Tehran University Medical Journal

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Introduction: Succinylcholine is a depolarizing muscle relaxant, which has been used extensively in anesthesia to produce muscle relaxation. The present study was done with the aim of comparing Fasciculation and postoperative myalgia after injection of two different doses of Succinylcholine (1.5 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg).

Materials and Methods: In this study which has been conducted in the form of Randomized double blind study in Tehran Shariati Hospital in the year 2000, 50 male patients in two groups (25 in each) with ASA I&II, age between 18 to 65, were candidate for an elective surgical repair of inguinal hernia received a standard anesthetic technique, including one of the two doses of Succinylcholine.

Results: After collecting data it has been considered that the average difference of two respective groups is meaningful in terms of fasciculation (P<0.05), but not in terms of myalgia (P>0.05).

Conclusion: we came to the conclusion that, firstly, the percentage of myalgia after the injection of succinylcholine is totally low and with the increase of the dose of medication from 1.5 mg/kg to 3 mg/kg the very percentage does not change considerably. Secondly, regarding fasciculation the increase of the dose of medication from 1.5 mg/kg to 3 mg/kg causes the decrease of the average limit of fasciculation. This decrease is very obvious in server fasciculation. As a matter of fact no relationship was found between decrease in fasciculation and change in myalgia.

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Background: Because bronchial hyper responsiveness (BHR) has been shown to be a risk factor for asthma and lung function decline, interest has focused on diagnosing BHR. The aim of our study was to measure the association between airway caliber relative to lung size expressed as the ratio between forced expiratory flow, mid expiratory phase, divided by forced vital capacity (FEF25-75/FVC) and BHR measured by methacholine challenge test (MCT) to obtain a cutoff for this ratio and positive MCT.
Methods: We carried out a cross- sectional study on general Iranian population in 376 subjects aged 7-73 years who were referred to Shariati hospital in Tehran, Iran in an outpatient setting. There were 190 male (50.5%) and 186 female (49.5%) subjects. They had chronic respiratory symptoms such as cough and dyspnea. The physical examination was normal. Baseline spirometry was normal or equivocal. MCT was done for all subjects over a two year period (2009- 2010). Positive MCT was defined by PC 20≤4mg/ml.
Results: The methacholine challenge test was positive in 191 (50.8%) and negative in 185 (49.2%) patients. The mean of FEF25-75/FVC in positive MCT was 0.86±0.27 Vs. 0.91±0.28 in the negative ones (p=0.070). The sensitivity and specificity of FEF25-75/FVC for prediction of MCT results were 57.1% and 60.2% based on cutoff point of 0.85 in all patients, and 87.5% and 70.7% based on cut off point of 1 in allergic patients, respectively.
Conclusion: The FEF25-75/FVC appears to be a useful predictive ratio in allergic patients but not in general population.

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Background: Asthma is a life-threatening disease that can cause death due to bronchospasm. In addition to clinical symptoms such as wheezing, acute paroxysmal dyspnea, chronic cough after exposure to cold air or cough after exercise, spirometry is also necessary for the diagnosis of asthma. The association between respiratory symptoms and a positive methacholine challenge test (MCT) is still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the association between methacholine test results and respiratory symptoms and allergy.

Methods: One hundred and forty-six patients with respiratory symptoms and normal baseline pulmonary function tests were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The participants were divided into two groups according to their positive or negative response to MCT. The association between MCT and the clinical symptoms and allergy was later evaluated statistically.

Results: Out of 146 participants of the study 59 (40.4%) were female and 87 (59.6%) were male. The mean age of the participants was 33.8±13.8 years. Sixty-one patients (41.8%) had positive results for the test. There was an association between a history of allergy, wheezing and age with positive MCT results. The other clinical signs had no association with the test.

Conclusion: Methacholine challenge test is the best diagnostic test for ruling out asthma in patients with normal pulmonary function tests in whom we cannot definitely rule out asthma based solely on clinical symptoms. Nevertheless, in adults with a history of allergy, wheezing and also in patients below 30, the probability for a positive MCT is high.

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Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second cause of cancer mortality in men. Although histopathological examination is the gold-standard for its diagnosis, tendency toward less invasive methods is growing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between choline plus creatine- to-citrate ratio in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) with the invasion of prostate cancer in a series of patients with prostate cancer.
Methods: Totally, 200 patients with pathologically proven prostate cancer were enrolled in this cross-sectional study by a non-probability sampling method in Hazrat Rasul Akram Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2009-2010. Pathological staging was the gold standard for the diagnosis of prostate cancer while the patients underwent MRS for choline plus creatine- to-citrate ratio determination. MRS and pathological results were compared and analyzed.
Results: The mean (±SD) values of choline plus creatine- to-citrate ratio in patients with Gleason scores less than 3, 3 to 4 and greater than 4 were 245.8±146.8, 427.1±173.6 and 427.1±173.6, respectively (P<0.001). The mean (±SD) values of choline plus creatine- to-citrate ratio in patients with PSA levels less than 4, 4 to 10 and greater than 10 were 180.7±58.3, 247±93.5 and 385.1±106.6, respectively (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Choline plus creatine- to-citrate ratio determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopy has a significant relationship with the degree of invasion of prostate cancer and can be used for the staging of the disease.