ABSTRACT
Background: The prevalence of adrenal insufficiency and association of serum cortisol with prognosis in intensive care unit patients is controversial. Some studies have shown a direct association between serum cortisol and bad prognosis while in other studies no such association has been made
Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the association between serum cortisol and prognosis of patients in intensive care unit
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed on intensive care unit patients of Bou-Ali teaching hospital in Qazvin [Iran] in 2009. Serum cortisol levels were measured before and after injection of cosyntropin. Basal cortisol level below 441 nmol/l was interpreted as adrenal insufficiency. In patients with serum cortisol between 441 and 938 nmol/l following injection of cosyntropin the level of serum cortisol was re-measured after 60 min. Patients with serum cortisol response less than 255 nmol/l were interpreted as having partial adrenal insufficiency. Later, patients were divided into 4 groups based on APACHE scoring system. Association of serum cortisol with APACHE score, hypotension, intubation, and mortality was evaluated
Findings: Of 60 patients under study, none found to have adrenal insufficiency. Serum cortisol was independently associated with mortality, hypotension, and intubation
Conclusion: Based on results found through this study, Adrenal insufficiency was not common in ICU patients and serum cortisol could be used as a predictor of prognosis
ABSTRACT
Malignant salivary glands tumors [MSGTs] are uncommon cancers. The most common site of these cancers is the parotid gland. Some investigations show these cancers preference for males than females. The majority of MSGTs arise in sixth decade of human life. According to the literature review for the present work, there is a few epidemiological researches about MSGTs in Iran and especially there isn't any study in Kerman province. So the aim of this study was investigation the incidence, sex, age, histological types, and site distribution of MSGTs in the Kerman province during the time period from March 1991 to March 2002. Documents and records of 70 patients with MSGTs diagnosed from March 1991 to March 2002 were reviewed. The patients' records were analyzed based on gender, age, location, and histopathological type of the tumor. Data were analyzed by SPSS-13.5 statistical software using t-test, chi-square, and ANOVA tests. During this period of time, 70 cases [43men, 27 women] of MSGTs had been diagnosed. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma was the most common cancer [30%] and the parotid was the most affected site [70%]. The age range was 10-86 years old with the overall mean age of 50.18 +/- 17.97. Despite a considerable volume of literatures written about MSGTs in many countries, the incidence of these cancers haven't as yet been thoroughly documented or analyzed in Iran. However, comparison between the findings of this study with the results of other investigations showed a relative consistency