Seroprevalence of brucellosis antibodies and associated risk factors among the hospitalized patient, Aleppo, Syria: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Introduction and importance: Brucellosis is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world, especially in developing countries. Recent reports show that Syria is among the top ten countries where brucellosis is most prevalent. The purpose of this study is to estimate the seroprevalence of brucellosis antibodies among the hospitalized patients, in one of the largest hospitals in northern Syria. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the hospitalized patients. The authors used a questionnaire to collect sociodemographic and brucellosis-related data from the patients. The authors also collected blood samples from these patients to be screened for brucellosis antibodies using Wright Coombs Agglutination and 2-mercaptoethanol tests, during the period from November 2021 and March 2022. Results: Among the 776 patients who were recruited in the study, the seroprevalence of brucellosis antibodies was 13.1% (n=776). The highest prevalence was among the female sex (16.7%, n=298), middle aged group 12-40 years (24.1%, n=116), and patients with history of brucellosis (30.1%, n=53). Among the positive samples, the findings of 2-mercaptoethanol tests show that (14.7%, n=102) were positive (presence of IgG Antibodies), and (75.5%, n=102) were negative. Conclusion: This study is the first to describe the epidemiology of brucellosis in northern Syria. It clearly shows high rates of positivity, which reflects immense challenges facing the public health sector in Syria. The best next step in light of this crisis is to raise awareness among population about brucellosis and its risk factor.

Cardiac arrhythmias in STEMI patients in ICU: study on occurrence in first 48 h and correlation with age, sex, infarction site, and risk factors.

Introduction: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death in the developed world. The spread of the disease approaches three million people worldwide, with more than one million deaths in the United States annually. Myocardial ischemia and infarction can lead to electrophysiological and metabolic alterations that result in potentially fatal arrhythmias, some of which may be asymptomatic. About 90% of patients with AMI develop some form of arrhythmia during or immediately after the event, and in 25% of patients, these arrhythmias appear within the first 48 h. The most common cause of death in patients with AMI in pre-hospitalization is ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF). Methods: A cross-sectional study targeting 150 patients with myocardial infarction attending tertiary hospital. According to certain acceptance and exclusion criteria. Results: The sample consisted of 150 patients who suffered from heart infarction, the mean age of patients in the sample was 59.41 years with a standard deviation of 11.02 years and range of 28-90. Males constituted the largest portion of patients, with 112 males, that is 75%. The study identified that the anterior wall was the most frequent location for myocardial infarction among patients, with 64% of patients experiencing an infarction in this area. Additionally, ventricular fibrillation was the most commonly occurring arrhythmia, affecting 27% of myocardial infarction patients in the study. Recommendations: One of the most important recommendations of our study is the necessity of keeping the patient under observation for at least 48 h after myocardial infarction within the hospital to monitor the ECG (Holter) in order to detect arrhythmias. Detection of arrhythmias in every patient with extensive anterior, lateral, or posterior myocardial infarction. And the need to know and take into account ventricular fibrillation and how to manage it in every patient with a heart infarction. And conducting future studies, including a larger number of patients, to study cardiac arrhythmias more precisely.

Prevalence of obesity and its association with fast-food consumption and physical activity: A cross-sectional study and review of medical students' obesity rate.

Background: obesity is a widespread condition with more than 400 million obese-person all over the world. It is expected of medical students to follow healthy habits as they are more familiar with the risks of obesity. In contrast, many studies showed that medical students eat fast food, spend much time on smart devices, and do not play sports. Aim: This study is the first cross-sectional study conducted to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and some daily habits carried out by medical students of Aleppo University. Method: The data of our cross-sectional study were collected between the 13th-20th of March 2021 through an online google form posted on different social media platforms. The questionnaire was divided into two main sections: firstly, participants' demographics (including age, gender, and academic year). In addition, medical students were asked to document their weight and height to estimate their Body Mass Index (BMI). The second section contained questions concerning daily habits including, the number of meals, breakfast, physical exercises, and fast food consumption. Chi-square and Fisher tests were performed by IBM SPSS statistics to analyze our data. Results: Our sample size was 514 medical students of Aleppo University. (22.1%) of them were overweight or obese (BMI> 25). Most (73.5%) eat fast food once a week or more. In addition, (39%) have three meals or more daily, and (55.7%) have two meals every day. Regarding physical activity, (76.7%) do not play sports, and (62.1%) use buses to come to the college.Stress eaters were associated significantly(p-value<0.05) with being overweight, and (70.8%) of them had a history of being overweight (p-value<0.05). Contrary to females, we found that most males were not stressed-eaters (p-value<0.05).

Asymptomatic choroid plexus carcinoma in an infant: Report of one case.

Introduction: Choroid Plexus Carcinomas (CPC) are rare malignant brain neoplasms of choroid plexus epithelium, with a tendency to occur in infants and children, especially those who are under two years of age. The Main symptoms of CPC include nausea, vomiting, headache, irritability, blurred vision, and seizures. Few studies discuss the therapeutic methods to treat this tumor. However, most of these studies confirmed the poor prognosis of it. Case presentation: A two-year-old girl presented with a headache due to head trauma, normal consciousness, GCS 15/15, and without intracranial hypertension symptoms. Computed Tomography (CT) has shown a large heterogeneous lesion in the region of the right lateral ventricle. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a large poorly-defined mass in the right lateral ventricle with mild dilatation of the ipsilateral lateral ventricle, and midline shift and marked edema surrounding it. In this case, the mass has been discovered by accident. The histological diagnosis was choroid plexus carcinoma (WHO grade 3), curettage of the right lateral ventricle was performed. Discussion and conclusion: CPC is a serious condition with a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis and appropriate approaches are required in order to reduce mortality and morbidity rates.

Amelanotic nodular melanoma misdiagnosed as a benign skin lesion: A rare case report from Syria.

INTRODUCTION: and importance: Amelanotic melanoma is a rare and aggressive type of melanoma. It is often diagnosed late because of the lack of melanin in its cells, and this causes treatment delay and, eventually, poor prognosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 79-year-old female patient that presented to the dermatology clinic with an asymptomatic lesion on the medial heel of the right foot, with no medical history of previous melanoma or related skin cancer. To get the right diagnosis, an incisional biopsy was performed, and the sample was sent to the pathology laboratory. The sample was stained with S100 and HMB-45 stains, and both were positive. Also, no melanin pigmented cells were seen, so the diagnosis was amelanotic nodular melanoma. The patient was then referred to surgery. The lesion was successfully excised with 5cm safety margins, and the whole lesion was sent to the pathology laboratory to ensure that the edges are malignancy-free. After 18 months of follow-up, the patient is in good health. CONCLUSION: Accurate and early diagnosis with appropriate clinical intervention can improve the prognosis and reduce mortality and morbidity rates.

Primary cutaneous Leiomyosarcoma on the left iliac region: A rare case report from Syria.

INTRODUCTION: and importance: Leiomyosarcoma is a rare aggressive soft-tissue malignancy typically originating from embryonic mesoderm or mesenchymal cell lines in smooth muscles.Leiomyosarcoma of the skin is termed as "Dermal Leiomyosarcoma", and is categorized into two subdivisions; superficial cutaneous and deep subcutaneous.Both types begin either as primary lesions or metastatic lesions from distant sites. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 60-year-old male patient with Primary Cutaneous Leiomyosarcoma (PCL) located in the left iliac region.His history is insignificant and he has no family or genetic history of leiomyosarcoma. The lesion was itchy without any other symptoms and existed 20 years before our evaluation.A biopsy from the nodule was performed and sent to the pathology department, where the section was stained with smooth muscle actin stain (SMA) and the result was positive.We referred the patient to a surgeon to excise the nodule. The lesion was excised with a 3cm safety margin, the eradication includes also the of the major iliac muscle.After one year of follow-up there was no metastasis nor recurrence. CONCLUSION: Primary Cutaneous Leiomyosarcoma is a very rare malignancy and it is hard to diagnose without biopsy and pathological examination.