Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Studies indicate a prevalence of 39.2% diabetes mellitus (DM) as the most common underlying cause in patients with dialysis. Statistics showed that the rates of morbidity and mortality were higher in hemodialysis patients with diabetes compared with hemodialysis patients without diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors responsible for infections in patient’s chronic renal failure on hemodialysis patients having diabetic foot ulcers.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 30 randomly selected hemodialysis patients who were referred to Imam Reza hospital, Tabriz from April 2016 to April 2017. The patients' records were taken according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and data were collected in designed questionnaires for further analysis.
Results: 63.3% of patients were males and 36.7% were females. The average age of study population was 51.23±12.74. Duration of dialysis was 5.15±3.58 years. The average HBA1C was 9.08±1.48. Bacterial cause of feet ulcer was isolated only in 56.7% of cases. Isolated bacteria were anaerobic (47.05%), gram-positive (35.29%) and gram negative (17.64%). Amputation was performed in 26.7% of cases. Mortality was reported in 13.3% of patients. Low personal hygiene, presence of vasculopathy, mortality and amputation was higher in anaerobic infections. Most infections were seen in patients with inadequate dialysis. Low dialysis adequacy, amputation, vasculopathy, increased duration of dialysis, poor hygiene was seen in patients with higher HbA1C.
Conclusion: These results indicate the importance of diabetic foot ulcers caused by anaerobic infections, because of the outcome of amputation and higher mortality rates in these patients, the prognosis is worse than other cases. Also, due to the direct relationship between personal hygiene and the development of anaerobic infections, it is possible to prevent these infections significantly by following these considerations. Most infections were found to be inappropriate in dialysis adequately. Therefore, accurate monitoring of patient's diabetes in the long run and the importance of this can control the complications of diabetes, including vasculopathy, followed by the need for amputation for fighting against diabetic foot ulcers.
 

Background: Methotrexate (MTX) is commonly used in the hematology-oncology units and is frequently associated with adverse effects. High-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) is indicated in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), osteosarcoma, systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma and primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. The side effect profile of MTX varies markedly according to dose. The aim of this study was to evaluate the uses and adverse effects of HDMTX in a cancer center in north of Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in Emam Sajjad Hospital, Ramsar, Iran from June 2016 to July 2017. Doses more than 500 mg/m2 of MTX was considered as a high-dose. Hydration status, evaluation of the renal and hepatic function, blood tests, urine pH, doses and frequencies of leucovorin administration, measurement of serum levels of MTX and side effects were evaluated. Recommendations of UpToDate 2017 were considered as standards of administration of HDMTX.
Results: Forty-four courses of HDMTX were evaluated in this study. HDMTX were prescribed for lymphoma (30 cases), ALL (8 cases) and osteosarcoma (6 cases). In all patients, hydration was done with 1340.9±894 normal saline plus 25 ml sodium bicarbonate 8.4%, one to two hours before HDMTX. The solution used for dilution of MTX was 5% dextrose (1022.7±105.5 ml). Urine pH was not measured in any patient. The frequency of leucovorin administration was 5.64±3.03 times with doses of 17.6±1.7 mg/m2 every 6 hours. Serum levels of MTX were not measured in any patient. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine measurement was carried out before administration of HDMTX in all patients. The most common adverse effects were nausea (64.4%), anxiety (44%) and headache (43.2%).
Conclusion: The appropriate aspects of HDMTX usage were good hydration, urine alkalinization with bicarbonate and administration of leucovorin in patients receiving HDMTX, whereas monitoring of serum levels of MTX and administration of bicarbonate based on urinary pH were not done in any of the patients.
 

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common disorder of dementia, which has not been cured after its occurrence. AD progresses indiscernible, first destroy the structure of the brain and subsequently becomes clinically evident. Therefore, the timely and correct diagnosis of these structural changes in the brain is very important and it can prevent the disease or stop its progress. Nowadays, remark to this fact that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides very useful and detailed information, and due to non-invasiveness, this method has been great interest to the researchers. The aim of this study was diagnosis of AD with MRI by support vector machine model (SVM).
Methods: This is an analytical and modeling research which done in School of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Iran, from February 2017 to November 2017. The data used in this study was a database named Miriad containing brain MRI of 69 individuals (46 Alzheimer's disease and 23 healthy subjects) that was collected at the central hospital in London. Individuals were categorized into two groups of healthy and Alzheimer's disease with two criteria: NINCDS-ADRAD and MMSE (as the golden standard). In this paper SVM model with three linear, binomial and Gaussian kernels was used to distinguish Alzheimer`s disease from healthy individuals.
Results: Finally, SVM model with Gaussian kernel, separated AD and healthy subjects with 88.34% accuracy. The most important Areas for Alzheimer were three Area: Right para hippocampal gyrus, Left para hippocampal gyrus and Right hippocampus. The clinical result of this study is to identify the most important ROI for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's by a clinical specialist. Experts should focus on atrophy in the three Areas.
Conclusion: This study showed that the SVM model with Gaussian RBF kernel can separated AD from healthy subjects by high accuracy. Based on results of this study, can make a software to use in MRI centers for screening AD test by people over the age of 50 years.

Background: Coronary artery bypass surgery is one of the surgeries in which high blood transfusions are needed. About 20% of all surgical operations require a blood transfusion. Packed cell administration increases perioperative morbidity and mortality. In the United States, from every 1000 people, one has undergone a coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and it is estimated that around 800,000 coronary artery bypass grafts undergo each year. Knowledge about relative blood administration during coronary artery bypass graft surgery improves the ability of blood transfusion centers in healthy and adequate blood donations. For this purpose, this study was conducted to determine the effective factors in the need for blood in a coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 317 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in the heart surgery operating room of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from September 2017 to February 2018. Sampling method has been available. The data of this study were extracted from patient files. The products analyzed in the study included packed cell, fresh frozen plasma and platelets. Demographic data, type of surgery, transfusion of blood and products, and hemoglobin level have been reported. P-value less than 0.05 was reported as meaningful.
Results: In this study, 317 patients underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery. 236 cases (74.4%) were male and the rest were women. The mean of administration of packed cell in women was 2.74±1.3 and in men it was 2.29±1.09 (P<0.001). The mean packed cell administration in patients with hemoglobin levels less than 10 g/dl was 3.27±1.8 and in patients with hemoglobin levels greater than 10 g/dl was 0.99±2.25 (P<0.0001).
Conclusion: The present study showed that the mean transfusion of packed cells in women were more than men in coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Also, hemoglobin levels were the only factor that had a significant effect on infusion of packed cells.

Background: The immune-mediated responses in vascular cells may include the increased expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, leukocyte rolling and infiltration, cellular lipid dysregulation and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) differentiation. Investigating the cellular and molecular events involved in the rolling process is useful for treatment or prevention of the vessel stenosis especially in coronary arteries. MiRNAs are small and single-stranded noncoding RNAs with about 19-23 nucleotides. In this study, the role of microRNA-125 was predictably selected and experimentally investigated on the changes of expression level of adhesion molecule in endothelial cells isolated from human aorta and on the monocyte cells isolated from whole blood human with endothelial cells adhesion. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of miRNA-125 repression on cell adhesion in leukocyte rolling process to reduce or suppress artery stenosis in susceptible individuals.
Methods: This experimental study was performed in Cellular-Molecular Research Center of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from July to December 2017. Normal aortic samples were prepared from subjects with brain death in Masih Daneshvari Hospital and under strictly sterile conditions, it was transferred as soon as possible. The endothelial cells were isolated from aorta of subjects with brain death using collagenase. The monocytes were isolated from whole blood. The microRNA-125 was transfected into ECs with use of polyethyleneimine (PEI). The expression level of adhesion molecule and monocyte recruitment were identified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technique and CytoSelect™ leukocyte-endothelium adhesion assay kit (Cell Biolabs, San Diego, CA, USA), respectively.
Results: The results showed the microRNA-125 suppresses significantly integrin beta 2 (ITGB2) expression level (P=0.008). In addition, the monocyte-EC adhesion was shown in the aortic miRNA-treated endothelial cells. The adhesive rate between cells reduced significantly with microRNA-125 as compared with miR-synthetic (P=0.02). Thereby, there were the associations between the ITGB2 and miR-125a. Downregulation of ITGB2 may be reduced the adhesion of endothelial cells and moderating the process rolling.
Conclusion: This study suggested that the suppression of leukocyte rolling process might be more due to the function of ITGB2. However, the functional effects of this miRNA should be directly investigated on the studied gene.

Background: Retinal vein occlusions are one of the most common form of retinal vascular disorders and could lead to vision loss due to macular edema, macular ischemia and sequelae from neovascularization. Anti-venous endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment is the choice strategy of treatment for patients with macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). There is an evidence of body with the controversies regarding increment of choroidal thickness in CRVO condition. The current study was designed to determine whether baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness may be an indicator for visual and anatomical outcome of bevacizumab in patients with CRVO macular edema.
Methods: This study was a prospective clinical cohort study that enrolled in 23 new cases of treatment-naïve central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) from February to July 2017 who were visited in Feiz Eye Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Patients received a single injection of bevacizumab and were followed for 30 days. Ratio of subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was measured using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Ratio of SFCT of the CRVO eye to the fellow healthy eye (SFCT1/F) was taken as independent variable. Changes of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in LogMAR (ΔBCVA, functional response) and secondary to baseline central macular thickness ratio (CMT2/1, anatomical response) in the CRVO eyes were taken for comparative and correlative analytics.
Results: A total of 46 eyes from 23 patients with the mean age of 64.60±10.19 years were included in this study. Baseline SFCT was higher in CRVO eyes (251.91±46.09 µm) in comparison to the fellow eye (206.95±26.62, P<0.0001). Also central macular thickness in CRVO eyes were significantly higher in CRVO eyes in comparison with fellow eye (531.04±38.22 vs 303.30±33.59, respectively, P<0.05). SFCT1/F, correlated moderately with anatomical (CMT2/1) and strongly with functional response (ΔBCVA).
Conclusion: Bilateral evaluation of SFCT by EDI-OCT in all newly diagnosed CRVO cases is recommended to determine if there is a relative increase in choroidal thickness. This may help predict short-term response to anti-VEGF therapy.

Background: The amount of anterior tibial translation during rehabilitation exercises is a key factor in organizing exercise regimen after anterior cruciate ligament injury. Excessive anterior tibial translation could increase the magnitude of tension imposed on injured and reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament knees. Forward lunge and open-kinetic knee extension exercises are commonly used in anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation. However, there is insufficient data about the amount of anterior tibial translation in the eccentric and concentric phases of these exercises. This study compared the amount of anterior tibial translation in the eccentric and concentric phase of the lunge and seated knee extension in anterior cruciate ligament deficient and intact knees.
Methods: Using a non-probability sampling method, 14 men with unilateral anterior cruciate ligament rupture were selected for participation in this cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited from the university’s physiotherapy clinics. A uni-plane fluoroscope was used to image the knee joint while participants performed the forward lunge and open-kinetic knee extension exercises with the intact and injured legs in random order. Fluoroscopy imaging was performed in the radiology center at Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from September 2013 to February 2014. Two factorial mixed ANOVA was used to analyze the data.
Results: There were no significant differences in the anterior tibial translation between the limbs and contraction phases during the lunge exercise. During open-kinetic knee extension, the anterior tibial translation in anterior cruciate ligament deficient knees was significantly more than that of healthy knees at 0⁰ (P=0.007). The anterior tibial translation in the eccentric phase of open-kinetic knee extension at flexion angles of 0⁰ (P=0.049) and 15⁰ (P=0.024) was significantly greater than that in the concentric phase.
Conclusion: In the lunge exercise, the amount of anterior tibial translation was similar between the eccentric and concentric phases and the intact and anterior cruciate ligament deficient knees, however, during open-kinetic knee extension exercise, in the eccentric phase was greater than that in concentric, and in the intact knees was greater than that in the intact knees, at 0-15⁰ angles.

Background: Hypertension induces cardiac hypertrophy. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension induced cardiac hypertrophy. Exercise and Quercetin (as activators of Sirtuins) reduce oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with Quercetin supplement on oxidative stress and level of concentric pathologic hypertrophy in patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease after angioplasty.
Methods: The present study was conducted experimentally randomized, placebo-controlled and double‑blind on 24 men with hypertension and coronary heart disease after angioplasty aged 40-60 since years May to August 2019 at the Exercise Physiology department of Sport Sciences Faculty, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups of HIIT+quercetin (n=12) and HIIT+placebo (n=12) and were followed during 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (30 seconds of activity and 30 seconds of rest) and quercetin consumption (250 mgr of quercetin supplement or placebo pills daily). Echocardiography was used to investigate morphological factors such as posterior wall dimension (PWd) and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDd). Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured by colorimetric method.

Background: Central venous catheterization is a procedure that is being performed frequently especially in critical clinical settings. In such conditions, good knowledge of the surface anatomy of venous structures is vital to avoid possible complications which could result in life-threatening situations such as bleeding and pneumothorax. Considering the difference between venous anatomy of children and adults and even among different age groups of children, and the fact that our recent knowledge of anatomy is based on studies performed on non-Iranian population, we decided to evaluate the anatomy of the intrathoracic systemic venous system in adults and children and assess the rate of catheter malposition in children.
Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study performed in Dr. Shariati Hospital and Children Medical Center of Excellence, Tehran, Iran, from April 2016 to August 2019. In our study, the surface location of brachiocephalic vein (BCV) formation, the junction of superior vena cava (SVC) to right atrium and, formation of SVC were examined in 150 contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) scans in children. They were classified into three groups based on their age (neonates to three years, three to seven years, and seven to ten years). Also, 100 similar CT scans in adults were being studied. The other category which has been evaluated through 130 pediatric X-rays, was the location of the tip of the central venous catheter.

Conclusion: This study indicated the different anatomy of central veins in children and adults which could be a cause for malposed central catheter, so knowing this difference and controlling the tip of the catheter by ultrasound during catheterization could help in avoiding this malpositioning.

Background: Lung cancer is a disease with high mortality rate that conventional drug treatments have not been successful in controlling it. The activity of iron chelators in various studies has been considered by scientists as a new treatment strategy. The primary objective of this study was to synthesize a novel Fe3O4 thiosemicarbazone complex and investigate its anti-proliferative activity against A549 cells of lung cancer.
Methods: This experimental study was carried out in Islamic Azad University of Rasht Branch, from September of 2018 to September 2019. First thiosemicarbazone (PTSC) was synthesized by the method of the condensation reaction of amine and aldehyde groups. Also, the Fe3O4 nanoparticulates were synthesized using the co-precipitation method in the presence of glutamic acid. Then, Fe3O4@Glu complex functionalized with bio-reactive PTSC moiety. Besides, morphological characteristics of Fe3O4@Glu/PTSC complex were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The cell viability was detected in 62.5, 125, 250, 500, and 1000 µg/ml for treated cells with Fe3O4@Glu/PTSC complex via MTT assay. Changes of NDRG1 gene expression the level in treated cells were investigated via qRT-PCR analysis. Therefore, total RNA was extracted after culturing the cells and cDNA of NDRG1 and GAPDH genes as the study and control gene was obtained, respectively. Ultimately, the level of NDRG1 gene expression was compared with level of GAPDH mRNA expression via the 2^{– ΔΔCt} method.

Background: Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder in which electrical cardiac ventricular repolarization is impaired. It results in an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat which can result in palpitations, fainting, drowning, or sudden death. Long QT Syndrome may present as tonic-clonic seizure or a seizure-like disorder. By taking a superficial electrocardiogram (ECG) and proper diagnosis, Sudden death, one of the most important complications of Long QT syndrome can be easily prevented.
Methods: This is a prospective case-control study that was conducted in the emergency department of Taleghani Children's Hospital of Gorgan University during 2017.

Background: Because of geographic variation and regional types of allergens, it is recommended that allergists identify common allergens in their area of activity. In the present study, the prevalence of respiratory allergens in patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis was investigated.
Methods: This study is descriptive and retrospective. The required data of this study were extracted from the records of 661 patients who were referred to the Asthma and Allergy Clinic of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences (Ardabil province, Northwest of Iran) from April 2016 to March 2017. After confirmation of allergic asthma or rhinitis by the asthma and allergy specialist, these patients were subjected to a prick test with allergen extracts. In the group of grasses the extract of nine grasses, in trees the extract of 11 Tree mix, in weeds the extract of Common weed mix, in animal allergens the three extracts of Standard cat, Dog epithelia, Cockroach mix, in weeds the Mite mix and in fungi, three extracts of Mold mix1, Alternaria and Aspergillus mix were used. All the data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 25.

Background: Spinal anesthesia is a type of neuraxial anesthesia that brings ample benefits. However, due to the fear of this type of anesthesia, many pregnant people refuse to experience it. In this study, we aimed to investigate the levels and causes of fear of spinal anesthesia in candidates for cesarean section.
Methods: The current study is a cross-sctional study performed on 67 patients undergoing cesarean section who were referred to the operation room of Shariati Hospital, in Tehran from September 2018 to September 2019. Matthey questionnaire, which consisted of three sections (demographic information, history of spinal anesthesia and fear of anesthesia), was filled out by candidates and after collecting information, the data were analyzed by SPSS software.

Background: Determining the rank of important parameters in ranking health care and providing health services to patients in medical centers.
Methods: The research method is descriptive-analytical and applied in terms of classification. The data is from the database of the Faculty of Health and Medicine of the University of Tehran, which was collected as an archive from April 1998 to May 1999. The statistical population were all experts, specialists and experts of the Faculty of Health 29 of whom completed the questionnaire. The weight of the criteria was evaluated using the AHP method and in the next stage, the medical centers were ranked using the DS-VIKOR method. The analysis method in this study consists of the following steps steps:
• Implementing a simple VIKOR method.
• Implementing the Dempster-Shafer and Vicker method.
• Implementing the AHP method
• Implementation of the Topsis method.
• Comparing the proposed methods to review and compare which ones work best.

The model can investigate the effectiveness of giving caring and providing health services to patients in medical centers.
Conclusion: By combining the two methods of Dempster-Shafer and Vicker, the confidence in the whole uncertainty is improved and the results are more reliable. This approach can help reduce the uncertainty caused by people's cognition to increase the level of decision-making, allowing us to overcome the problem of choosing the right level of uncertainty and to deal with uncertainty in a practical and justified way.

Background: Obesity and overweight are one of the components of metabolic syndrome and the cause of cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac death. Obesity is associated with a wide range of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities.
Methods: This case-control study was performed on 50 children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years in Birjand from May to October 2020. In the control group, 25 people with normal weight and in the case group, 25 people with obesity or overweight were included in the study. Individuals with a body mass index of 85-95 percent were defined as overweight, ones with a body mass index above the 95th percentile were defined as obese, and individuals with a body mass index below the 85th percentile were defined as normal. After clinical examination, height, weight and electrocardiogram indices were measured and compared by using statistical tests by SPSS (Version 19) software.

Results: There were 15 boys in the control group and 17 boys in the case group. The mean age of the control and case groups was 11.28±2.13 and 10.96±1.97 years, respectively. The mean distance between the peak to the end of the T wave in the case group was 323.72±120.15 and in the control group was 79.20±13.06. The mean difference between the shortest and longest distance of TP-e in case group was 48±23.04 and in control group was 18.44±5.58, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two indices (P<0.001). But in other variables, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups.

Background: Double lumen tube (DLT) is used in lung surgeries. Classically, the patient should undergo fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) to confirm the location of the DLT and its proper function. However, the sensitivity of ultrasound and clinical methods in diagnosing the correct position of DLT has not yet been definitively determined. This study was designed to assess the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound and auscultation versus Fiberoptic Bronchoscope in determining the position of the Double-Lumen Tube.
Methods: This cross-sectional study of diagnostic value measurement type was conducted on patients who were candidates for double lumen implantation. After induction of anesthesia, DLT with the appropriate size was implanted, and then the position of DLT was evaluated. In the first step, the lungs were examined by auscultation, then the ultrasound was performed, and two signs of lung pulse sign and lung sliding sign were examined as signs of normal lung and ventilated lung. FOB was performed by an anesthesiologist. At the end, by opening the chest after surgery, the surgeon's opinion about the quality of lung collapse was recorded.

Results: In our study, the correct placement of the tube was correct in 37 cases and wrong in 3 cases, which were checked and corrected by FOB. Vital signs of the patients were stable before and during the operation. There were no problems with anesthesia during the surgery. Diagnostic sensitivity of lung auscultation clinical examination was 64.9% and chest ultrasound was 91.9%. The sensitivity of ultrasound compared to auscultation was not significant (P=0.242), but there was a clinically significant difference in the positive predictive value of the two, so that the positive predictive value of lung auscultation was 88.9% and lung ultrasound was 91.9%. In terms of surgeon satisfaction level, 22 cases (59.5%) had excellent satisfaction and 15 cases (40.5%) had moderate satisfaction. The sensitivity of ultrasound was not significant in comparison with the surgeon's satisfaction. Conclusion: Ultrasound can be a good substitute for FOB. Although ultrasound cannot have all the functions of FOB, but having advantages such as lower cost, speed of operation, and non-invasiveness, makes it more practical than FOB.

Methods: This study used machine learning systems and similarity metrics to determine the behavior pattern of COVID-19 in different seasons of the year. The location of research was the Mousa ibn Ja'far Hospital in Mashhad, and the time was from May 2020 to August 2021. The symptoms of affected patients were compared with the compiled dataset, and the similarity of patients was prepared in a similarity matrix, and the Jaccard correlation coefficient was calculated on the data. Finally, the analysis of strains from the beginning of emergence to the latest strain was examined. The performance indicators of the algorithm in the Jaccard similarity method showed a recall metric with a value of 0.94, a precision metric with a value of 1, an F1 score with a value of 0.86, and remove accuracy metric with a value of 0.76. The most important factors in the investigation include white blood cells, platelets, RT-PCR, CT SCAN, shortness of breath, fever, SPO2, and respiratory rate. Results: The transmission of the COVID-19 virus depends on several factors, including human interaction. The evidence of the collected data shows that people with COVID-19 have low lymphocyte count and it is very consistent with the results of recent studies. Due to the lack of a dataset, a comparative study was conducted and a dataset was collected. Conclusion: This study, leveraging machine learning algorithms, identified a clear seasonal correlation in the spread of COVID-19. Considering geographical and seasonal variations among patients, distinct symptoms were observed in each season corresponding to the prevalent strain during that period.

With the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence across clinical disciplines, a variety of artificial neural networks (ANNs) have become indispensable tools for endowing computer systems with advanced analytical power. Dentistry, as an information‑rich branch of medicine, routinely generates and must interpret large, complex datasets from imaging and diagnostic records. Consequently, researchers have increasingly directed their attention toward intelligent, automated techniques for analyzing dental data. This study therefore surveys and synthesizes the methods that have been applied to the intelligent and automated analysis of such data, highlighting the prevailing trends in current literature.The majority of the examined investigations relied on panoramic radiographic images of the teeth orthopantomograms (OPG) as their primary source material. Three overarching technical objectives repeatedly emerged: first, tooth diagnosis, meaning the reliable separation and identification of each individual tooth from its neighbors; second, sample segmentation, that is, the piece‑by‑piece analysis of visual information within the image; and third, semantic segmentation, namely, the contextual interpretation of information extracted from the radiograph. Depending upon which of these objectives was pursued, researchers selected different neural‑network architectures and configurations. Across the reviewed corpus, input images were typically subjected to preprocessing steps such as normalization, noise reduction, and contrast enhancement before being supplied to a neural network for training, thereby preparing the data for subsequent machine interpretation. In several instances, the raw output produced by the neural network underwent additional post‑processing, a stage designed to refine the preliminary results and enhance overall accuracy. The comparative analysis presented here concentrates on how effectively the various neural‑network models fulfilled the three technical objectives described above. The surveyed articles reveal two dominant analytical approaches. In the intelligent problem‑solving paradigm, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) overwhelmingly predominate. Conversely, in the automated paradigm, investigators favor classical, non‑learning algorithmic techniques. Work employing ANNs consistently emphasizes image comprehension, segmentation, feature extraction, feature classification, network modeling, and careful variable tuning to promote effective learning that aligns with each study’s stated objectives.

Background: Congenital tuberculosis is a rare but serious disease in neonates and infants that often presents with nonspecific respiratory symptoms. Pulmonary involvement in tuberculosis can have similar manifestations to bacterial pneumonia with common microorganisms. In case of failure to respond to treatment in pneumonia,  tuberculosis infection should be considered. The aim of this study was to present a two-month-old infant suspected of bacterial pneumonia, who was ultimately diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Case Presentation: This case report describes a two-month-old infant diagnosed with tuberculosis who presented to the emergency department with severe respiratory distress.  Despite repeated hospitalizations and initial antibiotic therapy, the patient's symptoms did not improve and he was eventually referred to the Children's Medical Center. Chest radiography showed diffuse reticular opacities, alveolar opacities in the lower lobe of the right lung, and parahilar opacities in the left lung. Initial laboratory tests included elevated CRP and ESR levels, elevated white blood cell count, thrombocytosis, and abnormal arterial blood gases. Despite three negative gastric aspirate samples for tuberculosis, bronchoscopy was performed and a Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) sample was sent for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which was positive, confirming the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Careful evaluation of the parents revealed that although they had no respiratory symptoms, the mother had imaging evidence of tuberculosis, and her AFB test was positive. The patient showed significant clinical improvement after starting anti-tuberculosis therapy. A six-month follow-up confirmed complete recovery.
Conclusion: In infants with recurrent pneumonia and failure to respond to initial treatments, tuberculosis should be considered as a possible diagnosis.