Acta Medica Iranica
Volume:50 Issue: 1, Jan 2012

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is extensively used as an antineoplastic agent for the treatment of various cancers, as well as an immunosuppressive agent. However, despite its wide spectrum of clinical uses, CP is known to cause several adverse effects including reproductive toxicity. Crataegus monogyna is one of the oldest pharmaceutical plants that have been shown to be cytoprotective by scavenging free radicals. The present study was conducted to assess whether Crataegus monogyna fruits aqueous extract with anti-oxidant properties, could serve as a protective agent against reproductive toxicity during CP treatment in a rat model. Male Wistar rats were categorized into four groups. Two groups of rats were administered CP at a dose of 5 mg in 5 ml saline/kg/day for 28 days by oral gavages. One of these groups received Crataegus monogyna aqueous extract at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day orally four hours after cyclophosphamide administration. A vehicle treated control group and a Crataegus monogyna control group were also included. The CP-treated group showed significant decreases in the body, testes and epididymides weights as well as many histological alterations. Stereological parameters and spermatogenic activities (Sertoli cell, repopulation and miotic indices) were also significantly decreased by CP treatment. Notably, Crataegus coadministration caused a partial recovery in above-mentined parameters. These findings indicate that Crataegus monogyna may be partially protective against CP-induced testicular toxicity.

Trauma is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Injuries are responsible for about six million deaths annually, of which ninety percent occur in developing countries. In Iran, injuries are the most common cause of death among age groups below fifty. Trauma system development is a systematic and comprehensive approach to injury prevention and treatment whose effectiveness has been proved. The present study aims at designing a trauma system management model as the first step toward trauma system establishment in Iran. In this qualitative research, a conceptual framework was developed based on the public health approach and three well-known trauma system models. We used Benchmarks, Indicators and Scoring (BIS) to analyze the current situation of Iran trauma care system. Then the trauma system management was designed using the policy development phase of public health approach The trauma system management model, validated by a panel of experts, describes lead agency, trauma system plan, policy-making councils, and data-based control according to the four main functions of management: leading, planning, organizing and controlling. This model may be implemented in two phases: the exclusive phase, focusing on resource integration and the inclusive phase, which concentrates on system development. The model could facilitate the development of trauma system in Iran through pilot studies as the assurance phase of public health approach. Furthermore, the model can provide a practical framework for trauma system management at the international level.

This study was designed to compare the effect of clomiphene and letrozole in ovulatory stimulation in infertile women under intrauterine insemination who referred to Mahdiyeh infertility clinic during 2008-2009. 106 infertile women were randomly divided into two equal groups. Patients were treated with 5 mg of letrozole daily (in letrozole group) or 100 mg of clomiphene citrate daily (in clomiphene group) for five days starting on day 3 of their menses. Dose and time of FSH was similar in the two groups. Number of follicles, endometrial thickness, Pregnancy rate and prevalence of complications were compared in the two groups. Mean (±SD) of age in letrozole and clomiphene groups was 26.3 ±3.9 and 25.2 ±4.9 respectively (P=0.186). Average number of follicles was 2.5 ± 1.65 in letrozole group and 2.36 ± 1.4 in clomiphene group (P=0.764). β-hCG was positive in 11 (20.8%) in letrozole and 12 (22.6%) in clomiphene groups (P=0.814). Pregnancy rate was 20.8% and 22.6% in letrozole and clomiphene group respectively (P=0.814). There was no difference in rate of abortion between groups. Endometrial thickness (ET) at the time of hCG administration in the letrozole (6.8 ±1.5 mm) and in clomiphene (6.6 ±1.2 mm) (P=0.615). But ET>7.4 mm was found in 2 cased (3.8%) in clomiphene group and 12 cases (%22.8) in letrozole groups (P=0.01). It appears that letrozole and clomiphene have similar outcome infertile women under intrauterine insemination and these drugs are good alternative for each others.

Clofibrate is a glucuronosyl transferase inducer that has been proposed to increase the elimination of bilirubin in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. This study was conducted to determine the therapeutic effect of clofibrate in term neonates with non-hemolytic jaundice. This study was conducted on 52 newborns with pathologic unconjugated jaundice in Qazvin children hospital. Newborns divided randomly in two groups. Case group treated with clofibrate and intensive phototherapy, while control group treated only with intensive phototherapy. Serum bilirubin level was measured before and 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after treatment. Results were compared and analyzed. The mean serum level of bilirubin before treatment in the case and control groups were 20.78±2.38 and 20.52 ±2.44 mg/dl, respectively (P=0.69). The mean serum level of bilirubin in 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after treatment in the case group were 18.20±2.20, 14.70±2.06, 10.72±2.40 and 8.90±0.83 mg/dl, respectively. These values in control group were 18.26±2.42, 15.36±2.59, 12.29±2.28 and 10.23±1.50 mg/dl, respectively. There was significant difference between two groups regarding mean serum level of bilirubin 24 hours (P=0.019) and 48 hours after treatment (P=0.005). In conclusion, clofibrate was effective in reducing neonatal jaundice and its effect appeared 24 hours after treatment.

Coronary artery disease is one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity across the world. Its treatment includes medical treatment, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PCI on echocardiographic findings of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. 115 patients with coronary artery disease candidate for PCI were enrolled to our study. Echocardiography was done before PCI, the day after and 3-6 months later. LV systolic and diastolic function were measured and recorded. Echocardiographic finding compared with repeated measurement analysis. Mean age of the patients was 57.8±8.38 years. The mean Ejection Fraction (EF) was (%40.52±6.36) before, (%41.83±7.14) the day after, and (%44.0±7.89) 3-6 months after PCI. Diastolic dysfunction were mild to moderate before PCI, which in %74 (86 patients) were improved to mild dysfunction the day after PCI but not changed 3-6 months later (P<0.0001). PCI improved LV ejection fraction, and LV diastolic function in our patient''s population.

The use of noninvasive assessment tools such as multi-slice CT coronary angiography (MSCT-CA-CA) is recently considered mainly because it offers safety, patient convenience, and faster performance. The aim of the present study was to determine the ability of MSCT-CA-CA for the detection of significant stenoses in the coronary arteries, in comparison to conventional invasive coronary angiography (ICA). A total of 58 consecutive patients who were candidate for coronary angiography, with the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, from September 2006 to March 2006 were entered into the study. They underwent both coronary MSCT-CA-CA and ICA. The findings of each coronary segment were compared to MSCT-CA-CA in comparison with ICA. Based on artery analysis, sensitivity and specificity of MSCT-CA for the detection of involvement in RCA were 90.0% and 92.8%, in LAD were 71.8% and 92.9% and in LCX were 67.9% and 92.6%, respectively. On a per-segment basis, the sensitivity of MSCT-CA in the detection of injured segments ranged between 33.3% (for segment 11) and 100% (for segments 1, 2 and 12). Also, specificity ranged from 63.6% (for segment 15) and 98.1% (for segment 6). The presence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking led to the reduction of the specificity and accuracy of MSCT-CA, whereas history of diabetes mellitus could increase the specificity and accuracy of this tool. MSCT-CA has high diagnostic performance in the assessment of significant coronary artery disease. Risk factors for coronary artery disease may influence this performance.

Epilepsy is an important disease with a cumulative incidence of 3% all over the life and more than half of them are started from childhood. In this study we surveyed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in epileptic children and its relation with clinical and demographic findings in order to find better diagnostic and treatment modalities for these children in the future. In this cross sectional study, we investigated consecutively all 1 to 15-year-old epileptic children who referred to the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic from 2004 to 2010. Two hundred children were enrolled for investigation. There were 85 (42.5%) girls and 115 (57.7%) boys, aged 1 to 15-year-old (7.7±4). 196 (98%) of the children had abnormal electroencephalography (EEG). Abnormal MRI was seen in 57 (28.5%) patients and consisted of brain atrophy (10%), increasing white matter signal intensity in T2-weighted images (8%), benign cysts (5%), brain tumors (4%) and vascular abnormalities (1.5%). Abnormal MRI findings had significant relation with abnormal EEG, age, positive family history for epilepsy, dysmorphic appearance, and abnormal physical exam. Considering 98% EEG abnormalities in these epileptic children, benign nature of MRI findings in most of our cases, the high price of MRI and the small minority of patients who benefit from active intervention as a result of MRI, we suggest to use EEG for confirmation of epilepsy and perform MRI for patient with abnormal physical exams, focal neurologic deficits or focal EEG abnormalities.

The objective of this study was to determine and compare Cystatin C changes before and after radiotherapy in patients with stomach cancer who were candidate for radiotherapy. This study was conducted as a prospective cohort one. Eighteen patients with definite diagnosis of stomach cancer under treatment by radiotherapy who presented to Radiotherapy-Oncology Center of Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran-Iran, and the treatment in all cases was simultaneous chemoradiation with Xeloda were included. In all patients before radiotherapy and after radiotherapy serum creatinine (Cr) and Cystatin C were measured simultaneously. Mean cystatin level before treatment (1.2±0.4) was significantly lower than that of post-treatment (1.6±0.36), (P=0.001). Serum Cr level before treatment was 1.15±0.33 and after radiotherapy was 1.08±0.24 and did not show significant difference. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the patients before radiotherapy was -46.8 ± 21.0 and after radiotherapy was 43.8±15.8 that did not have significant difference (P=0.146) and also blood urea nitrogen (BUN) before radiotherapy was 20.72±3.7 and 20 ± 6.38 after radiotherapy that did not have significant difference (P=0.6). Comparison of the Cystatin C difference with total radiation dose of the kidneys that are put in three dose groups in radiotherapy field had association that in dose of less that 18 gray (Gy) the Cystatin C change showed significant and positive association (P=0.027; r=0.52) and about 18-24 Gy the Cystatin C difference showed significant and negative association (P=0.023, r=-0.53). It seems that for evaluating the renal function, serum Cystatin C measurement is preferable than serum Cr. level.

Antibiotic guidelines have proven to be a simple and effective intervention to guide the choice of appropriate empiric antibiotic regimens. The goals of this study were to evaluate adherence to guidelines and streamlining of antibiotics. Hospital records of hospitalized patients in infectious diseases ward Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from May 2008 to September 2009 were reviewed. Adherence to guideline was defined as the use of empiric antibiotic in accordance with the clinical diagnosis and local guideline recommendations. In this study, 528 patients with a confirmed infectious disease diagnosis were considered for analysis. The four most frequent diagnoses were skin and soft tissue infections, tuberculosis, respiratory tract infections, and HIV associated opportunistic infections. The most frequent prescribed antibiotic was ceftriaxone. Overall adherence to guideline was 70.8% and the adherence for the most frequent diagnosis was 68%. Frequency of compatibility with the guidelines for were administrated regimes on the basis of drug selection, dosage form and drug dosing were 86.2%, 97% and 84.7%, respectively. The mean lag time between patients'' hospital admission and starting empiric therapy was 1.69±4.9 days. In general, physicians'' adherence with guidelines for empiric antibiotic therapy was high in infectious disease ward with a justified delay. Larger studies are required to establish these conclusions.

The high comorbidity of medical and psychiatric diagnoses in the general hospital population requires collaboration between various medical fields to provide comprehensive health care. This study aims to find the rate of psychiatric consultations, their timing and overall diagnostic trend in comparison to previous studies. Tehran University of Medical Sciences has got an active psychiatric consultation-liaison service which includes services provided by four faculty psychiatrists (two full-time and two part-time). This study was done in two general hospitals by simple sampling in available cases. For each consultation, a board-certified faculty psychiatrist conducted a clinical evaluation based on DSM-IV-TR. Other than psychiatric diagnoses, socio-demographic variables, relative consultation rates, reasons for referral, medical diagnoses and the time stay after admission were assessed. Among 503 patients who were visited by the consultation-liaison service, there were 54.3% female with mean age of 39.8 years. In 90.1% of consultations, at least one DSM-IV-TR diagnosis was made. The most frequent diagnosis groups were mood disorder (43.5%), adjustment disorder (10.9%) and cognitive disorder (7.6%). In about 10.9% of the consultations, multiple psychiatric diagnoses were made. The mean length of hospital stay before the consultation was 12.56 days (range=1-90, SD=13). Based on our findings, the mood and cognitive disorders still remain major foci of consultation-liaison practice in general hospitals; however our findings showed high rate of adjustment disorders diagnosis and ambiguous request for psychiatric consultation which need more interdisciplinary interaction.

District of Jiroft is situated in south-east of Iran which is one of the malarious regions. Anopheles stephensi is considered as one of the main malaria vector in this region. Ecology of this species was studied in the area to understand its vector behavior for implementation of effective vector control measures. Different methods like total catch, pit shelter, night bite collection on human and animal, larval dipping methods were used for species identification, seasonal activity, anthropophilic index and egg morphological characteristics. Anthropophilicity index was assessed by ELISA test. Activity of Anopheles species started at the beginning of April, and its peak occurs in late spring. The larvae were found in the river bed with pools, stagnant streams, slow foothill streams, temporary pools, and slowly moving water with and without vegetation, drainage containers of air conditioner and palm irrigation canals. From different methods of adult collection, it was found that spray sheet collection is the appropriate method. ELISA testing of 144 blood meals of females revealed the anthropophilicity of 11.8% indicating host preference on animal, mainly cow. Ridge length and their number on the egg floats confirmed Anopheles stephensi mysorensis form. This study showed that Anopheles stephensi is the main vector of malaria in the region, although some other species may play a role. Our findings could provide a valuable clue for epidemiology and control of malaria in the southeast of Iran.

During a cross-sectional study, patients who were admitted to the orthopedic department of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences were asked about opium/opioid abuse. Demographic characteristics, the pattern of consumption, the substance, the duration of the use, the duration of hospital stay and the cause of their injuries were recorded. Among 2,867 patients, 74 (2.5%) patients (71 men and 3 women) with the mean age of 38 were opium/opioid users. Most of the patients used opium through inhalation. The mean duration of the substance use was 7.4 years. The mean duration of hospital stay between the regular orthopedic patients and the opium/opioid abuser orthopedic patients was statistically significant. (P=000). Among four Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infected patients, three subjects were injection users and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) also infected two of them. Road traffic accidents (37.8%), and work related injuries (17.5%) were the two most common reasons for the patient''s injuries.

Burns are injuries which may require long hospitalization and may result in important impairment and disability. Burn injuries are still common especially in developing countries. Assessment of the epidemiology of burns is very important for introduction of preventive methods. This study was conducted in Yazd to assess and describe the epidemiology of burns including its main causes, and its demographics. In a prospective study during a 1 year period, we assessed the epidemiology of burns in Shahid Sadoughi Burns hospital in Yazd. During this period, 1947 injured patients referred to this hospital. Data were gathered using a questionnaire about demographics and the properties of the burn injury. Burns were more frequent among men than women. A significant number of patients were children. 8.8% of patients needed hospitalization. Thermal burns were much more common than other types. Scalds were the most common cause of burn, and hands were the body region most commonly affected. Mean total body surface area burned (TBSA) was 6.16% (±9.93). This study showed a high incidence of burn injuries at home and in the workplace. The burns were mostly preventive and many of them can be prevented by education.

Pregnancy rarely occurs in untreated cases of Cushing''s syndrome (CS), because most of them are infertile due to significant maternal and fetal complications during pregnancy. Diagnosis of CS may be difficult during pregnancy. Since physiological changes of pregnancy are overlapped by classical presentation and biological confirmation of CS. Therefore the high clinical suspicious is needed for diagnosis. We present a 33 years old pregnant woman with a history of chronic hypertension from 10 years ago that referred to Imam Khomeini hospital for uncontrolled hypertension, gestational diabetes and fetal tachycardia at the 30 weeks of gestation. After initial studies abdominal MRI detected a 43 x 35 x 29 mm right adrenal mass. She was treated by anti-hypertensive drugs. But at 31.5 weeks of gestational age cesarean section was performed due to sever preeclampsia. Then two weeks after delivery open right adrenalectomy was carried out without any complications and in the histopathological evaluation benign adrenocortical adenoma was reported. CS is associated with considerable fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Selection of treatment method is variable and it depends on gestational age. Medical and surgical approaches have been used in managing CS in pregnancy. Surgical treatment is the first choice for CS which is recommended at the second trimester and in the late pregnancy medical treatment is preferred.