Background and Objectives: Urinary tract infections (UTIs), among a wide range of microbial infections, are of a double-edged worry with health-care and economic implications. They are serious diseases that can influence various parts of the urinary tract. The aim of this study was characterization of the enteric bacteria isolated from urine of human UTIs and studying their antimicrobial sensitivity. Materials and methods: A total of 50 urine samples were collected from patients with UTIs of both genders. The isolates identification was done using routine diagnostic methods and confirmed by Vitek2. Antimicrobial susceptibility was done against 10 antimicrobials. Results: Both genders of human were found to suffer from urinary tract problems caused by bacteria. Out of 50 patients, 45 (90%) of the cases showed bacterial growth. Approximately, 30.43% of the human infections were found to be caused by members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. The ratio of female patients with UTIs was more than that of males, the most common bacterium isolated from human urine was E. coli, which constituted approximately 85.7% of the enteric bacteria isolated and 26.1% of all bacterial isolates. Other members of Enterobacteriaceae family were also isolated from patients enrolled in this study, such as Citrobacter freundii, which constituted the same incidence rate as K. pneumoniae. Concerning antimicrobial resistance, 11, 10, 9, and 8 out of 12 of E. coli isolates were resistant to Erythromycin, Vancomycin, Tetracycline, and Ceftazidime together, respectively, with a range of resistance from 91.7% to 66.7%. Low percentages of bacteria showed intermediate sensitivity to Imipenem, Gentamicin, Chloramphenicol, Vancomycin, and Erythromycin. However, 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, and 8 out of 12 isolates were susceptible (susceptibility ranged from 100% to 66.7%) to each of Cefotaxime, Chloramphenicol, Imipenem, Amikacin, Ciprofloxacin, and Gentamicin. Conclusions: Escherichia coli was the most common bacteria isolated from human UTIs. All of the isolates were multi-drug resistant toward at least four antimicrobials. Particularly, Erythromycin and Vancomycin had no effect on the enteric bacteria at all. Imipenem might be the most effective drug against a large number of the human isolates.
Objectives Acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD) is an inherited autosomal recessive disease caused by pathogenic variants in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase-1 (SMPD1) gene, which encodes acid sphingomyelinase (ASM). ASMD has 3 broad phenotypes (type A, type A/B, and type B) characterized by the age of onset, symptomatology, and the rapidity of disease progression. The diagnosis of ASMD can be delayed or missed because of the wide spectrum of severity and its variable manifestations. Analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations can help to determine ASMD disease type and inform management. Here, we describe the clinical presentation of 47 patients with ASMD referred to a single center in Iraq since 2007, whose diagnosis was confirmed b
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a proangiogenic factor that exerts different effects over stem cell survival growth, apoptosis, and adhesion. Its impact on leukemogenesis has been established by many studies. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of plasma HGF activity on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at presentation and after remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional prospective study of 30 newly-diagnosed, adult, and AML patients. All patients received the 7+3 treatment protocol. Patients’ clinical data were taken at presentation, and patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the clinical status. Plasma HGF levels were estimated by ELISA based methods in the pa
... Show MoreObjectives: To study the prevalence of rs1799964 (-1031 T/C) and rs361525 (- 238 G/A) SNPs and their effect on the disease activity, severity, and cytokines production in newly diagnosed Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Patients and Methods: sixty-three patients were diagnosed by a specialist physician while attending the rheumatology unit and twenty control participated. The inflammatory markers were measured and PCR amplification and sequencing were performed to demonstrate TNF-α SNPs. Results: Regarding (-1031 C/T) SNP, the TT genotype and allele C were significantly present in the controls, and the CT genotype was distributed significantly in the patients. The TT genotype was mostly distributed in the mild-moder
... Show MoreLeft bundle branch block (LBBB) is a common finding in electrocardiography, there are many causes of LBBB.
The aim of this study is to discuss the true prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with LBBB and associated risk factors in the form of hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Patients with LBBB were admitted to the Iraqi heart center for cardiac disea
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the common causative agents of infections, from asymptomatic carriers to healthy individuals. It can colonize anterior nares of carriers with a high capability to resist different antibiotics. Students are susceptible to bacterial infection due to some factors, including poor health habits and surrounding school conditions. This study screened the rate of vancomycin- and methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus nose carriers among secondary students in rural and urban schools and its association with some sociodemographic factors. The study sample included 300 male/female students aged 15-20 years from 12 schools of rural and urban areas during the period from November 2020 till May 2021. It was fo
... Show MoreThe photodynamic inactivation against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using two different lasers, 532 nm diode pumped solid state laser (DPSS) in combination with safranin O and 650 nm diode laser in combination with methylene blue was investigated in the present work. A hundred swab samples were collected from patients with burn and wound infections admitted to two hospitals in Baghdad (Specialized Burns Hospital in Medical City and Al Imamein Al Jwadein Medical City Hospital) from December 2015 to February 2016 Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by using Kirby- Bauer method. The irradiation experiments included four groups; a control group, a photosensitizer only group, a laser irradiation only group and a laser irr
... Show MoreDue to its various resistance mechanisms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most prevalent opportunistic infection that kills hospitalized patients. Thus, therapeutic options become limited. Objective: The study aimed to estimate the antibiofilm effectiveness of Conocarpus erectus leaf extracts against MDR P. aeruginosa isolates and examines pelA and algD gene expression. Subjects and Methods: One hundred-fifty clinical samples were collected from five Baghdad hospitals between September 2021 and January 2022. Samples were grown on different mediums. Despite cetrimide agar's ability to detect P. aeruginosa, only 83 isolates developed at 42°C. VITEK 2 compact system identification followed. This study examined 83 of P. aeruginosa isolates for r
... Show MoreABSTRACT The isolation and characterization of (27) isolate of extreme halophilic bacteria was performed ninteen isolate belonged to the genus Halobacterium which included Hb.halobium. Hb. salinarium, Hb. volcanii. Growth curve and generation time in logarthmic phase was measured and found to be (12.8hr±0.32), (11.2hr±0.2), (9.8hr±0.87), respectivaly. Effect of various concentrations of NaCl, KCI, NH4Cl and MgSO4.7H2O was studied, NaCl was essential for the rod shape rapid growth Rat and pigmentation. Less than 1% concentration caused lysis of bacteria. Yeast extract was the best carbone source as compared with glucose and casamino acid.