Erythroderma: A clinical study of 97 cases

BACKGROUND: Erythroderma is a rare skin disorder that may be caused by a variety of underlying dermatoses, infections, systemic diseases and drugs. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical, laboratory and biopsy material of 97 patients diagnosed with erythroderma who were treated in our department over a 6-year period (1996 through 2002). RESULTS: The male-female ratio was 1.85:1. The mean age at diagnosis was 46.2 years. The most common causative factors were dermatoses (59.7%), followed by drug reactions (21.6%), malignancies (11.3%) and idiopathic causes (7.2%). Carbamazepine was the most common drug (57.1%). The best clinicopathologic correlation was found in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and pityriasis rubra pilaris related erythroderma. Apart from scaling and erythema that were present in all patients, pruritus was the most common finding (97.5%), followed by fever (33.6%), lymphadenopathy (21.3%), edema (14.4%) and hyperkeratosis (7.2%). CONCLUSION: This study outlines that underlying etiologic factors of erythroderma may show geographic variations. Our series had a high percentage of erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses and a low percentage of idiopathic cases. There was no HIV-infected patient among our series based on multiple serum antibody tests. The clinical features of erythroderma were identical, irrespective of the etiology. The onset of the disease was usually insidious except in drug-induced erythroderma, where it was acute. The group associated with the best prognosis was that related to drugs

Evaluation of some Enzymatic Changes in the Liver and Kidney of Rats Following Exposure to Sublethal Concentration of Potassium Cyanide

Background: Besides acute lethal cyanide poisoning, its chronic intoxication may also produce some pathologic effects on different tissues that precedes alterations in biochemical parameters. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of sublethal cyanide exposure on some tissue enzyme activities in liver and kidney of rats. Methods: Twelve male rats were divided into two groups as follows: Group 1 rats served as control. Rats in group 2 received water containing 200 ppm inorganic cyanide. At the end of the experiment (42 days), hepatic and renal activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and rhodanese were measured. Results: Potassium cyanide administration caused elevation of all measured liver enzymes in group 2, although the increase was only significant for AST and ALT activities as compared to control values (P<0.05). Moreover, renal AST activity in rats from group 2 was significantly higher than those from controls. Conclusion: The altered tissue activities of some enzymes in the present study might reflect the metabolic disturbances due to cyanide intoxication in studied organs. However, further research should be focused on this issue for better understanding of the fine mechanism of cyanide effects upon metabolic enzyme activities

Exploring the Challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID-19 Pandemic: A qualitative study

Objectives: To explore the challenges and experiences of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Design: Qualitative study Setting: Prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Iran. Participants: 15 Prehospital Emergency personnel were invited to participate. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted between Januarys to March 2021. Results: Themes relating to challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID – 19 were: Lack of preparedness of EMS for the pandemic, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), psychological distress and negative emotions, shortage of staff and challenges associated with delivering care for patients using PPE. Conclusions: The current study found that Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the prehospital emergency field had multiple challenges in caring for their patients during COVID-19. Therefore, they are vulnerable in this situation. These challenges must be addressed in order to protect them in pandemics

Letter to Editor: Mortality Trends of Pilgrims in Hajj: An Implication for Establishment of Surveillance System

Hajj is one of the most important religious ceremonies of Muslims that is held in Saudi Arabia every year. However, trauma is the most important factor of mortality in this ceremony

Pattern and nature of Neyshabur train explosion blast injuries

Abstract Background Explosions are classified as both man-made and complex accidents. Explosive events can cause serious damage to people, property, and the environment. This study aimed to investigate the pattern and nature of damage incurred to the victims of the Neyshabur Train Explosion. Methods The current study is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was retrospectively performed on 99 individuals using census method and documents victims hospitalized due to the Neyshabur train disaster (February 2004) in 2016. In this study, different variables such as age, sex, type of injury, treatment, etc. were examined using a questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS16. Results The results showed that 50.5% of victims were males with mean age of 30.33 ± 4.27 years and most of them were in 20- to 40-year age group. A total of 98 victims were discharged after treatment, and 1 victim died due to the severity of injuries after 3 days of hospitalization. Second type of injuries caused by the explosion accounted for most of the injuries (55.6%), and most treatments (54.5%) were related to the specific field of orthopedics. Conclusion Handling and transportation of fuels and chemicals via rail transport system is one of the potential hazards that threatens human life. The results showed that the highest numbers of victims were in 20- to 40-year age group, which is the age of economic efficiency. The prevention and reduction of human and financial losses resulting from accidents require proper national planning

Evaluation of droght tolerance of new wheat genotypes under water stress conditions

To evaluate the drought tolerance of new wheat genotypes to terminal water stress in field conditions, an experiment using a split plot design based on compelet randomaised block design with three replications was conducted in Torogh Agricultural Research Station (Mashad) in 1382-83. Irrigation treatments with two levels were allocated in main plots: I1- full irrigation (100% water use in different development stages) and I2- water stress (withdrawal of irrigation from anthesis stage to maturity with prevention of precipitation using mobile rain shelter). Number of 16 elite wheat genotypes suited for cold regions of Iran and Khorasan province (C-82) were allocated in sub plots. Results showed that, irrigation treatment had a significant effect on grain yield (GY), harvest index (HI), No. of spike per m2 (S.m-2), No. of grain per spike (G.S-1) and thousands kernel weight (1000 KW). There was significant differences between genotypes. C-82-5 was a high yielding genotype in both conditions (control and water stress) and had optimum level of HI, G.S-1 and 1000 KW. The tolerance of genotypes to water stress was evalovated with different drought tolerance indices, such as stress tolerance index (STI). Results showed that, C-82-5 was a high yielding genotype with more tolerance to terminal water stress