Investigation of Pediatric Brucellosis

Background and Aim: Brucellosis (also known as undulant fever, Mediterranean fever, or Malta fever) is a zoonotic infection transmitted to humans from infected animals (sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, camels, or other animals) by ingestion of food products (such as unpasteurized dairy products) or by contact with tissue or fluids.  This disease occurs on average in 11 to 56 percent of children in endemic regions. Despite being long recognized and controllable, the disease still causes substantial morbidity, affecting especially the young population. The objective of this research was to examine the clinical, laboratory results of childhood brucellosis and brucellosis epidemiological features in patients up to 15 years in the province in Pol-e Dokhtar city, Iran. Methods The diagnosis of brucellosis was established on the basis of clinical features, and positive results from Serologic evaluation included Wright test and the 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) test. This information includes medical records of brucellosis patients in the years 2016 to 2019. SPSS software (version 22.0) was used for the data analysis. Results: Among the patients infected with Brucella, 19 males (70.37%) and 8 females (29.63%) were diagnosed and  11 patients (40.74%) were 5-9 years of age, 10 patients (37%) were 10-15 years of age, and 6 patients (22.26%) were < 5 year of age. Also 27 (100%) patients were from rural regions (the total of affected children) that confirmed direct contact with infected animals in all of them was already established. The most frequent seasons of disease occurrence were summer (33.38%) and winter (29.6%). Conclusion: Considering that 100% of the infection of children has been seen in those who lived in the village, it requires regular vaccination of livestock and proper training in the field of disease prevention. *Corresponding Authors: Faranak Rezaei, Email: [email protected]; Iman Pouladi, Email: [email protected] Please cite this article as: Babaei Z, Azizi abi F, Pouladi I, Rezaei F. Investigation of Pediatric Brucellosis in Pol-e Dokhtar city, Iran. Arch Med Lab Sci. 2020;6:1-4 (e14). https://doi.org/10.22037/amls.v6.3054

Comparison of Reasoner’s 2A Agar and Muller Hinton Agar Media for Microbiological Monitoring of Dialysis Water

Background and Aim: Microbiological culture of dialysis water is a routine safety measure. In, Khorramabad laboratories perform these cultures on Muller Hinton Agar (MHA) at 35–378C for 48 h, not on the Reasoner’s 2A agar (R2A agar) at 17–238ºC for 7 days recommended by international standards, the objective of the present study was the comparison of the efficiency of R2A and MHA media in the counting of heterotrophic bacteria in the samples of water collected in dialysis centers from 2 hospitals in Khorramabad, from September to November 2019. Methods: A total of 165 samples of treated water in dialysis centers were collected aseptically and then transported in ice‑packs to the Department of Medical Microbiology of the Lorestan University of Medical Sciences and the pour plate technique was carried out for the enumerating of heterotrophic bacteria. Finally, bacterial colonies were counted after incubation at 34±2ºC for 48 hours on MHA and 25ºC for 1 week on R2A. Results: Results showed heterotrophic bacterial counts in R2A were greater than those in MHA in 89% of the samples, so enumeration of heterotrophic bacteria should be carried out in R2A agar associated with longer incubation times, because of the greater sensitivity. The proportion of water samples yielding colony counts ≥200 CFU/mL by R2A -7d was significantly different from the proportion by MHA-48h (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results proposed using R2A agar combined with relative low culture temperature (20-25°C), and an extended incubation time (7-10 days) is more efficient. However, as the spectrum of bacterial contamination is not similar for dialysis centers and countries, many studies using different media and culture parameters are required to confirm this. *Corresponding Author: Faranak Rezaei; Email: [email protected] Please cite this article as: Pouladi I, Delfani S, Hadian B, Soroush S, Anbari K, Rezaei F. Comparison of Reasoner’s 2A Agar and Muller Hinton Agar Media for Microbiological Monitoring of Dialysis Water. Arch Med Lab Sci. 2020;6:1-5 (e10). https://doi.org/10.22037/amls.v6.3290

Anti E. coli Activity of Herbal Medicines: a Review

Escherichia coli is the gram negative bacilli of Entrobacteriaceae family that commonly found in intestinal infections and many infections outside the intestine, like urinary tract infections (UTI), cholecystitis, wound infections, meningitis, septicemia, pulmonary infections, and many more. Plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds, hence they can be effective in a wide variety of diseases. The pandemic spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria (i.e., extended-spectrum b-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLPE), Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE)) threaten healthcare Worldwide. The present review is a report of the most effective medicinal plants against E. coli. In this research, the required online database searches were conducted using the key words such as bacteria, E. coli and medicinal plants. Databases of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were explored to find and explore related articles. Since the incidence of E. coli is high, the aim of this study is to identify and report anti E. coli medicinal plants in Iran. The obtained results showed that there were 51 medicinal herbs that could be considered as the main medicinal plants capable of affecting E. coli

HAV‐induced acalculous cholecystitis: A case report and literature review

Abstract Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has some life‐threatening extrahepatic complications, such as acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC). We present HAV‐induced AAC in a young female, based on clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings, and conduct a literature review. The patient became irritable, which progressed to lethargy, as well as a significant decline in liver function, indicating acute liver failure (ALF). She was immediately managed in the intensive care unit with close airway and hemodynamic monitoring after being diagnosed with ALF (ICU). The patient's condition was improving, despite only close monitoring and supportive treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and N‐acetyl cysteine (NAC)

The Effects of Nurses\' Personal and Professional Characteristics on Needle Stick Injuries

Background: Nurses face many professional dangers such as needle stick injuries. This study investigated the effects of nurses' personal and professional characteristics on needle stick injuries. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 200 nursing staff in a hospital. The sampling method was the classified method. Participants were asked to complete a researcher-made questionnaire on personal characteristics (age, work experience, gender, marital status, and educational level) and job (work department, number of shifts per month, and type of work shift). Also, the number of their needle stick events was extracted from their medical records. Results: The prevalence of needle sticks was 45.5%. Based on individual characteristics, the mean age and work experience of people with a history of needle stick are significantly lower than people without a history of needle stick (P <0.03). There was a significant relationship between needle stick history and educational level (P <0.00). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups without and with a history of needle stick in terms of marital status (P = 0.11) and gender (P = 0.13). Based on job characteristics, there were significant relationships between the history of needle stick with the variables of type of work shift (P = 0.00) and the number of shifts per month (P <0.00). Conclusion: Some personal and professional characteristics effective in needle sticking were identified. These findings can be used as a guide to prioritize individuals to take precautionary measures against needle sticking

Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism among COVID-19 patients

Objective: Venous thrombosis arises from the formation of clots within the venous wall, precipitating an inflammatory cascade. This study aimed to obtain the statistics of confirmed cases of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) through Doppler ultrasound and pulmonary embolism (PE) via pulmonary computed tomography (CT) angiography within the cohort of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman, Iran, during 2020-2021. The patients' records were examined for Doppler ultrasound of the lower extremities and pulmonary CT angiography. Following the establishment of Doppler ultrasound frequencies, an assessment of DVT frequency was conducted among patients who had undergone Doppler ultrasound, correlating with PE assessments via clinical judgment and pulmonary CT angiography. Results: The study revealed a thrombosis prevalence of approximately 6.8%, with around 61.1% of thrombosis cases identified in men. The most prevalent underlying conditions within this cohort were diabetes mellitus and hypertension, accounting for approximately 22.2% of the cases. The outcomes of the regression analysis demonstrated a significant association between thrombosis and C-reactive protein (CRP) ( p= 0.02). Conclusion: In conclusion, venous thromboembolism, encompassing conditions like DVT and PTE, emerges as a heightened occurrence among COVID-19 patients, and this prevalence is notably linked to elevated CRP levels. Acquiring an understanding of the associated risk factors and pertinent symptoms equips physicians with the tools to diagnose individuals at risk, ultimately mitigating avoidable fatalities and curbing treatment expenditures through the effective management and assessment of these risk element

Mean length of utterance (MLU) in typically-developing 2.5-5.5 year-old Persian-speaking children in Iran

Introduction: Mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU) is widely used as a general index of language development in pre-school children. Because of insufficient data on Persian language development in Iran, this study examined the MLU of Persian-speaking children and its relation to their in an attempt to help improving clinical decision making. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 171 typically-developing children 2.5-5.5 years of age who were recruited from nursery settings of Isfahan, Iran. The sample was selected using a mixed method of sampling and divided into six age groups. After an informal conversation with each child to gauge whether the child appeared to be typically developing in terms of language and cognitive levels, speech therapists played with and tape-recorded them. Each child's MLU was calculated for 75 complete and intelligible utterances longer than one word. The mean and standard deviation of MLU were computed for each age group within six-month intervals. The correlation between age and MLU was also investigated. Results: The children’s mean MLU increased between 37-42 and 43-48 months and also between 43-48 and 49-54 months of age. The increase in MLU from the first age group onward was statistically significant. The correlation between age in months and MLU in morphemes was significant, r(171) = 0.47, P < 0.005. Conclusion: The average MLU of the children in this study-and similar studies of Persian-speaking children is much higher than that reported for English-speaking children, and the correlation with age lower; mainly because of morpho-syntactic differences between languages. Age sensitivity of MLU in Persian, however, indicates its capability as a developmental scale for monitoring syntax development in Persian-speaking children which needs to be deeply investigated in relation to Persian language-specific features, either. Keywords: Mean length of utterance, Syntax development, Language development, Pre-school children, Speech therap