[ comparison between touch cytology and histology method in diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection]

Touch cytology is one of the sensitive ways of diagnosing Helicobacter pylori in stomach biopsies. The current study was designed to compare touch cytology with histology method in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. This study was performed on 150 dyspeptic patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital. Antrum samples [2-4] were taken from each of 150 patients. One biopsy sample was considered for touch cytology and the remaining biopsy samples were studied for histological examination. Eighty-three out of 150 patients [55.3%] were men with the mean age of 46.63 +/- 5.93 years. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value in the touch cytology method were 95.65%, 100%, 100% and 66%, respectively, while in the histology method they were 84.78%, 100%, 100% and 36.36%, respectively. The sensitivity of the touch cytology was more than that of the histology method [P<0.001] in the diagnosis of H. pylori. Since the cytology method is more sensitive with equal specificities in relation to histology method, when the histological information is not necessary, the cytology method can be considered more reliable for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori

[Studying the effect of mesenteric ischemia on pH value and potassium level of DPL in rats]

Mesenteric ischemia is a potentially life-threatening disorder; however, there is still no exact diagnosis for it. This study was designed to evaluate pH value and potassium level of DPL for diagnosing mesenteric ischemia in the afflicted rats. In this experimental study, 32 rats were divided in four groups [8 rats in each group]. In groups 1 and 2 abdomen was opened and closed without any medical interventions then through a catheter they were injected 200cc of normal saline intraperitoneally. In group 1 after one hour and in group 2 after two hours the liquid was lavaged for determination of potassium and pH values. A blood sample was also prepared for determination of potassium. In groups 3 and 4, after anesthesia, the main branch of the superior mesenteric artery was ligated with a non-absorbable suture and the animals were introduced to the procedures just mentioned. Mesenteric ischemia led to varied peritoneal pH and blood as well as peritoneal lavage potassium between the two groups. Only blood/peritoneal potassium level showed a significant difference after 2 hours of mesenteric artery ligation. Peritoneal pH and blood/peritoneal lavage potassium can be used as an indicator of mesenteric ischemia. Blood/ peritoneal potassium level may also be helpful to predict the duration of mesenteric ischemia

[ comparative study on the adequacy of liquid-based thin layer papanicolaou and conventional smears]

Background: considering the significance of early diagnosis of cervical cancer and low sensitivity of conventional pap smear tests, this study was carried out to evaluate the adequacy of papanicolaou smear taken by liquid-based thin layer method compared to the conventional methods for women referring to obs/gynecological clinics of Kashan [March to October 2008]

Materials and Methods: this cross-sectional descriptive study was done on pap smear specimens [n=400] of women referring to gynecological clinics. Randomly for half of samples, Pap smear was prepared by manual liquid-based thin layer [direct to vial] method and the conventional method for half of the samples. Samples were prepared using cytobrush and interpreted based on Bethesda [2001] criteria. In each of sampling methods both satisfactory and unsatisfactory cases were identified and analyzed using Chi-square test

Results: in both methods, the number of satisfactory and unsatisfactory smears were 191 [% 95.5] and 9 [% 4/5] respectively, signifying no difference between methods. The factors for unsatisfactory smear in conventional smear were exudates [8 cases [[88.9%]]; blood [1 case [11.1%]] and in liquid based samples the lower cellularity [9 cases [100%]]

Conclusion: the number of satisfactory cases in liquid-based thin layer method was the same as the conventional method