Background: Chronic cough is often the key
symptom not only of chronic pulmonary diseases
but for other important extrapulmonary
pathologies, in particular upper airway and
gastrointestinal diseases.
Objective: This study was designed to
determine the etiology of chronic cough and the
usefulness of the available diagnostic tests in
reaching its causes.
Methods: One hundred patients presenting with
chronic cough at Baghdad Teaching Hospital
Outpatient Clinic were enrolled in this study. The
patients underwent a full clinical interview,
physical examination with indicated diagnostic
test(s) (such as chest x ray, bronchoscope, PFT,
GIT study, sinus X ray or CT).
Results: An etiology of chronic cough was
determined in 93% of the patients. Post nasal drip
is the leading cause of chronic cough reported in
31% of the patient, while asthma gastroesophageal
reflux disease, and chronic bronchitis
seen in (26, 20, and 6 % respectively).
The diagnosis of chronic cough can be reached by
comprehensive history, proper physical
examination, and chest X ray findings in 66 %
patients, further more sophisticated and invasive
tests like: PFT, upper GIT study , expectorated
sputum examination (AFB, Gram staining,
cytology), fibrooptic bronchoscope, and full ENT
evaluation including sinuses X ray or sinuses CT
scanning, are need in the rest.
Conclusion: The etiology of chronic cough can
often be diagnosed safely with a simple initial
evaluation (history, physical examination and
chest X-ray). Postnasal drip, asthma and
gastroesophageal reflux disease account for the
etiology in more than three quarter of the patients.
The purpose of this work was to study the effects of the Nd:YAG laser on exposed dentinal
tubules of human extracted teeth using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Eighty 2.5mm-thick
slices were cut at the cementoenamel junction from 20 extracted human teeth with an electric saw. A
diamond bur was used to remove the cementum layer to expose the dentinal tubules. Each slice was
sectioned into four equal quadrants and the specimens were randomly divided into four groups (A to D ).
Groups B to D were lased for 2 mins using an Nd:YAG laser at 6 pulses per second at energy outputs of
80 , 100 and 120 mJ. Group A served as control. Under SEM observation, nonlased specimens showed
numerous exposed dentinal tubules. SEM o
Background Immunological gene and serum level for interleukin- 9 rs 17317275 have been established to have linked to predisposition systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its severity. SLE is a severe, systemic autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody generation, complement activation, and immune complex deposition. In the pathophysiology of SLE, cytokines have a pleiotropic function. Recently, IL-9 was discovered to mediate strong anti-inflammatory effects in numerous cells or experimental autoimmune models. Objective This study aimed to determine the role of age, IL-9 serum level and genetic polymorphism, C-reactive protein (CRP), Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) and Anti- double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) to recognize SLE pathogenesis.
... Show MoreThis study aimed to know the impact of the capital structure measured by the ratio of financing to short-term capital and the ratio of financing to long-term capital on the profitability of companies, as measured by the rate of return on assets and the rate of return on equity. The study was applied to industrial sector companies listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange. The financial number of (14) companies, and (4) companies were selected that met the conditions for selecting the study sample. The study methodology relies on the analytical method as it is more appropriate to the nature, scope and objectives of the study, and the ready-made statistical program "SPSS" will be used to analyze the relationships and influence between the
... Show MoreAbstract Asthma is a complex disease defined by chronic airway inflammation and airflow limitation causing variable respiratory symptoms which include shortness of breath (SOB), wheezing, chest tightness and cough. Asthma guidelines advocate adding a second long acting bronchodilator to medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) rather using high doses of ICS alone to control moderate to severe persistent asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of three medication regimens indicated for Iraqi patients suffering from persistent asthma. This study was interventional randomized clinical study conducted on a sample of adult Iraqi asthmatic patients in Baghdad City. The study com
... Show Moreforty-six patients with asthma were tested for the scrum levels of total sialic and diffrental the results reveled a significant increased in the scra of asthmatic patients
Background: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu
... Show MoreMethotrxate (MTX) has become the standard of care and first-line therapy for patients who have RA and consider as a gold standard of treatment for RA. The role of MTX in the treatment of RA has now been well established. The use of MTX treatment of RA inhibits proliferation of the lymphocytes, reduces signs and symptoms this disease, reduces progression damage of the joints and improves quality of life outcome. Progranulin (PGRN) acts a role in autoimmune inflammatory, has important function in several processes including immune response. Present study has conducted to find the effect of MTX drugs as a therapeutic target for RA patients because of its ability to bind with tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR), with progranulin, obestatin an
... Show MoreOut of 150 different specimens, 67 S. aureus isolate were isolated. However, 16sRNA gene was located only in 60 isolates. Moreover, mecA gene was located in 48 isolates; thereby MRSA covered 80% of all S. aureus isolates. Of considerable interest, pvl gene was detected in only six isolates (10%). Hence, the present work emphasizes the notion suggested that pvl is not an indicative of CA-MRSA.
The study was carried out to detection of H. pylori in (218) patients who attended two teaching hospitals in Baghdad. The diagnosis was done by Immunochromatography methods. Stools and blood samples were taken from each patient as well as other (30) healthy control matching in age. The study included measurement the Levels of Interleukin-32, Interleukin-33, and Acid phosphatase in sera of patients and control .The result indicated presence of H pylori antigen in 115 cases 59 cases of males and 51 of females , Also, the result indicated increasing levels of IL-32 and IL-33 and Acid phosphatase in patients sera in comparison with healthy control.