Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: The supratrochlear foramen (STF) is an important and relatively common anatomic variation in the lower end of the humerus in humans. In recent years it has become clear that STF should be emphasized because anatomical knowledge of STF is useful for anatomists, anthropologists, orthopedic surgeons, and radiologists. The anatomical structure of the humerus may play an important role in the intramedullary fixation thereby stressing the need of prior anatomical knowledge and preoperative planning in the presence of variations like STF in the distal end of the humerus. This study focuses on STF in the distal of the humerus bone and as well as the intertubercular sulcus (ITS) in the Iranian population.
Methods: This study was performed on 57 adult human humeral bones regardless of their gender at Arak University of Medical Sciences in Iran that it was done from October 2014 to March 2015. A total of 57 dried humerus (27 right side and 30 left side) were examined to determine the presence of supratrochlear foramen and septum. They were free from any pathological changes and fractures. The STF was analyzed for morphology and morphometric correlation.
Results: STF was found in only four cases (6.8%) of the humerus bones, two cases (3.4%) on the left and two cases (3.4%) on the right. The shape of the STF was oval, round and triangular. The mean STF transverse diameter in the right bones was 2.60±2.68 mm and in the left bones 0.57±0.31 mm and the mean vertical STF diameter in the right and left bones were 1.75±1.76 mm and 0.55±0.07 mm, respectively.
Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the shape of the STF and its number in the right and left bones. Twenty-seven bones (47%) out of 53 bones without supratrochlear foramen (STF) had septum.

Background: Early diagnosis and proper treatment of patient with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ischemic heart disease are important in determining prognosis, preventing adverse effects, and may even save lives. In this study, the level of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in ACS patients was compared with the control group, in addition to cardiac Troponin (cTn) and creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) markers.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 116 patients with ACS were selected by convenience sampling method among patients referring to the emergency department of Farshchian Heart Center, Hamadan University of Medical Science in Iran, from June 2017 to May 2018, and then were compared with 116 healthy persons (control group) in term of PAPP-A, CK-MB and serum cTn biomarkers.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of PAPP-A in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and control group were 93.85±27.56 and 89.63±7.29, respectively. There was no significant statistical difference between patients with ACS and control group. However, the level of PAPP-A in ST segment elevated myocardial infarction patients (STE-MI) was significantly higher than those with unstable angina (UA) and non-ST segment elevated myocardial infarction (NSTE-MI) (P<0.001). The mean and standard deviation of PAPP-A in patients with acute coronary syndrome with positive and negative troponin results was 99.42±27.52 and 90.69±18.79, respectively (P=0.021). The correlation coefficient between serum PAPP-A and creatine kinase-MB obtained 0.070 (P=0.292).
Conclusion: In patients with ACS, in addition to the increase in cardiac troponin markers (cTn), the serum level of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) also increases significantly. Therefore in addition to measuring serum cardiac troponin levels, evaluation and measurement of PAPP-A can also be used to diagnose and management of ACS.

Life expectancy has increased throughout the world and, as a result, the population of the elderly is also rising. From the age of 30 years old, the human body mass loses about 0.1 to 0.5% of its skeletal muscle mass annually, which is accelerated after the age of 65 years old. Aging is characterized by a decrease in the progression of musculoskeletal and physical activity known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia has a complex molecular pathogenesis that includes age-related changes in muscles’ neuromuscular activity, muscle protein replacement, the hormone levels and the related sensitivity of human body to these mentioned factors. The pathogenic conditions and other disorders in sarcopenia are the chronic inflammatory states that include oxidative stress and changes in behavioral factors, especially in nutritional status and physical activity. By definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), the diagnosis of sarcopenia is determined by the presence of two main factors which are low muscle mass and low muscle function. Besides, specific sarcopenia-related biomarkers have been identified for early diagnosis and accurate identification of the main pathophysiology mechanisms involved in the development of the disease. Since sarcopenia has adverse outcomes on public health in terms of behavioral factors, frailty, hospitalization and mortality of people, it is an important necessity for the social health system to plan some therapeutic approaches to prevention. The main and more important of these therapeutic approaches have known as exercises, nutritional supplements and hormonal therapies. Also, other new therapeutic strategies are under investigation to be introduced in the future. However, currently, it has been shown that only physical exercise has a positive effect on the controlling and prevention of sarcopenia and its adverse effects on human and public health. However, the role of appropriate nutrition is also effective. Therefore, carefully designed studies in terms of better utilization of physical activity are needed to achieve useful therapeutic results for sarcopenia management. Thus, this survey aims to review the other considerable studies on the pathogenesis, appropriate evaluation of the disease and treatment options for sarcopenia.

Background: One of the most important duties of a family physician is primary health care. The family doctor plan is one of the developmental measures to provide easy and low-cost access for patients to health care centers. The family doctor and her team are fully responsible for the health of the individuals and families covered. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the satisfaction of rural areas of Rafsanjan city with the family physician plan.
Methods: This study is a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in rural areas of Rafsanjan from October to December 2018. The study population consisted of twelve randomly selected villages in Rafsanjan. The required sample size was examined according to the size of the statistical population of 480 people. In this study, to collect the required data, a researcher-made checklist was used, which was prepared by reviewing the texts of the questions. The sampling method was cluster random. To check the validity of the checklist, the opinions of 10 health education experts were used. To check the reliability, the checklist was provided to 20 villagers and the reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha method of 82%. The mean was used to describe the data and inferential statistics t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data and analyzed by SPSS.

Background: Granular cell tumor (Abrikossoff’s tumor) is a rare and slow-growing tumor of the soft tissue. Originated from the Schwann cells, it is often a benign tumor, but it can be malignant in 1-3% of the cases. Malignant cases can cause significant morbidity and mortality. It may develop in many anatomic locations, especially in the head and neck region, and also in skin and subcutaneous tissue.

Background: Trichosporon species are commonly known as causative agents of skin infections and also responsive in some other systemic and disseminated diseases, especially in immunocompromised patients and those with leukemia or lymphoma. Chronic cutaneous infections with Trichosporon have been reported in non-immunocompromised patients, too.
Case Presentation: This study is a case report of tinea pedis caused by Trichosporon asahii in an immunocompetent 39-year-old man who was a member of the military force with continuous wearing of army boots during his daytime work. In April of 2019, after visiting a dermatologist, he was referred to the Ghaem medical mycology laboratory of the Department of Health, Rescue and Treatment of Iran Police Force in Tehran. Clinical symptoms were scaling and erythematous patches on his left foot with intensive itching for four-months. In the laboratory, macroscopic and microscopic examination using direct 15% KOH wet mount was carried out as well as culture methods on fungal media (Sabouraud's dextrose agar with and without cycloheximide and chloramphenicol). According to microscopic observation and appearance of culture media colonies, the diagnosis was Trichosporon genus as the fungal agent of disorder. Molecular method analysis (PCR) using amplification of ITS region with universal primers (ITS1 and ITS4) and sequencing identified Trichosporon asahii as a causative species of the disease. The patient was treated with topical clotrimazole (twice/day) and oral fluconazole (150 mg/day) for four weeks, and recovered.

Background: Despite years of continuous research, maternal mortality due to preeclampsia is still a serious threat. Researchers believe that preeclampsia is a multifactorial disease and proposed many risk factors including immunological factors for it. Given the description of preeclampsia as an excessive response of the immune system, the relationship between preeclampsia and immunological changes is of particular importance. Genetic polymorphisms are considered to be one of the causes of immunological defects. Due to the role of immunologic and inflammatory factors in the etiology of preeclampsia, in the present study, the association of rs1028181-513T/C polymorphism of interleukin 19 gene with preeclampsia in the patient and control groups who were referred to Valiasr hospital in Kazerun, was compared.
Methods: The present case-control study was conducted at Islamic Azad University of Kazerun from December 2016 to May 2017. 150 preeclampsia patients and 150 healthy pregnant women who were referred to Valiasr hospital in Kazerun, were enrolled. Genotypes of participants for the -513T/C (rs1028181) variant were determined by the Tetra Primer ARMS-PCR method. SPSS software and Chi-square statistical test were used for data analysis.

The presence of the antibodies against the main thyroid antigens, which include thyroid peroxidase (TPO) or microsomal antigen, thyroglobulin (Tg) as well as thyrotropin receptor or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Receptor (TSH-R), is a hallmark and symbol of the autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) as one of the most common autoimmune diseases (AD) around the world. The prevalence of the thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO antibody) and the thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-Tg antibody) is considerably higher in patients suffering from Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT, chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, autoimmune hypothyroidism). While the TSH receptor antibodies (TRAbs) are common in the patients suffering from GD, they are relatively rare and infrequent in HT patients. This fact may indicate that TRAbs are more specific than other antibodies. In fact, TRAbs as one of the most important autoantibodies against the different thyroid antigens, are a set of the heterogeneous group of antibodies that based on the function, fall into three categories, including TSHR-stimulating antibodies (TSAbs), TSHR-blocking antibodies (TBAbs), and the neutral antibodies (no effect on receptor). TSAbs and TBAbs result in overproduction and reduction of intracellular cAMP respectively. Therefore the induction of the relevant signaling pathways can be the cause of different clinical symptoms in the form of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism consecutively. The extra-thyroidal effects of TRAbs as the extra-thyroid GD manifestations, such as ophthalmopathy and dermopathy, often have an effect on the eyes as well as the skin with the relatively well-known immunological mechanisms of the antibodies functions. Hashimoto encephalopathy is an extra-thyroidal effects of anti-TPO that provokes the central nervous system. On the other hand, anti-TPO like anti-Tg can affect the reproductive organs of women and lead to infertility by an unknown mechanism. Moreover, the circulating antibodies against the thyroid antigens can also be detected in other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type I diabetes (T1DM) and celiac disease (CD). In this review article, the most important types of thyroid autoantibodies, their essential immunological processes in AITD as well as the main and important clinical extra-thyroidal manifestations of them have been discussed and reviewed.

Background: Since pulmonary angiography is the only non-invasive method for diagnosing pulmonary embolism, the use of radiation reduction methods without affecting the quality of images seems necessary. One of the simplest reasons for unnecessarily increasing of patient exposure is repetitive imaging due to poor image quality. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the factors that reduce the image quality, which leads to duplication of imaging or reduced accuracy.  In this study, the reasons for decreasing the image quality of pulmonary computed tomography (CT) angiography were investigated.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed over a period of 6 months (May to November 2018) in a university-affiliated hospital. Data of 75 patients suspected of pulmonary embolism who were referred for CT angiography were collected. All CT scans were performed by a 16-slice CT scanner (Lights Speed, GE Healthcare) with fixed imaging parameters including 100 kVp and 100 mA. In order to evaluate the adequacy of pulmonary artery enhancement, the Hounsfield unit (HU) of the main pulmonary artery was measured in the aortic arch, upper, and lower segmental parts. Also, 8 factors affecting the image quality were examined.

Background: SLC39A6 Protein (solute carrier family 39) or LIV-1 is a zinc transporter protein that is overexpressed in positive estrogen cancers such as breast cancer. The LIV-1 protein transfer zinc into the cytoplasm through the plasma membrane. Today it is known that just as a decrease in the concentration of zinc in the cell can cause cancer, an excessive increase in the concentration of zinc can also stimulate irregular cell division and caused cancer. Thus, inhibition of zinc transporter protein may play a role in preventing malignancies and metastasis. It can also be used as a diagnostic marker in the diagnosis of cancers in various laboratory methods. The present study was performed to prepare a polyclonal camel antibody for the detection of LIV-1 protein at the cell surface.
Methods: This study was started in the Pasture Institute of Iran in 2018 September and finished in February 2020. An expression construct containing the human LIV-1 gene was prepared and transferred to the E.coli BL21 by chemical (CaCl2) and heat shock method. The expression of the protein was induced by IPTG and then protein was purified by affinity (Ni-NTA) chromatography. After preparing recombinant protein one female camel was immunized, 6 times at two weeks intervals with Freund's adjuvant. After immunization, the isolated polyclonal antibody was evaluated by ELISA, western blotting and flow cytometry in the detection of LIV-1 protein.

Background: Long-term and intensive physical exercise can change the function of different cells in the immune system in athletes, predisposing them to viral infections such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The purpose of this brief report was to provide protocols related to the immune system in athletes to prevent infectious diseases.

Background: Medical malpractice is a serious problem in the health care system. This study aimed to review the medical negligence in Iran.
Methods: Based on the PRISMA checklist, a search for scientific records was done separately by two researchers. All the articles that had selection criteria were evaluated in terms of methodological quality. Medical malpractice was assessed in four main divisions including negligence, Lack of skill, Carelessness and non-compliance with government regulations). The bias test was performed using the Egger’s test. Revman software was used to analyze the data.
Results: In the present study, 25 studies that examined the country's medical malpractice from April 1994 to March 2018 were included in the meta-analysis. Negligence has been implicated in 1,105 cases of the 2,068 claims. Lack of skill in 255 out of 2068 cases, 432 cases of carelessness and 244 cases of non-compliance with government regulations Were recorded the results of the meta-analysis showed that OR negligence was 0.76 (CI 95%: 0.66-0.87), lack of skill was 0.61 (CI 95%: 0.49-0.76), carelessness was 0.62 (CI 95%: 0.50-0.76) and non-compliance with government regulations was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.60-0.73). In the review of the confirmed negligence ratio of the registered complaint files, only 19 studies mentioned this ratio. The results of the meta-analysis of these 19 studies showed that the OR ratio of the confirmed negligence of complaints was 0.6 (95% CI: 0.41-0.86). From all claims, General surgeons had OR of confirmed medical malpractices, equal to 0.47 (CI 95%: 0.37-0.60), gynecologists with OR equal to 0.49 (CI 95%: 0.36-0.66), general practitioners with OR equal to 0.43 (CI 95%: 0.30-0.63) and orthopedic specialists with an OR of 0.44 (CI 95%: 0.32-0.61).

Background: one of the leading clinical problems for premature neonates especially with very low birth weight is the type and amount of feeding. The authors aimed to compare outcomes of slow versus rapid feeding in premature neonates hospitalized in Al-Zahra hospital, Rasht.
Methods: This is a clinical trial that was conducted on 62 premature neonates aged less than 35 weeks of gestation who were referred to Al-Zahra Hospital from April 2015 to April 2016. They weighed 1000-2000 gr at birth. Samples were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The intervention included neonatal feeding with breast milk or formula with feeding advancement of 30 cc/kg/day which was compared with the routine method of slow feeding (20 cc/kg/day). Neonates were assessed until discharge or the occurrence of Necrotizing enterocolitis. Data were reported by descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percent, and analyzed by independent samples t-test and chi-square test in SPSS software, version 22 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA).

Background: The clinical field has vast sick data that has not been analyzed. Discovering a way to analyze this raw data and turn it into an information treasure can save many lives. Using data mining methods is an efficient way to analyze this large amount of raw data. It can predict the future with accurate knowledge of the past, providing new insights into disease diagnosis and prevention. Several data mining methods exist but finding a suitable one is very important. Today, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become one of the causing deadly diseases in the world. The early diagnosis of pandemic coronavirus disease has a significant impact in preventing death. This study aims to extract the key indications of the disease and find the best data mining methods that enhance the accuracy of coronavirus disease diagnosis.
Methods: In this study, to obtain high accuracy in diagnosing COVID-19 disease, a complete and effective workflow over data mining methods was proposed, which includes these steps: data pre-analyzing, indication selection, model creation, the measure of performance, and display of results. Data and related indications of patients with COVID-19 were collected from Kerman Afzalipour Hospital and Rafsanjan, Ali Ebn Abi Taleb Hospital. Prediction structures were made and tested via different combinations of the disease indications and seven data mining methods. To discover the best key indications, three criteria including accuracy, validation and F-value were applied and to discover the best data mining methods, accuracy and validation criteria were considered. For each data mining method, the criteria were measured independently and all results were reported for analysis. Finally, the best key indications and data mining methods that can diagnose COVID-19 disease with high accuracy were extracted.

Background: Early prediction of the outcome situation of COVID-19 patients can decrease mortality risk by assuring efficient resource allocation and treatment planning. This study introduces a very accurate and fast system for the prediction of COVID-19 outcomes using demographic, vital signs, and laboratory blood test data.
Methods: In this analytic study, which is done from May 2020 to June 2021 in Tehran, 41 features of 244 COVID-19 patients were recorded on the first day of admission to the Masih Daneshvari Hospital. These features were categorized into eight different groups, demographic and patient history features, vital signs, and six different groups of laboratory blood tests including complete blood count (CBC), coagulation, kidney, liver, blood gas, and general. In this study, first, the significance of each of the extracted features and then the eight groups of features for prediction of mortality outcomes were considered, separately. Finally, the best combination of different groups of features was assessed. The statistical methods including the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) based on binary Logistic Regression classification algorithm were used for evaluation.

Results: No RBC was detected in microscopy. The majority of the leucocytes were lymphocytes with rare accompanying platelets. The radiolabeling efficiency of the procedure was higher than 40%. The viability test indicated more than 80% of viable cells. The radiochemical purity of the final product was more than 95%. Two to four hours after injection, low background images were acquired. The liver and spleen were target organs with low-grade urinary, thyroid, and GI activity. Conclusion: Employing multi-stage centrifugation, Tc-HMPAO labeled leucocyte scan could be efficiently performed.

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: The gender of the baby is one of the risk factors for neonatal jaundice, but the difference in the severity of jaundice and its prognosis between the two sexes is not clear. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the severity, duration and prognosis of jaundice in both sexes.
Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study that was performed on 2847 icteric neonates over 35 weeks admitted to Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad from May 2014 to May 2021. This study is done by available sampling. After confirmation of jaundice in infants, data were recorded using a researcher-made checklist including maternal demographic information (maternal age, mode of delivery), complete infant characteristics (age, birth weight, age at onset of jaundice, jaundice recovery age) and laboratory findings (Bilirubin, Indirect Coombs, direct Coombs, G6PD), and neonatal development up to two years of age was performed based on the Denver 2 test. Then data analysis was performed by SPSS software using Chi-square test and Student’s t-test.

Results: 1642 infants (57.7%) were boys and 1205 infants (42.3%) were girls. Mean and standard deviation of bilirubin in values less than 20 mg/dl in boys was 17.20±2.48 mg/dl and in girls was 16.54±2.80 mg/dl (P=0.000), birth weight was 3.16±0.49 (kg) for boys and 3.07±0.45 for girls (P=0.000). In two groups of male and female infants, age (P=0.004), direct bilirubin (P=0.001), direct and indirect Coombs (P=0.000), and G6PD enzyme deficiency (P=0.000) had a significant difference. Acute kernicterus was reported in 25 (2.03%) boys and 4 (0.46%) girls (P<0.001). In the two-year follow-up, 23 boys (1.9%) and 11 girls (1.28%) had developmental delay (P<0.05). Conclusion: The incidence of jaundice in male infants was higher than female infants, which is probably due to a higher prevalence of G6PD deficiency in boys. The severity of jaundice was higher in boys less than 20 mg/dl. Jaundice has a worse prognosis in male infants.