[Relationship between pre-hospital services to patients with acute myocardial infarction and their hospital length of stay in Hazrate Rasool hospital: 2009]

Pre-hospital emergency medical services may have an effective role in the survival rate and prevention of serious injuries to patients and victims. On the other hand, increased length of stay can lead to an increase in hospital and patient costs while prolonging the recovery and rehabilitation time. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pre-hospital care and hospital length stay in patients with acute myocardial infarction in Hazrate Rasool Hospital. The population of this retrospective analytical cohort study constituted the patients diagnosed with Acute Myocardial Infarction hospitalized at Hazrate Rasool Hospital in Tehran in 2009. These patients were diagnosed during the first six month of 2009 and were ultimately discharged alive. The sample was the same as the study population. Data analysis was done by means of SPSS version 16, non-parametric Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The findings showed that 88% of the patients were transferred to the hospital with ambulance and had already received pre-hospital services. The average length of stay in the hospital was found to be 17.6 days [SD = 4.05]. There were no significant differences in length of stay for the two groups of patients; those taken to hospital by ambulance and those who were not. However, a significant difference was observed between patients with various age groups. Moreover, the length of stay in patients with different insurance coverage was statistically significant. [P 0.05] According to the findings, although the means of transportation of the patients as well as pre-hospital services seem to have no impact on the length of stay in hospital, they may, however, affect other consequences such as improvement in overall health of the patient, reduction of injuries, pain, etc. which may not lead to a reduction in hospital stay. It seems that in studies examining factors affecting length of stay in hospitals, researchers should have systemic and holistic views on these factors in order to obtain a realistic contribution of each factor in increasing or decreasing the length of stay

Quantitative determination of methanol in plant water produced in Mashhad by spectrophotometry method

Methanol is a toxic aliphatic alcohol that is widely used in industry as a solvent. Poisonings occur from accidental or awareness ingestion of it. In this study, the amount of methanol in ten plant water was evaluated. Five samples from each plant waters that related to six factories collected and analyzed by spectrophotometric method. The results showed that the highest [1477.7 +/- 23.8 ppm] and the lowest [79.4 +/- 3 ppm] amount of methanol was related to dill and egiptial willow water, respectively. Since, the chronic use of plant water may induce methanol toxicity, it is recommended to determine a safe limit for it

[ prevalence of occult neck metastasis in patients with N0 neck disease in squamous cell carcinoma of upper aerodigestive tract]

Cancers of head and neck can cause functional, cosmetic, social and economic problems. Neck metastasis from upper aerodigestive tract cancers is a concern in management. The aim of this study is to determine the occult neck metastasis from squamouse cell carcinoma [SCC] of upper aerodigestive tract and its proper management. This is a cross ' sectional study on patients with squamouse cell carcinoma of upper aerodigestive tract that hospitalized in departments of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and general surgery in Amir-alam referral hospital of Tehran University of Medical Scienses. 33% of patients were involved in occult metastasis in cervical lymph nodes. In 60% of patients more than one lymph node were involved. In the majority of patients tumor was in T2 stage. The occult neck metastasis was 24.6% in SCC of oral cavity, 44.7% in SCC of larynx and 42% in SCC of hypopharynx. There was significant relation between occult neck metastasis and T stage of tumor. When the risk of occult neck metastasis is higher than 20% and the primary site treatment modality is surgery elective neck dissection is indicated. In extracapsular spread or involvment of multiple lymph nodes with microscopic metastsis the postoperative radiation to neck is necessary

Prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity and their association with diet pattern of male adolescent in Tabriz

With respect to the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and their related risk factors, obesity and abdominal obesity, among Iranians, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity and their association with diet pattern of male adolescent in Tabriz. 341 male adolescent aged 14-16 years were randomly selected through a cluster sampling in Tabriz high schools. Anthropometric indices including weight, height, and waist and hip circumference were measured. According to the NHANES-I criteria, BMI >/= 85 was considered as overweight/obese and BMI<15 as underweight. Waist to hip ratio [WHR] at or above the 85[th] percentile was considered as abdominal obesity. Food intake pattern was assessed using a 24-hour food recall questionnaire. Underreporting of energy intake was also assessed. The mean weight of the subjects was above the 50[th] percentile of NCHS; however, their height was in accordance with the 50[th] percentile. The mean of weight, height, and waist and hip circumferences increased with advanced age. Based on NHANES-I criteria, underweight was found in 12%, overweight/obese in 20% and abdominal obesity in 16. There was a significant difference between the overweight/obese and underweight subjects regarding the energy intake [3154 +/- 738 vs. 2072 +/- 482 kcal/day], percent of energy derived from lipid [31 +/- 7 vs. 17 +/- 3] and saturated fatty acid [14 +/- 4 vs. 7 +/- 1 gr/d] [p < 0.05]. The overweight/obese subjects have also diminished the break fast more commonly than the other group [p < 0.05]. BMI showed a positive correlation with energy [r=0.2, p < 0.05] and lipid [r=0.25, p < 0.01] but an inverse association with fiber [r=-0.02, p < 0.05]. Carbohydrate showed a positive correlation with WHR [r=0.2, p=0.04]. High prevalence of overweight/obesity in adolescents and further intake of energy and lipid in the affected subjects necessitate an educative program dealing with the complications of obesity

[Foreign body aspiration; a study of 1,000 cases in children]

To evaluate the association between body mass index [BMI] and gastroesophageal reflux disease [GERD] severity in the group of patients frequently suffering from moderate severe gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, one hundred and fifty eight previously untreated patients underwent upper pan-endoscopy as indicated by typical moderate severe reflux symptoms, occurring three or more times per week. Patients' BMI values were tabulated and compared to the severity of endoscopic findings [according to Savary-Millerimodified by Siewert]. Association between reflux disease activity and BMI was analyzed by Kruskall-Wallis test, while mild and severe group were compared using Mann Whitney test. Analyzing the whole group, including the patients who had no endoscopically verified erosions [Savary-Miller 0 stage = non erosive reflux disease/NERD] association was found at the level of perceivable statistical significance [p=0.0501]. However subdividing the examined population into mild [Savary-Miller 0- 1 stage] and severc [Savary-Miller 2-4 stage] groups according to the endoscopically verified mucosal lesions of the esophagus, there was a strong significant relationship between severity of GERD and BMI [p=0.0056]. In the group of patients with moderate and severe GERD symptoms elevation of BMI can be a risk factor of increased severity of GERD particularly in those who already have erosive mucosal, lesions at the time of examination