Smoking adverse effects: urinary cotinine and blood pressure relationship in normotensive smokers

Cigarette smoking and passive exposures to tobacco smoke are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. The present study was conducted to clarify the hazards of smoking in normotensive smokers. The sample was 192 smoking and a similar number of non-smoking individuals. The collected data had revealed that 70.8% of them began to smoke at age less than 20 years, 85.9% of them have smoking fathers and friends which is highly significant and emphasizes the role of smoking parents and friends as a risk driving factor that predispose young people to smoke. More than 63.4% of the smokers in the sample have significant health problems on the form of mucosal irritant effect and reduction in PEFR. Significant difference was present between the mean values of P.E.F.R in both smoker and non-smoker groups. After smoking a cigarette, urinary cotinine was analyzed by HPLC method. This method was used in the present study due to its high sensitivity and specificity. Positive relationship was observed between urinary cotinine and both SBP and HR. Both of them were significantly elevated within 90 minutes after smoking a cigarette. No changes were observed regarding either DBP or PEFR. Our data recommended that, all smokers, but particularly hypertensive one, should be advised to quite and offered specific and ongoing assistance in this respect

Cross-leg flaps in children

Ten children of ages ranging between 4 and 11 years sustaining road traffic accidents that resulted into crushing and devitalizing injury to the shin of the foot, with exposure of and variable degree of damage to underlying structures, were treated by cross-leg flaps. The flaps were transferred immediately without any prior very much than delay. The paper exposes three new findings: First, the children can tolerate the immobilization without any adverse effects be used during the period of transfer and, third, flaps of slightly bigger than width could be transferred immediately in such young age