Diagnostic utility and complications of flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy in Assiut University Hospital: A 7-year experience

Background: Few studies with small number of patients reported their experience with flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB). We aimed to report our 7-year experience with the diagnostic yield and complications of FFB at Assiut University Hospital. Materials and methods: A retrospective review of bronchoscopy reports and corresponding patients’ charts over 7 years from January 2006 to December 2012 performed at the Department of Chest Diseases, Assiut University Hospital, was done. Indication for procedures, suspected diagnosis, final diagnosis, and complications were reported. Results: Of 3980 bronchoscopies, 3660 (92%) were diagnostic. Mean age was 45 ± 18 years and 68% were males. Malignancy and infection, including tuberculosis (TB), were the 2 main indications for FFB (47% and 23.8%). The overall diagnostic yield was 67%. A total of 1690 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), 1303 brushing, 188 transbronchial biopsies (TBB), and 645 bronchial biopsies (BB) were performed. Malignancy was confirmed in 70% of suspected cases. Tuberculosis was diagnosed in 58.5% of suspected cases, whereas bacterial pneumonia was diagnosed in 48.5%. Bronchoscopy diagnosed 38.4% of patients with interstitial lung disease. The diagnostic yield was 55% for sarcoidosis and 33% for usual interstitial pneumonia. The overall complication rate was 1.61%. Mortality rate was 0.05%. Conclusions: Our results confirm that flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy is a valuable diagnostic tool, with a low rate of complications, particularly in patients with lung cancer. The diagnostic yield in our locality is almost similar to that reported in other series

Immediate operation versus percutaneous drainage for treatment of appendicular absces

Aim: This study aims to compare the outcomes, morbidity and hospital stay in patients who underwent emergency surgery, and those who underwent percutaneous drainage for treatment of appendicular abscess. Patients and methods: From April 2013 to October 2014, we recruited 40 patients with appendicular abscesses for this study. These patients were randomized into two groups: group 1 (20 patients) for emergency surgery and group 2 (20 patients) for percutaneous drainage. Preoperative data, hospital stay, functional recovery and postoperative complications were analyzed. Results: Functional recovery was 2.2 ± 1 days in group 1 and 1 ± 0 day in group 2. Hospital stay in group 1 was 7.7 ± 3.5 days and in group 2 was 4 ± 1 days. Postoperative complications in group 1 were noted in 8 (40%) patients. No complications were recorded in group 2. Conclusions: Appendicular abscesses may be safely and effectively treated by US-guided percutaneous drainage with high technical and clinical success rates, low incidence of complications and shorter hospital stay

Thymol alleviates imidacloprid-induced testicular toxicity by modulating oxidative stress and expression of steroidogenesis and apoptosis-related genes in adult male rats

The present work was designed to assess the potential ameliorative effect of thymol on the testicular toxicity caused by imidacloprid (IMI) in adult male rats. Forty adult male rats were allocated into four groups; control group was given corn oil, thymol-treated group (30 mg/kg b.wt), IMI-treated group (22.5 mg/kg b.wt), and IMI + thymol-treated group. All administrations were done by gavage every day for duration of 56 days. As a result, the IMI exposure caused a significant decline in the body weight change, reproductive organ weights, sperm functional parameters, and serum level of testosterone, widespread histological alterations, and apoptosis in the testis. Additionally, the IMI-treated rats exhibited a remarkable increment in the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. Also, IMI induced testicular oxidative stress, as indicated by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and a marked decline in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and reduced glutathione (GSH), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels. Moreover, IMI treatment significantly downregulated the mRNA expression of steroidogenic genes and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunoexpression in the testicular tissue. However, thymol co-administration significantly mitigated the IMI-induced toxic effects. Our findings suggested that IMI acts as a male reproductive toxicant in rats and thymol could be a potential therapeutic option for IMI reprotoxic impacts

Cognitive impairment in health care workers recovering from COVID-19 infection: a cross-sectional comparative study

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak has infected people all over the world where many clinics are being constructed to diagnose and treat lingering symptoms or long COVID. Neurological and long-term cognitive consequences are very worrisome. Many of COVID-19’s neurological symptoms are likely the result of the body’s extensive immunological response to infection rather than the virus attacking the brain or nervous system directly. At the same time, the extent and type of COVID-19’s cognitive consequences are unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the cognitive functions of healthcare workers 2 weeks to 3 months after COVID-19 infection. Ninety-two healthcare workers participated in the study; 32 were post-COVID-19 cases, and 60 were healthy people (the comparison group). The cognitive functions of the participants were assessed using the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III) test, which evaluated attention, memory, language, and visuospatial skills, as well as the Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety GAD-7 and Depression Assessments PHQ-9. Results: The study revealed that there was a highly significant direct correlation between post-infection with COVID-19 and scores of both anxiety and depression and an inverse correlation in the case of attention and memory. On the other hand, there is no statistical effect of post-COVID-19 on verbal fluency, language scores, and visio-spatial abilities. Using multiple linear regression, there was a powerful significant decrease effect of post-COVID-19 on memory scores controlling both anxiety and depression degrees (Beta = − 0.745, P < 0.001). Also, there was a strong negative correlation post-COVID-19 on attention scores controlling both anxiety and depression degrees (Beta = − 0.745, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study showed a strong negative effect of post-COVID-19 on the attention and memory of patients. Furthermore, both anxiety and depression scores increased significantly among the post-COVID-19 patients