Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, which manifests itself as an acute motor weakness of the organs, diagnosed as affecting the motor spinal nerve roots generally and causing muscle and motor weakness, the cause of this disease is the presence of active antibodies against the myelin sheath around the spinal nerve roots. Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common and most severe unpleasant neuropathy that affects about 100,000 people worldwide annually.
Methods: This is a descriptive analytical study, the data of 354 admitted patients were reviewed and 262 cases, which matched the criteria for entering the study, was included. The criterion for entering the study was clinical diagnosis.Required information were included age, sex, complaints of disease, and visitation period. Data was analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2013 (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) and study was performed on Imam Reza and Farabi Hospitals of Kermanshah in Iran, from March 1993 to February 2013.
Results: 59.5% were male and 40.5% female, and the mean age of the patients was 44.6±22.9. The most affected individuals were at the age of 30-50 and the highest prevalence was observed in spring. Acute inflammatory demyelinating poly-radiculoneuropathy with 53.4% was the most common backward disorder in patients and 5.7% among deaths among patients.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that Acute inflammatory demyelinating poly-radiculoneuropathy had the highest prevalence in patients and decreased with increasing age, and this syndrome was more prevalent in the spring.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most important pediatric health problems, which is occasionally associated with irreversible renal damage. Dimercapto-succinic acid (DMSA) scan is a diagnostic standard for the renal scar. Doppler ultrasonography (D.S) has been considered as a less invasive method. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of D.S in the diagnosis of renal scarring in children with a history of acute pyelonephritis (APN).
Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 children with APN, aged six months to twelve years in the University Pediatric Hospital of Qazvin, Iran, between August 2017 and August 2018. DMSA scan was performed in the acute phase of pyelonephritis for all patients. Half of the children with acute pyelonephritis had decreased radionuclide uptake in the first DMSA scan of whom thirty patients had kidney scarring in the second scan, six months later. Then renal vascular D.S was performed for these patients. Simultaneously, twenty children with a normal DMSA scan, assigned for D.S.
Results: The mean age of children was 5.30(3.50-11.8), and 4.80(2.50-10.09) in the scar and control group. Most of the patients in both groups were female, 25(83.8%) in renal scar, and 15(75.0%) in control. The scar group showed a greater rate of vesicoureteral reflux, 17(56.6%), of whom 11(36.7%) were bilateral. Among 30 patients with a renal scar, 2(6.7%) had first-time acute pyelonephritis, 11(36.7%) had second, and 17(56.7%) had more than two attacks of pyelonephritis. The frequency of renal scarring was 25% based on DMSA scan and 14% based on D.S. Accordingly, the sensitivity and specificity of D.S in the detection of renal scarring in children with APN was 23.3% and 100%.

Background: Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cancer-related cause of death in women worldwide and is often diagnosed at advanced stages. Regarding the low sensitivity and specificity of the currently available diagnostic techniques, in the present study, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy of RMI and ROMA indexes and comparing these two indexes with CA-125 and HE4 parameters for the diagnosis and differentiation between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. Also, we determined the optimal cut-off level of these markers in patients who attended Arash Women’s Hospital.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 137 women with ovarian mass who were attended the gynecology clinic of Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran, Iran (April 2017-April 2019), and were eligible according to the inclusion criteria. We included patients with an adnexal mass over 3 cm. Our exclusion criteria were as the following: pregnancy, age under 18 and over 90 years, taking hormonal agents, renal failure, suspected ovarian torsion, ovarian cancer and taking antibiotics, nitric oxide compounds, and heavy metals. Based on serum CA125, HE4, and ultrasound findings, ROMA and RMI indexes were determined for each patient, and the sensitivity and specificity of HE4, RMI, ROMA, and CA125 were compared with the result of the operative histopathologic assessment.

Conclusion: Measurement of HE4 before menopause and CA125 during menopause seems to be helpful in the early detection of ovarian cancers in women with ovarian masses.

Background: Posturography is a method in which the postural stability of adults is evaluated by measuring the center of pressure sway. This study aims to evaluate the reproducibility of measuring the center of pressure oscillation in standing position with internal perturbation in healthy young women with and without hyperkyphosis.
Methods: Ten women with dorsal hyperkyphosis with the mean age of 23.5±2.65 years and 10 healthy women with the mean age of 21.9±1.3 years (October 2018 to February 2019) were recruited for the study. Subjects were asked to perform rapid bilateral arm elevation while standing on a force plate. Standard deviation of the amplitude and The standard deviation of the velocity of the center of pressure sway in anterior-posterior, Medio-lateral directions and the area of sway were used for statistical analysis. Measurements were carried out by one examiner with a 1-day interval in The Biomechanics laboratory of The School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The relative reproducibility of the measurements was calculated by Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable changes (MDC).

Background: The median nerve is one of the most important branches of the brachial plexus. Due to the role of the median nerve in sensory and motor innervation of the forearm and hand in the upper limbs, its blood supply is very important. Awareness of variations in the blood supply pattern to this nerve reduces the incidence of necrosis and ischemia of the nerve during surgical and diagnostic procedures.
Case Presentation: During routine dissection of the cadaver of a 65-year-old man fixed in formalin (10%), in the Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, a rare variation was observed in the median nerve nutritional artery at the distal end of the left forearm. After dissection of the skin, superficial and deep fascia, anterior compartment forearm muscles, nerves and blood vessels were exposed from surrounding tissues. The median nerve passed through the two heads of the pronator teres muscle and left the cubital fossa in the depth of the flexor digitorum superficialis and the surface of the flexor digitorum profundus in the forearm. It was observed that at the distal end of the left forearm between the flexor carpi radialis and the flexor digitorum superficialis, a relatively thick branch originates from the radial artery and supplies blood to the median nerve. This branch was separated from the radial artery (before the artery enters the anatomical snuffbox) and crossed the surface of the flexor carpi radialis muscle and inserted into the median nerve sheath. In the forearm, this branch was the only artery supplying blood to the median nerve.

Background: Hospital accreditation is a systematic external evaluation of a hospital's structures, processes, and outcomes by an independent professional accreditation body using published optimum, evidence‐based, and achievable standards. Accreditation is a strategy for ensuring the quality, safety, and productivity of hospital services. Implementing accreditation standards imposes a high cost on hospitals. Therefore, this cost should be offset by increased hospital efficiency. Hence, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the Iranian public hospitals’ efficiency and their accreditation status.
Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2019. The efficiency of general hospitals in Iran was assessed using the Pabon Lasso chart and three performance indicators of bed occupancy rate, average patient length of stay and hospital bed turnover. Then, the relationship between the efficiency of hospitals and their accreditation grade was examined. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests were used for data analysis using SPSS software.

Background: Transradial access is one of the main access techniques in angiography. This method is technically more difficult as it is associated with radial artery occlusion. Radial artery cannulation from the dorsal surface of the hand in the snuffbox area has been introduced as a suitable solution to overcome some of the disadvantages of the standard radial artery method. This study was conducted to compare the incidence of radial artery occlusion and other complications in the two methods.
Methods: This study was conducted on 100 patients Who were referred to the Imam Hospital in Ahvaz from 22 September 2020 to 19 Mach 2021. 50 patients underwent angiography with normal radial artery access and 50 patients underwent snuffbox angiography. Basic characteristics including age, sex, underlying disease (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia), family history of coronary artery disease, medical history including chronic coronary artery disease, stable ischemic heart disease, smoking, and LVEF, and also the length of hospital stay was also collected and recorded. All subjects in the two groups underwent radial artery ultrasound in the forearm and snuffbox 24 hours after angiography. Also, angiographic complications including radial artery occlusion (thrombosis), pain, hematoma and anesthesia were recorded.

Background: coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as an emerging infectious disease started in China in 2019. By increasing the number of patients and spreading to all countries, it was considered a pandemic disease. COVID-19 became an international concern. Patients affected by coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) reported different symptoms. Most signs and symptoms were related to the respiratory system. To our knowledge, the onset of Covid-19 with chronic hiccups was reported in two patients. The aim of this study was to assess the onset of symptoms of Covid-19 disease in patients in a hospital in Zabol, Iran.
Methods: This study is a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study which was performed from March to June 2021. The study setting was a hospital affiliated with Zabol Medical University. The study population included all patients diagnosed with Covid-19. A total of 350 patients were selected by the census. For data gathering, we used Patient’s records including demographic information, clinical examination records, and para-clinical tests results. We used descriptive statistics and SPSS ver. 20 for data analysis and management.

Background: Conceptual review is a creative research method for generating new knowledge in the context of a vague and complex concept that helps to explain and clarify the concept, its components and its relation to related concepts. This study aimed to explain the methodology of conceptual review in the health system.
Methods: Articles related to the conceptual research method were searched and collected in four databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct) and two search engines (e.g., Google and Google Scholar) between January 1950 and September 2021. Finally, 83 articles were selected for final review and analyzed through narrative analysis.
Results: This study was conducted using scoping review between October and December 2021. The conceptual review study is a systematic, scientific and objective inquiry that helps to identify and explain the dimensions, components, features and applications of a particular concept by defining, synthesizing and interpreting the findings of studies. It results in clarification of the meaning of concepts. An eight- steps protocol was introduced for conceptual review including concept selection, entry and exit criteria definition; selection of databases and search strategies; selection and reporting of studies using flowcharts; evaluating the validity of selected studies; extracting information about the definition, components, antecedents, consequences and evaluation criteria of the concept from selected studies, synthesizing data and developing a conceptual model and drawing conclusions from the synthesized findings. In addition, the structure of a conceptual review article was described and a checklist for evaluation of a conceptual review study was introduced.
Conclusion: A conceptual review study is a method that defines the concept by searching for scientific sources about a concept and their comprehensive review, explaining their characteristics, antecedents, consequences and applications to determine the position of the concept beyond their vocabulary definition. The conceptual review helps to develop existing theories by identifying the components of a complex concept and its antecedents and consequences and establishing a logical connection between them.

Background: Neonatal seizures can have many causes. Determining the underlying cause of neonatal seizures is very important in determining the prognosis, outcome, and treatment strategies. In this study, we have evaluated the frequency of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in neonates younger than 6 months who had been referred to Shiraz Namazi hospital with seizures to determine the prevalence of various causes of seizures.
Methods: This was a retrospective study, that was performed on 199 neonates younger than 6 months of age who were hospitalized due to seizures in hospitals affiliated with Shiraz medical sciences from 21^st March 2018 to 20 March 2019. Patient data were extracted by statistics and health information system and imaging data and its reports were extracted from picture archiving and communication system. The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS V26.
Results: In this study, 199 infants under the age of 6 months were examined, of which 124 (62.3%) were boys and 75 (37.7%) were girls. 97 infants (48.7%) were less than one month old and 102 ones (81.3%) were in the age group of 1-6 months. It should be noted that in terms of gender, 57.3% (71) of male infants and 49.3% (37) of female infants had abnormal MRI findings. 54.3% of patients had abnormal MRI findings and 45.7% had normal MRI. The most common abnormal finding was hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which was the most common cause of seizures in 21.1% of neonates, followed by infection with 12.5% and cerebral hemorrhage with 11% of prevalence. Other important abnormal findings included hydrocephalus, structural abnormalities, venous sinus thrombosis, brain atrophy, developmental abnormality, etc. There was a combination of radiological findings in 18.56% of neonates.

Conclusion: This study showed that hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is the most common cause of neonatal seizures. Considering that in this study, a significant percentage (54.3%) of the neonates had abnormal brain MRI, this finding indicates the importance of performing this radiological procedure in the diagnosis, prognosis, and duration of treatment in neonatal seizures.

Results: Female students whose mothers were illiterate were 3.51 times more likely to develop head lice. Students who bathed once a week were 0.03 times more likely, and those who shared personal items were 3.6 times more likely to develop the disease.   In terms of father occupation, the highest incidence of head lice among the subjects was 8 people (66.7%) related to people whose father job was free and the lowest was related to other occupations of 4 people (33.4%). There was no significant relationship between     father's job and head lice infection in the subjects (P=0.061). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the high infection rate of head lice in elementary school students of Kerman. This high level of infestation can cause more contamination among female students consequently, and may cause students to drop out of the school. Serious attention to reducing this infection by holding educational classes for school principals and teachers, as well as parents, seems necessary.

Background: CT is the gold standard method for diagnosing kidney and urinary tract stones. This imaging technique delivers radiation dose to patients, which increases the risk of cancer, especially in patients who need frequent assessment. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic ability of ultrasound in Iran compared to CT for diagnosing kidney stones in patients with colic pain.
Methods: The data of this cross-sectional retrospective study was gathered from the patients who were admitted to a University-affiliated hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from March 2019 to September 2019 suspected of nephrolithiasis and performed CT were collected along with their ultrasound reports. To compare sonography and CT, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated and the diagnostic percentage difference between the two modalities was evaluated. The diagnostic efficiency of ultrasound in stones of different sizes and locations was also evaluated.
Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of ultrasound in the initial diagnosis of stones were 83.47%, 62.15%, 85.94% and 57.58%, respectively. Ultrasound diagnosis was not significantly different from CT p=23 actually ultrasound diagnoses were different from CT in only 2.11% of cases. Ultrasound was the most successful in detecting bladder and urethra stones larger than 10 mm.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that although ultrasound is less sensitive than CT in the diagnosis of nephrolithiasis, the use of ultrasound could be useful as a primary diagnostic test in patients with suspected nephrolithiasis. The important point is that the strategy of starting the evaluation with ultrasound, and performing additional imaging if necessary, leads to a reduction in the radiation dose of patients with nephrolithiasis. These patients have to do this procedure many times to diagnose and follow up the disease and clearly the offered method leads to reduction of the radiation absorbed dose and the possible effects of radiation, which is in line with the principle of ALARA, the basic principle of radiation protection.

Background: The image quality is paramount in interpreting the hepatic dynamic CT scan. A poor quality image results in repeating the procedure, which is very time-consuming for the patient and staff, and besides, it is not cost-efficient. This study intended to determine the correlation between image quality and the Hounsfield unit (HU) of the liver and its vessels in the arterial and venous phase to define the acceptable range of HUs for hepatic CT images.
Methods: The image quality of 146 dynamic CT scans was assessed by qualitative and quantitative methods at Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from September 2019 to August 2021. Two radiologists performed the qualitative evaluation. They categorized the image qualities into three groups; poor, acceptable, and high quality. For quantitative assessment of image quality, the Hounsfield unit of the aorta, hepatic vein, main portal vein, right anterior, right posterior, and left lateral lobe of the liver were evaluated in both arterial and venous phases.

Results: According to the results of the qualitative evaluation of image quality, 59.6%, 17.8%, and 22.6% of triphasic CT scans had good, acceptable, and poor quality, respectively. There was a significant relationship between image quality and Hounsfield units of all ROIs in the arterial phase (P<0.005). Also, a significant relationship was observed between the Hounsfield units of the portal vein right on the anterior and posterior segments of the liver (P<0.03) in the venous phase. Conclusion: In a high quality triphasic CT scan, the Hounsfield unit of different parts in the arterial phase should be as follows: aorta 310±78, portal vein 150±40, hepatic vein 44±7, right posterior and anterior and left lateral segments of liver 77±11, 77±7 and 78±12. Hounsfield units of the portal vein, hepatic vein, and right posterior and anterior segments of the liver in the venous phase should be 155±27, 167±30, 111±19, and 112±16, respectively.

Background: Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is usually used to distinguish the malignant and benign nodules. Applying a biopsy needle evokes a sense of fear and pain in the patients. Although some studies refute the usefulness of local anesthesia (LA) prior to fine needle aspiration biopsy, it is still debatable. This prospective cross-sectional study intended to evaluate the effect of LA prior to fine needle aspiration biopsy on pain and anxiety considering nodule size.
Methods: Amongst the patients who were referred to Shiraz Shahid Fagihi Hospital for Thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy from August 2017 to January 2018, 114 patients participated in this study. LA was performed for 41 patients, and 73 underwent the thyroid nodule fine needle aspiration biopsy without LA. Patients' pain and anxiety were scored using the visual-analog-score and Spielberger anxiety scale. The nodules were categorized into five groups. Pain and anxiety of patients were compared considering their nodule sizes to assess the effects of LA in the reduction of pain and anxiety considering the nodule size.

Results: The patients undergoing LA had a mean age of 44.69 years old and average body mass index (BMI) of 26.7, the patients who performed thyroid nodule fine needle aspiration biopsy without LA had a mean age of 48.17 years old with an average BMI of 26.0. The patients with the maximum nodule size of<10 mm, experienced more pain during the fine needle aspiration biopsy without LA, but there was no significant difference between the S/T-anxiety of these patients. There was no significant difference between the pain and anxiety scores of the patients with larger nodules. Conclusion: The more pain experienced by the patients with the smallest nodules can be attributed to the need for more needle manipulation due to the small nodule size and less precision while piercing the needle into the nodule. Thus, it can be suggested that in patients with a small nodule size, less than 10mm, usage of LA prior to fine needle aspiration biopsy can reduce the pain significantly.

Results: 212 males participated in the study from December 2018 to March 2019 at Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, including 78 drug abuse patients (mean age=39.08±6.52 years old) in the case group and 134 (mean age=40.69±6.28 years old) in the control group. The mean prostate size in the addict group was significantly higher than in the healthy group (P=0.005). There was a significant correlation between the size of the prostate and the age in both groups. However, there was no correlation between prostate size and body mass index. Conclusion: Due to a decrease in the sexual desire of addicted people, we first expected to face smaller prostates in addicted men; however, the study results proved the opposite. One explanation can be that the decreased libido increases the likelihood  of fluid accumulation in the prostate, this might lead to chronic inflammatory reactions, hypertrophy, and prostate hyperplasia. Therefore, a more comprehensive study is needed to investigate the interaction between the drug and prostate tissue.  Finally, it can be concluded that addiction to opium and its derivatives can increase the chance of prostate enlargement. Due to the lack of previous studies in this field, it seems necessary to conduct additional studies with larger sample sizes and control confounding factors.

 

Background: Several typical and atypical findings have been observed in Covid-19 high-resolution computer tomography (HRCT). To our knowledge, there is no study investigating the relationship between the presence of nodules in Covid-19 patients and the patient's condition. Therefore, the present study assessed the frequency of pulmonary nodules in Covid-19 patients according to their condition.
Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the medical images of the patients referred to three university-affiliated centers (Nemazi, Ali Asghar and Shahid Faghihi Hospital) to perform Covid-19 HRCT from April to September 2020. The centers have been named H1, H2, and H3. Patients who were referred to these centers had good, poor, and fair conditions, respectively. The history of patients was assessed carefully. Patients' demographic information, nodule shape, number, size, location, presence of cavitation, and GGO around the nodule were assessed and recorded.

Results: Overall, 20576 patients (mean age=46.75±16.64 years old) were included in the study. Only 2.1% of cases had solid nodules. Most of them (96.76%) were accompanied by a GGO (halo sign), and only 10.42% were associated with a cavity. The good condition, patients showed significantly more solid nodules (3.46%) than others. In size of the nodules in good-condition patients (1.8 cm) is significantly larger than in fair-condition (1.22 cm) or poor condition patients (1.15 cm). 79.86%, 12.5%, and 7.64% of nodules were multiple, dual/triple, and single, respectively. Conclusion: The frequency of nodules in the HRCTs of good-condition patients was significantly higher than in fair- or poor-conditionpatients; they also had more multiple and larger-sized nodules. The Pearson-coefficient test also revealed a small negative correlation between the presence of nodules and the patient's condition. It seems the presence of nodules indicates higher immunity to viral infections. In the follow-up, it was revealed that people who had nodules were not hospitalized in the ICU. Further study is needed to prove this point.

Results: Radiofrequency ablation with drilling was used in 22(81.5%) patients, and for the rest 5(18.5%), radiofrequency ablation with curettage and drilling was performed as a treatment procedure. The overall clinical success rate was 92.6%(25/27), with a low complication rate (7.4%). The mean diameter of nidus in pre/pos treatment was 3.46±2.02 and 2.22±1.75 mm, respectively. Femur 12(44.4%) was the most common bone in the patients. Significant differences between pre/post treatment follow up examinations in nidus size (P=0.03), nidus diameter (P=0.02), bone and calcification size (P=0.005) were detected. Additionally, it depicts that the mean values of tumor size and cortical thickening decreased after treatment. Conclusion: It is noteworthy that the present study had some limitations, including the small sample size and the relatively short follow-up period. There is no significant difference between radiofrequency ablation after drilling and curettage in treating Osteoid Osteoma. It is concluded that although there was a significant difference in pre/post-treatment imaging, there is no need for continuous imaging follow-up in treated patients without clinical complications such as pain to mitigate radiation dose risks and healthcare expenses.

Methods: This two-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted between December 2021 and July 2022 in the cities of Kermanshah and Hamadan. In this study, 76 migraine patients were randomly divided into two groups. One group received routine medication with Soda capsules and the other group received routine medication with Valproate capsules. Tow group were examined and followed up for three months. Data related to demographic and clinical information of patients were collected and entered into SPSS software version 25. Data analysis was done with a significance level of 0.05.

Conclusion: In terms of frequency, intensity and duration of migraine headaches as well as side effects, there was no significant difference between Sodium Valproate and Sodae groups.