[Clinical symptoms and laboratory findings of Kawasaki disease in children]

Kawasaki disease is an acute self-limited vasculitis of childhood characterized by fever, bilateral nonexudative conjunctivitis, erythema of lips and oral mucosa, changes in extremities, rash and cervical lymphadenopathy. Coronary artery aneurysm or ectasia develops in approximately 15% to 25% of untreated children and may lead to ischemic heart disease or sudden death. To evaluate the prevalence of clinical symptoms, laboratory findings and epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in children hospitalized at Quds children hospital, Qazvin, Iran. Between March 1994 and March 2005, a total of 29 consecutive Kawasaki patients were enrolled and studied retrospectively. Of 29 patients, 20 were males and 9 females. The male/female ratio was 1:0.45. The majority of patients [65.3%] were younger than 5 years old. Seasonal peak was found to be in winter [37.9%] and spring [34.5%]. All patients had fever lasting from 8 to 21 days. The most common clinical features were oral mucosal changes [96.6%], changes in extremities [79.3%], conjunctivitis [75.8%], cervical lymphadenopathy [58.6%] and rash [58.6%]. Echocardiography was abnormal in 14%. Kawasaki disease is present in our country and diagnostic work-up in cases with prolonged fever and unresponsive to antibiotics is strongly recommended, as the clinical manifestations of Kawasaki disease are in common with many other diseases

Evaluating the effects of prostatan as an adjunct drug in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia [BPH] is the most common benign tumor in men. Due to the side effects of chemical drugs, phytotherapy has become a treatment method in BPH since 1990s. Prostatan is a plant extract widely available hi Iran. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of Prostatan drop in combination with Prazosin in alleviating BPH symptoms. In a single blind randomized clinical trial, 66 men over 50 years with BPH symptoms who were visited in Vali-e-Asr hospital of Arak were randomly divided in two groups and treated with either Prostatan [40 drop,TDS] plus Prazosin [ling, BD] or Prazosin [Img, BD] alone. AUA symptom score, PSA [prostate-specific antigen] levels, Prostate volume, post voidal residue [PVR] by sonograms and uroflowmetry results were determined before and 12 weeks after treatment. Data was analyzed by T and Man-Whithey u tests. Before treatment there were no significant differences hi age, PSA, PVR, AUA symptom score, Prostate volume and uroflowmetry between the two groups. After treatment the mean of PSA levels, Prostate volume and PVR did not differ between the two groups. In the Prostatan plus Prazosin group, the mean of AUA symptom score was 3.3 less [p<0.0001] and the mean of maximal urine flow rate was 2.7 ml/s more than the Prazosin group [p<0.0001]. Regarding results, it seems that adding Prostatan to Prazosin against Prazosin alone enhances its effects on controlling BPH symptoms and increases urine flow rates