Scientific Journal of Medical Research

Using the APAIS Score for Preoperative Anxiety of Anesthesia Evaluation Among Adult Patients at Hillah Teaching Hospitals

Moustafa A. Al-Shammari — 2024-06-28

Background: Patients’ preoperative anxiety is a considerable concern, with potential implications for emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. Identifying and understanding anxiety levels are crucial for providing effective support. This study explores the impact of patient demographics, including age, gender, type of operation, surgical procedure, suggested anesthesia type, and prior anesthesia experiences on preoperative anxiety.
Material & Methods: In the operation units of three adult hospitals in Hillah City, Babylon Province, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from October 2021 to April 2022. The study aims to investigate the effects of preoperative anxiety on patient demographics, including age, gender, type of operation, surgical procedure, suggested anesthesia type, and previous anesthesia experiences. The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) was used as an evaluation instrument during interviews with 115 patients.
Results: Out of the 306 individuals, 115 fulfilled the requirements for inclusion, and the average APAIS score was discovered to be 23.34 ± 4.709. Age and the sub-scores for the demand for knowledge showed a significant negative correlation (r: -0.160; p = 0.037) for observation. According to the survey, those with lower educational levels—such as those who cannot read or write—had lower results than college graduates (14.60 ± 3.502), elementary school graduates (13.75 SD ± 5.257), and secondary school graduates (12.33± 5.680). In addition, females showed considerably higher sub-scores for the thirst for information than did males (p = 0.028). Compared to patients who chose general anesthesia, those who had regional anesthesia reported better overall ratings (p = 0.038).
Conclusions: understanding patient anxiety and providing tailored responses can improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. The APAIS might improve preoperative consultations as it is a useful tool for evaluating anxiety before to surgery. It may be possible to improve patient experiences and overall results by including this tool in the preoperative procedure.

Barriers to utilization of focused Antenatal care services among pregnant women in Basrah governorate

ALRamdhan Jinan — 2024-07-29

Introduction: Along with family planning, skilled delivery services, and emergency obstetric care, focused antenatal care (FANC) is a crucial component of a package of initiatives aimed at improving maternal and newborn well-being.
Objective: The present study was conducted to identify demographic, as well as social and cultural factors that may contribute to low utilization of FANC services in Basrah among pregnant and post-natal women.
Methodology: This research is a cross-sectional study to find out obstacles to the use of centered prenatal care services among pregnant women in the governorate of Basrah.
Result: About 116 (34.6%) were in the age group 21 to 25 years. The majority 147 (43.9%) of women had finished primary or intermediate school. Most of the women under study, 318 (94.9 %) were not employed. A high percentage of husbands (49%) had finished primary or intermediate school and (39.7%) of husbands had been government employees. 28.0% of the women under study had only one baby, and most of the study population, 290 (86.3%), had accepted socioeconomic status.
Conclusion: The study identified a statistical significance between low utilization and parity, being too busy, living away from antenatal care services and cost of transportation, long waiting time, and also identified a statistical significance between knowledge, attitude of the participants and low utilization of focused antenatal care.

The Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents in Mosul City

Manar A. Y. Alqishawi — 2024-06-28

Background and Objective: Childhood obesity represents a growing threat to children’s well-being globally. Growth is faster in middle-income countries and most rapid in lowincome countries and has increased by two to five times during the decades of 1980s, 1990s and 2000 in developed countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity at the level of Mosul city among children and adolescents.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 6,880 children and adolescents (aged 2–18 years) residing in the city of Mosul between June 2023 and February 2024 to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity there. Overweight and obesity in children were defined according to the 2007 WHO reference. It is the proportion of children who have a BMI standard deviation score of more than +1 and +2, respectively. It was established how common overweight and obesity were, and statistical comparisons were made between the two growth references, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), with the World Health Organization (WHO) reference.
Results: There were 4581 normal weight children and adolescents from 2 to 18 years of age out of 6880, 58% of whom were boys. Across all age groups, the overall prevalence of obesity and overweight was 11.14 and 11.74%, respectively. The highest percentage of overweight and obesity was in teenage children aged 11 to 15 years, with an almost equal prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in that age group 14.04 and 14.59%, respectively. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity together (BMI > 85%) according to the WHO was higher, approximately 22.88% (11.14% overweight and 11.74% obesity), than that according to the IOTF and CDC, which was 19.04% (13.99% overweight and 5.05 obesity) for IOTF and was 18.80% (11.45% overweight and 7.35% obesity) for CDC. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher among children and adolescents who live on the left side of Mosul city compared to those who live on the right side of the city (25.01 vs. 20.98%).
Conclusions: This study showed low to equal levels of overweight and obesity prevalence compared to population groups of other Iraqi cities and low to moderate levels compared to developing and developed countries. Significant associations were found between overweight and obesity with age of adolescence, as well as residence (the right and the left side of town).

Role of Human Papillomavirus in Hypoxia Microenvironment

Akeel Abd Ali Al-abadi — 2024-06-28

Background: Human papillomavirus is a double-stranded DNA and globally, there are approximately 300,000 deaths annually due to cervical cancer in women and 500,000 new infections with this virus. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is a receptor that triggers the innate immune response against the invading pathogen. Hypoxia in the solid tumor microenvironment participates in tumor development as a result of persistent infection.
Materials and Methods: Samples of 48 tissue biopsies and Pap smear samples were taken from women’s cervix from Al-Mwani Teaching Hospital, Basrah Women and Children Hospital, and Al-Fayhaa Teaching Hospital. PCR was used to detect the presence of HPV in 89.6% of cases. Extraction of RNA and gene expression was performed for toll-like Mreceptor4, hypoxia-induced factor-1?, and B-actin.
Results: The current study shows higher gene expression levels for all target genes in all positive samples compared to negative samples. The expression level of TLR4 of the positive samples was more than one times that of the negative samples. The gene expression of the hypoxia-induced factor-1? in positive samples was approximately 36-fold greater than in control samples.
Conclusion: The current study indicates that there is a real increase in the level of gene expression for TLR4 and HIF-1? and that a higher level of expression of target genes in positive samples indicates a relationship with HPV infection compared to negative samples

Preparation, Characterization and Antibacterial Study of Schiff Base Derivatives

Ayat Abdulkareem Ibrahim — 2024-06-28

Recently developed Schiff base derivative, specifically designated as G1, was synthesized and meticulously analyzed through fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Compound G1 is identified as (E)-N,1-bis(4-chlorophenyl) methenamine. The in-vitro antibacterial efficacy of these substances was thoroughly assessed in relation to Escherichia coli, Streptococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. The results indicate a noteworthy antibacterial activity of compound G1, exhibiting
minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of 16, 13, and 10 ?g/mL, respectively, when compared to the established standard.