Cessation or Continuation of Aspirin in Patients Undergoing 20-gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy due to Diabetic Retinopathy

peer reviewe

Effect of Cytomegalovirus Exposure on the Atherosclerotic Events Among Kidney-Transplanted Patients, A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

peer reviewe

Infectious and coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND:&lrm; Atherosclerotic event is one of the most causes of death in the world. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one manifestation of atherosclerosis. It is well-known that several risk factors, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking, hypertension (HTN), have effects on it. It is proposed that infection can lead to atherosclerosis or even make its process faster. Here, we discuss about the effect of some of infectious agents on the atherosclerosis and CAD. METHODS: In this study, first we did a comprehensive search in PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct using some related keywords such as atherosclerosis, CAD, myocardial infarction (MI), infection, and name of viruses and bacteria. After finding the related papers, we reviewed the correlation between some microbial agents and risk of CAD. RESULTS: Literature has reported several infectious agents (viruses, bacteria, and parasites) that can be associated with risk of CAD. This association for some of them like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Chlamydia pneumonia (C. pneumoniae), and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a very strong. On the other hand, there are some other agents like influenza that still need to be more investigated through original studies. Furthermore, different mechanisms (general and special) have been reported for the association of each agent with CAD. CONCLUSIIN: Based on the studies in databases and our literature review, it is so clear that some microbes and infectious agents can be involved in the process of atherosclerosis. Therefore, controlling each type of infections especially among people with a traditional risk factor for atherosclerosis should be taken into account for reducing the risk of CAD and atherosclerosis.&nbsp;</p

Occult HCV Infection: The Current State of Knowledge.

[en] CONTEXT: Occult HCV infection (OCI) is defined as the presence of HCV-RNA in hepatocytes and the absence of HCV in the serum according to usual tests. We aimed to define OCI and provide information about the currently available diagnostic methods. Then we focus on specific groups that are at high risk of OCI and finally investigate immune responses to OCI and the available treatment approaches. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were comprehensively searched with combination of following keywords: "occult", "hepatitis C virus" and "occult HCV infection". The definition of OCI, diagnostic methods, specific groups that are at high risk and available treatment approaches were extract from literature. An analysis of available articles on OCI also was done based on Scopus search results. RESULTS: OCI has been reported in several high-risk groups, especially in hemodialysis patients and subjects with cryptogenic liver disease. Furthermore, some studies have proposed a specific immune response for OCI in comparison with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). CONCLUSIONS: With a clinical history of approximately 11 years, occult HCV infection can be considered an occult type of CHC. Evidences suggest that considering OCI in these high-risk groups seems to be necessary. We suggest that alternative diagnostic tests should be applied and that there is a need for the participation of all countries to determine the epidemiology of this type of HCV infection. Additionally, evaluating OCI in blood transfusion centers and in patients who receive large amounts of blood and clotting factors, such as patients with hemophilia, should be performed in future projects

Alcohol consumption for simulated driving performance: a systematic review

Purpose: Alcohol consumption can lead to risky driving and increase the frequency of traffic accidents, injuries and mortalities. The main purpose of our study was to compare simulated driving performance between two groups of drivers, one consumed alcohol and the other not consumed, using a systematic review. Methods: In this systematic review, electronic resources and databases including Medline via Ovid SP, EMBASE via Ovid SP, PsycINFO via Ovid SP, PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL) via EBSCOhost were comprehensively and systematically searched. The randomized controlled clinical trials that compared simulated driving performance between two groups of drivers, one consumed alcohol and the other not consumed, were included. Lane position standard deviation (LPSD), mean of lane position deviation (MLPD), speed, mean of speed deviation (MSD), standard deviation of speed deviation (SDSD), number of accidents (NA) and line crossing (LC) were considered as the main parameters evaluating outcomes. After title and abstract screening, the articles were enrolled for data extraction and they were evaluated for risk of biases. Results: Thirteen papers were included in our qualitative synthesis. All included papers were classified as high risk of biases. Alcohol consumption mostly deteriorated the following performance outcomes in descending order: SDSD, LPSD, speed, MLPD, LC and NA. Our systematic review had troublesome heterogeneity. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption may decrease simulated driving performance in alcohol consumed people compared with non-alcohol consumed people via changes in SDSD, LPSD, speed, MLPD, LC and NA. More well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials are recommended