Background and Aims Due to increased rate of open‐heart surgeries in children, postsurgical mortality and morbidities have increasingly gained attention. Neurological complications are some of the most important postsurgical events. However, the number of studies regarding postsurgical neurological complications seems to be inadequate. We aimed to study the incidence of neurological complications following cardiac surgery in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) of the children's medical center. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted from March to September 2019. We included all of the children who underwent cardiac surgery and were admitted to ICU at CMC. We collected their demographic data, lab test results (white blood cell count, absolute neutrophile and lymphocyte counts) and calculated their Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) score. We then documented neurological adverse events and investigated the associations between those events and the patients' data. Results Of the 267 studied patients, 14 developed neurological complications (5.2%); seven developed chorea (2.6%), four developed seizures (1.5%), and two developed both seizure and chorea (0.7%). One case developed subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We observed that age ( p = 0.000), weight ( p = 0.000), and RACHS score ( p = 0.006) were associated with the development of neurological complications. Additionally, we observed that “neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio” was not associated with the risk of postsurgical neurological complications. Conclusion Younger age, lower weight, and higher RACHS score were associated with neurological complications after operations. Given the importance of postsurgical neurological complications, further investigations should be carried out to cover this issue and discover preventive strategies for such morbidities.
Background The Framingham hypertension risk score is a well-known and simple model for predicting hypertension in adults. In the current study, we aimed to assess the predictive ability of this model in a Middle Eastern population. Methods We studied 5423 participants, aged 20–69 years, without hypertension, who participated in two consecutive examination cycles of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). We assessed discrimination based on Harrell’s concordance statistic (c-index) and calibration (graphical comparison of predicted vs. observed). We evaluated the original, recalibrated (for intercept and slope), and revised (for beta coefficients) models. Results Over the 3-year follow-up period, 319 participants developed hypertension. The Framingham hypertension risk score performed well in discriminating between individuals who developed hypertension and those who did not (c-index = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.79–0.83). Initially, there was a systematic underestimation of the original risk score (events predicted), which was readily corrected by a simple model revision. Conclusions The revised Framingham hypertension risk score can be used as a screening tool in public health and clinical practice to facilitate the targeting of preventive interventions in high-risk Middle Eastern people.
Purpose: This article aims to study the effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) on arm lymphedema in patients who have breast cancer.Methods and Materials: Twenty-three patients were selected in a nonrandomized phase-2 clinical trial. After measuring the circumference of the affected and unaffected limbs at 6-points, the volume of the limbs, the degree of mental symptoms on visual analog scale by the patient upon entering the study, and performing an ultrasound on the patient's axilla to locate the fibrotic areas, a lowlevel laser device at a therapeutic dose of 2 J/cm 2 was used to treat the patients three times a week for 4 weeks, and after an 8-week gap, for another similar period.Measurement of circumference and volume of affected and unaffected limbs and mental symptoms were carried out at the end of the 4th week, the beginning of the 12th week, and the end of the 16th week, and the obtained results were compared with those before the treatment.Results: We noted that the average reductions in the circumference and volume of the affected limb, as compared with the unaffected limb, were about 16% and 21.7%, respectively, and improvement in the patient's mental symptoms was about 32%. Another notable observation was the great enthusiasm of most patients to continue their treatment, particularly from the second cycle onward.Conclusions: LLLT can, at least in association with current standard methods, be used for arm lymphedema to introduce further reductions in pain and volume.
Background and Aims: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease of hair follicles. Treatments currently include topical and intralesional corticosteroids and contact immunotherapy; however, the overall prognosis is usually unfavorable. In severe AA, topical immunotherapy with diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) is preferred. Since its effectiveness is heterogeneous and there are several side effects, we decided to measure the patients' satisfaction using the "Version II of the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication," which investigates satisfaction with effectiveness, side effects, convenience, and global satisfaction. Methods:We examined 100 patients under treatment with DPCP for treatment response, asked them to respond to the questionnaire, and calculated their overall scores out of 400. We then investigated the association between the patients' characteristics with their treatment response and satisfaction.Results: The overall satisfaction of patients was 257/400. We observed a significant association between patients' satisfaction scores on effectiveness and global satisfaction with their response to treatment (p < 0.001). The patients' satisfaction with the treatment's convenience had a significantly positive association with the age of receiving the diagnosis (p = 0.028). The overall treatment satisfaction was significantly associated with treatment response (276 vs. 213, p = 0.000). Conclusion:Although there are currently no gold standard treatments for severe AA, DPCP demonstrated a 71% response to treatment, and patients with response were significantly more satisfied with their treatment.
Introduction: Cervical cancer, predominantly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), is a common malignancy in women. Distinct histological subtypes, such as squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and adenocarcinomas (AC), exhibit different characteristics and treatment responses. Immune checkpoint molecules, including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), contribute to immune evasion. This study aims to investigate PD-L1 expression in SCC and AC of cervix and explore its association with clinical features. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on samples from 2016 to 2022 in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences-affiliated hospitals, Tehran, Iran. Paraffin-embedded samples of histologically confirmed cervical cancers (48 SCC - 16 AC) were analyzed, and clinical data were extracted from medical records. PD-L1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry, and the combined positive score was utilized. Statistical analyses included T-tests, Chi-Square tests, and non-parametric equivalents. Results: PD-L1 expression tended to be higher in SCC cases, although the difference was not statistically significant. Positive PD-L1 expression was more common in SCC cases. However, no significant correlation was observed between PD-L1 expression and clinical features in either subgroup. Mean age and clinical characteristics did not significantly differ between the SCC and AC groups. Conclusion: This study investigated PD-L1 expression in SCC and AC of the cervix and its relationship with clinical features. Although SCC cases tended to exhibit higher PD-L1 expression, the difference was not statistically significant. Further research is warranted to elucidate the role of PD-L1 in cervical cancer and its potential implications for immunotherapy.
Background: The Framingham hypertension risk score is a well-known and simple model for predicting hypertension in adults. In the current study, we aimed to assess the predictive ability of this model in a Middle Eastern population. Methods: We studied 5,423 participants, aged 20-69 years, without hypertension, who participated in two consecutive examination cycles of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). We assessed discrimination based on Harrell’s concordance statistic (c-index) and calibration (graphical comparison of predicted vs. observed). We evaluated the original, recalibrated (for intercept and slope), and revised (for beta coefficients) models. Results: Over the 3-year follow-up period, 319 participants developed hypertension. The Framingham hypertension risk score performed well in discriminating between individuals who developed hypertension and those who did not (c-index=0.81, 95% CI: 0.79-0.83). Initially, there was a systematic underestimation of the original risk score (events predicted), which was readily corrected by a simple model revision. Conclusions: The revised Framingham hypertension risk score can be used as a screening tool in public health and clinical practice to facilitate the targeting of preventive interventions in high-risk Middle Eastern people.
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