Neonatal and childhood bacterial meningitis at Saddam general hospital in Tikrit

A prospective study of the infants and children bacterial meningitis cases admitted to Saddam General Hospital [SGH] during the Spring of 1995 covering 87 patients where analyzed. Data were collected by a researcher filled, 23 relevant variables questionnaire, in addition to clinical findings and laboratory investigations. The peak incidence was in the 3 months to two years of age group, comprising 50% of the total cases. These patients were admitted to the hospital after showing signs and symptoms at times from one day to one month. The majority of cases [48%] were admitted within 1-5 days. The main etiological agents were H. influenzae, Streptococci, N. meningitidis, E. Coli, and Pneumococci. There were 28% of non responsive patients and four mortality cases and five cases with neurological sequalae. The factors influencing the disease and the treatment outcome are discussed

Pulmonary function of smokers in an air polluted environment

The relation of smoking and air pollution impact on pulmonary function was studied in a cohort of 158 persons. Subjects from three different departments in the Baiji oil refinery complex were examined. A control group from the staff members of the medical college of Tikrit university were also selected randomly. Anthropometric, health status, and environmental information were collected about each subject. A researcher filled, twenty two relevant variable questionnaire was designed to obtain maximum necessary data. The results indicated that statistically significant changes in PEFR readings were among smokers in the air polluted area. However, there might be synergistic effect of cigarette smoking and industrial air pollution. Non measurable obstructive changes might be present in the exposed nonsmokers, but are detectable by PEFR

Appendicitis at Saddam General Hospital in Tikrit

Fourty one cases of appendectomy were studied. The cross-sectional study used an interviewer questionnaire which was precoded and designed to obtain relevant data; in addition to bacteriological and histopathological examinations. Appendicitis was common among age group [15-20] years of age. Abdominal pain was the chief complain of all cases. Other associated symptoms, were in decreased order of frequency, general malaise, nausea, loss of appetite, low fever, vomiting, high fever, diarrhea, and constipation. Acutely inflamed appendix was the commonest gross pathological observation and was commonly of the obstructive type. Histopathological findings included: Acute inflammation, lymphoid hyperplasia, gangrene, or chronic inflammation. The microbiological findings were in order of frequency of isolation: E. coli, Kelbsiella, Staphylococci, and Bacteroids

Respiratory affections among employees of two industrial plants

In an attempt to evaluate the effect of air pollution on the prevalence of respiratory disease this study was conducted. The health records of the employees of two Iraqi factories was reviewed for the years 1992 and 1993 for respiratory affections. A total of 685 records were selected randomly from the health records of Baiji oil refinery employees. In addition to 471 health records of the plastic sacks factory. The respiratory affections were classified into 11 disease categories. The results shows that the respiratory affections of Baiji production employees were 22% and 14% during 1992 and 1993 respectively. Compared to 21% and 20% during the same years of the plastic sacks factory employees. The management employees respiratory affections of Baiji refinery were 36% and 32% during the same period of time. While the same affections for the plastic sacks factory employees were 7% and 8% for 1992 and 1993 respectively

Prevalence of acne amony secondary school students

This is a cross-sectional, case-control study of the secondary school students in Tikrit in 1994. A random sample of 630 students were studied. The results have revealed a prevalence rate of 14% with female to male ratio of 2:1. Most of the students with acne were in the 15-18 years age group. More than one half of the cases were from the middle class families. Fat rich and spicy diet preference among cases were 35% and 29% respectively. Students with emotional stress formed 33% of the cases while 67% of cases reported positive family history. Most of the cases have greasy skin while 51% of the female cases suffered, in addition, of menstrual irregularity. The lesion in 62% of cases were located on the face, the rest of them were located on the face in addition to other body localities

Parasitic infection among primary school children in Tikrit city

A survey of the prevalent parasitic infection in school children in Tikrit city was conducted in 1992. A cross-section, multistage, random sample size of 440 primary school children was selected. The prevalence of infection was 19.8%. Seven different species of parasites were diagnosed. Hymenolipes nana ranked first [35.3%], then followed by Entamoeba histolytica [23.3%], and Giardia lamblia [16.8%]. The relationship between sex, age group, socioeconomic status, parents educational level and other factors were also studied