Prevalence of drug resistance among new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis [TB] is a disease that has affected humankind throughout recorded history and before.Presently, the number of deaths caused by TB worldwide exceeds that caused by any other organism. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a man-made problem. Poor management can lead to the selection of M. tuberculosis with mutations conferring resistance to antituberculous drugs. Drug resistance is divided into two types: primary [resistance in persons who have never received anti-tuberculosis drugs for more than 1 month. These patients are initially infected with drugresistant strains] and secondary, acquired, [resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs, which arises during treatment due to poor compliance or improper management.] To identify the prevalence of drug resistance among new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Iraq. A cross sectional studywhich includes, 106 patients fulfilled the criteria of inclusion throughout the duration of the study, and sputum samples were taken from all of them for direct microscopical examination and culture and drug sensitivity. Fifty patients [47.2%] had positive results for mycobacterial culture, none of them showed resistance to any anti- tuberculous drug that had been examined for, i.e.: all the 50 samples were sensitive to tested anti-tuberculous drugs. Standard first line treatment for pulmonary T.B. is recommended for all new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Iraq

Predictors of in hospital mortality after acute myocardial infarction

Acute myocardial infarction remains a major cause of adult mortality. A steady decline in the mortality rate appears to be due to a fall in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction, a fall in the case fatality rate, identifying those patients who are at increased risk, and more aggressive prophylactic cardiovascular treatments to prevent it from occurring. To identify, patients who have higher risk of in-hospital mortality after the first acute myocardial infarction. The hospital mortality for the first acute myocardial infarction [AMI] was evaluated for 112 patients who were admitted to the coronary care unit in Baghdad Teaching Hospital during a total period of six months duration, between March and Sept. 2001. For each patient, history, clinical examination, electrocardiograms, fasting venous plasma glucose were done. Total mortality was 16.1%. The following factors were associated with higher in-hospital mortality: advanced age [more than 65 years], females, diabetic, and clinically evident heart failure. Other variables were not associated with increase or decrease in mortality: hypertension, smoking, admission heart rate, bundle branch block, previous angina pectoris, and the site of the infarction. Certain groups of patients tend to have higher mortality; patients older than 60 years, females, diabetic and patients with clinical heart failure. Other factors didn't affect survival; location of the AMI, the presence of bundle branch block, hypertension, angina pectoris, smoking and the high heart rate on admission