract infections during pregnancy are significantly associated with an increased risk of PROM and PPROM. These findings emphasize the importance of early identification and management of these risk factors in order to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of PROM and PPROM, ultimately improving maternal and neonatal outcomes. Further research and public health initiatives are warranted to raise awareness and promote preventive measures targeting these identified risk factors.

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been used as one of the most promising methods to treat hypoxic respiratory failure in COVID-19.

In this study, the clinical outcomes of 80 patients with acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 were evaluated. The disease was confirmed in two methods clinical and radiographic confirmation of disease in patients with an acute respiratory infection (highly suspected) or in some cases with a positive PCR test. The rate of discharge from the ICU without the need for intubation was evaluated as the primary outcome and based on that, the patients were divided into two groups: NIV failure and NIV success. Mortality rate, length of stay in ICU, frequency of intubated patients and laboratory factors of patients as secondary outcomes in two groups were compared.

Regarding the outcome of death and discharge, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Therefore, all patients with corona who were admitted to ICU and received NIV and were intubated due to non-responsiveness to NIV died and the patients were discharged from the hospital without intubation. All the patients investigated in this study, had received antiviral, antibiotic, and glucocorticoid treatment during hospitalization. In this study, the patients who were in the NIV success group and were not intubated had a lower mean age compared to the group without NIV success (54 vs. 67 years, respectively). The number of white blood cells in the NIV success group was 3945.28±10011.21 and in the group without NIV success was 9242.38±17296.16, which was statistically significant (P=0.004). The number of blood neutrophils in the successful and unsuccessful NIV groups was 12.19±83.04 and 4.31±89.49, respectively (P=0.034). The mean APACHEII score in patients in the NIV success group (11.07±5.05) was significantly lower than the group without NIV success (20.16±4.96).

Mortality was higher in the intubated group than in the NIV group. The combination of APACHEII score and respiratory rate one hour after receiving NIV can predict success with NIV.

Understanding the complex processes of the immune system in dealing with the covid-19 infection, which is probably related to polymorphisms in cytokine and chemokine genes, can explain the pro-inflammatory condition of patients. Accordingly, in the present study, the correlation between the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the pro-inflammatory IFNAR2 gene and the severity of the disease of COVID-19 was investigated.

This research was reviewed by the ethics committee of the Pasteur Institute of Iran and was approved by this committee with the ethics code IR.PII.REC.1400.042. and continued from December 2021 to November 2022. This study was conducted on 954 patients with COVID-19, who were divided into two groups: those who recovered and those who died. COVID-19 infection in all 954 volunteers has been confirmed through rtReal Time-PCR of oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs.After taking blood samples from patients and extracting DNA, IFNAR2 gene was amplified using specific primers. Then RFPL method and Cac8I restriction enzyme were used to investigate rs2236757 polymorphisms in IFNAR2 gene. Genotype of people was determined according to the pattern of formed bands. The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS software.

Calculation of genotypic frequency of rs2236757 polymorphism in IFNAR2 gene showed that in general 21% of cases had AA genotype, 47% GA genotype and 32% GG genotype. The allelic frequency of this polymorphism showed that 56% of cases had G allele and 44% had A allele. In investigating the correlation of rs2236757 polymorphism in IFNAR2 gene with the severity of the disease of Covid-19, the OR value for the GG genotype was equal to 1, which indicates the absence of the role of this polymorphism in the severity of the disease. On the other hand, A allele was significantly more in recovered people than in deceased people, and the value of OR<1 also confirmed this issue.

The results showed that rs2236757 in the IFNAR2 gene is related to the reduction of disease severity, which indicates the important role of genes related to inflammatory responses, as well as the role of genetic variants of these genes in the severity of COVID-19.

Most people often complain of abdominal bloating. The present study was designed and conducted with the purpose of examining the effect of sequential treatment of Metronidazole and Probiotics, and Probiotics alone in reducing the severity of symptoms of functional bloating.

The present study was a randomized clinical trial that was carried out from March 2022 until June 2023 in Isfahan and Khurshid Hospital. The studied population were suffering from flatulence and were diagnosed with functional bloating by a gastroenterologist based on Rome III criteria. Then they entered one of the two study groups in a double-blind manner. The first group was treated with Metronidazole for two weeks and then with Probiotic for two weeks. The second group was treated with Probiotic for four weeks. The severity of patients' bloating was measured by a 4-question questionnaire in five stages: before the start of the study, two weeks after, four weeks after, six weeks after, eight weeks after and 12 weeks after the start of the study.  Finally, the obtained information was entered into SPSS software version 24 Repeated measures ANOVA was used to investigate the relationship between variables.

After collecting the data, 43 patients in the first group and 44 patients in the second group were examined. 72.1% of the first group were women and 27.9% were men. In group two, this ratio was 72.7% for women and 27.3% for men. In this intervention, it was seen that in the 1st group, the average severity of bloating decreased until the end of the eighth week and after the second week of drug treatment, and then increased. In the second group, the average intensity of bloating decreased until the end of the fourth week and at the same time as the end of drug treatment, and then increased.

It was shown that in the study, the effect of this combined treatment had a greater effect in reducing the severity of functional bloating among patients with functional bloating.

Congenital heart diseases (CHD) as one of the most common disorders in newborns are leading cause of perinatal mortality, also one of respiratory distress syndrome causes in newborns. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of congenital heart diseases in infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

This cross-sectional study is a retrospective study that surveyed congenital heart diseases in 145 term infants who were hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Afzalipour hospital, Kerman. These infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from March 20, 2012 to the end of March 20, 2015 due to respiratory distress syndrome. Information was extracted from the medical records and then were entered in the checklist. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage), analytical (chi-square test) and SPSS version 20 software were used to analyze the data.

Out of 145 infants with respiratory distress syndrome, 123 infants had congenital heart diseases. Therefore, the prevalence of congenital heart diseases in patients with respiratory distress syndrome was 84.83%. The most infants with congenital heart diseases were male (66.67%) and weighed between 3-4 kg (47.97%). More than 69% of newborns with congenital heart diseases were born by cesarean section and most of them were receiving medical treatment (85.37%). There was a significant difference between patient outcome and congenital heart diseases (P=0.018). The difference between sex, weight and type of delivery with congenital heart diseases was not significant. In terms of the prevalence of congenital heart diseases, atrial septal defect (ASD) was the most prevalent with 14.48%. After that, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) was the most prevalent with 11.72%.

Due to the high prevalence of congenital heart diseases in term children with respiratory distress syndrome, all term infants with symptoms of respiratory distress syndrome need cardiac examination, especially echocardiography to diagnose the cause. In addition, due to the high mortality of infants with congenital heart diseases with symptoms of respiratory distress syndrome, the need for more, more accurate and complete care of these infants is suggested.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adherence to the ESC 2020 guideline for the management of NSTE-ACS patients admitted to Shahid Chamran Cardiology Hospital affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2021.

In this retrospective study which was done during April 2021 to September 2021 we reviewed the hospital documents of 239 NSTE-ACS patients, in regard to prescribed medication during the admission period in Shahid Chamran Heart Center. Guideline-adherence was evaluated according to ESC2020 guideline. Totally 18 items were evaluated including Antiplatelet (Clopidogrel, Ticagrelor, and Prasugrel) Anticoagulant (Heparin or Enoxaparin), PPI, Statin, Beta blocker, and RAAS blockers (including ACEI/ARB or MRA). In each section the selected drug and the administered dose were compared with the guideline and the guideline adherence for each part was expressed as percent.

Almost complete guideline adherence was described for 12 out of 18 reviewed items (77%). However, guideline adherence in relation to the type of medicine chosen as an antiplatelet was reported to be very low, and only 1.2% of the cases received ticagrelor or prasugrel which are the guideline recommended antiplatelet agent. Additionally, most of the administered GP2b3a antagonist agents such as eptifibatide were not in accordance with the guideline (Guideline adherence 39.74%). Also, the choice of the anticoagulant agent was among the items with low guideline adherence (29.76%) and the cross-over between anticoagulants (changing heparin to enoxaparin or vice versa) which has been inhibited by the guideline was seen with high incidence in this center (78 cases).

The present study showed relatively high guideline adherence in the most aspects of medical management. However, compliance was reported to be low in relation to the antiplatelet selection, the choice of the anticoagulant agent, and the indication for GP2b3a antagonist use, which maybe due to the higher cost of recommended agents, and shortage of some medications and dosage forms in Iran.

Crohn's disease is considered a heterogeneous disorder with multi-factorial etiologies, in which the interaction of genetics and environment manifests the disease. Adverse childhood experiences can affect future physical and mental health outcomes. The rich innervation of the intestine with the Vagus nerve and hormonal interactions on the one hand and the constant contact of the digestive system with various pathogenic and non-pathogenic antigens have a proven role in autoimmune diseases and can gradually be chosen as a therapeutic goal.

We are reporting a case of Crohn's flare-up after trauma in a pediatric case. A 2.5-year-old male with a through and through anal trauma was presented in Akbar Children's Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, Spring 2023 with active bleeding but conscious. He then underwent a physical examination under general anesthesia in the operating room. At the Lithotomy position, a penetrating wound at the 3 o'clock anal verge and a tear in the perineal area at 9 o'clock, which, according to the evidence of pus discharge, were seen hours after the incident which was irrigated with normal saline and Hydrogen Peroxide respectively. Due to the contamination of the area, a supportive colostomy was decided to be closed after six months. At the appointed time during the colonoscopy, the pediatric gastroenterologist noticed extensive inflammation in the distal patch of the colon, which was consistent with Crohn's disease. Histopathological studies then confirmed this diagnosis. This was even though there were no symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in the history of the boy's illness before the accident. The patient is then treated with prednisolone, Asacol, and ciprofloxacin, and after the disease subsides, the colostomy surgery team closes the disease.

Trauma can be an immune-disrupting factor in the digestive system, and trying to reset the brain-gut axis can be chosen as a therapeutic goal.