Epidemiological data of national Kawasaki disease registry in Iran, 2007-2019.

Introduction: Kawasaki disease(KD) is a vasculitis of childhood that tends to influence the coronary arteries. There is no national data about the prevalence of KD in Iran. This study aimed to perform a national registry in Iran for 13 years. Methods: In this retrospective study, the data for KD extracted from medical records of <19 year-old patients admitted to tertiary hospitals in Iran between 2007 and 2019 were recorded in the national KD registry system. Age, admission date, gender, location, and presence of KD criteria, laboratory and echocardiography findings, and treatment modalities were evaluated. Complete KD was considered if ≥4 clinical criteria of the KD existed and otherwise, incomplete KD was considered. Results: Data from 1,682 KD patients including 999(59.39%) boys and 683(40.61%) girls and male/female ratio of 1.46 were evaluated. The mean age was 3.08 ± 2.49 years and 1465(87%) were living in urban regions. The yearly incidence of the disease was between 2.62 to 3.03 from 2015 to 2019. The highest age-specific incidence was observed in children <1-year-old. Incomplete and resistant KD included 1,321(78.54%) and 9(0.54%) patients, respectively. Abnormal echocardiography was detected in 619(36.80%) patients. Leukocytosis, with dominancy of neutrophils, anemia, thrombocytosis and increased ESR and CRP were the most noticeable laboratory findings. No death due to KD disease was reported. Conclusion: Based on this study, most of the KD cases are presented with atypical presentation in Iran. So, increasing awareness of primary healthcare workers by educating and updating their data is very important in timely diagnosis and management of the disease.

Comparison efficacy of Curosurf and Survanta in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

This study aim was to compare the therapeutic efficacy of Curosurf and Survanta in preterm infants which were admitted into NICU. In this interventional study, 150 preterm infants divided randomly in two groups (75 in Survanta and 75 in Curosurf). Data analyzed by statistical methods in SPSS.19. The significance level was considered to be P<0.05.There were no statistically significant differences in gestational age, birth weight, mortality rate, pneumothorax, Brunch-Pulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Intra Ventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) and the mean duration of hospitalization between two groups. But in repeating dose of Survanta group with 67.7% was higher than Curosurf group with 32.3% (p=0.043) and in mean duration of ventilation Survanta group with 8 days was lower than Curosurf group with 10.5 days (P=0.001). Results showed in treatment of RDS in preterm infants each of two groups had similar side-effects but the need for repeated doses in Curosurf group and need for ventilation in Survanta group is less than others.

The role of interleukin-6 in the early diagnosis of sepsis in premature infants.

Septicemia is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in newborns. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the early diagnosis of Sepsis in premature newborns. This cross-sectional study was conducted on preterm infants admitted to NICU of Hospital Buali in Ardabil city, Iran. C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6 and complete blood count tests have been done in baseline, third and seventh day. Collected data analyzed by one-sample t-test, repeated measures and ANOVA in SPSS.21. The mean of IL-6 in the first and third day after hospitalization was significantly more than normal value. The mean of CRP in the third and seventh day after hospitalization significantly more than normal value. We found that increasing in IL-6 level can occur earlier than CRP and it can be used as a good index in early sepsis diagnosis compare than CRP.

Antioxidant Levels in Cord Blood of Term Neonates and Its Association with Birth Weight.

OBJECTIVE: Due to excessive production of free radicals and antioxidants evolved mechanisms against oxidative stress, infants are very vulnerable. As there was a significant relation between antioxidant levels and birth weight, we aimed verify this relationship. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this descriptive analytical study we evaluated the antioxidant status of 40 healthy term newborns (gestation age 38-42 wk) with weight >2500 g (AGA) and 40 healthy term newborns (gestation age 38-42 wk) with LBW babies (weight < 2500 g) (SGA) in Ardabil Buali Hospital, Ardabil, northwest Iran in 2014. About 15 Ml of cord blood was collected after the second stage of labor. The levels of vitamin A, E, and C, catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), bilirubin and serum uric acid were measured by standard methods. Informed consent was obtained from newborn mothers and study protocol was approved by university Ethics Committee. Data were analyzed using SPSS.19. RESULTS: The mean levels of bilirubin, vitamin C, E, catalase and GPX in AGA group were significantly higher than SGA group but the mean of serum uric acid in SGA group was more than AGA. In addition, the mean of vitamin A was similar in two groups. There was a significant relation between antioxidant levels and birth weight in term newborns. CONCLUSION: In line with other studies the amounts of antioxidant levels except serum uric acid in AGA group was significantly more than SGA group.

Investigation of natural effective gamma dose rates case study: Ardebil Province in Iran.

Gamma rays pose enough energy to induce chemical changes that may be biologically important for the normal functioning of body cells. The external exposure of human beings to natural environmental gamma radiation normally exceeds that from all man-made sources combined. In this research natural background gamma dose rates and corresponding annual effective doses were determined for selected cities of Ardebil province. Outdoor gamma dose rates were measured using an Ion Chamber Survey Meter in 105 locations in selected districts. Average absorbed doses for Ardebil, Sar-Ein, Germy, Neer, Shourabil Recreational Lake, and Kosar were determined as 265, 219, 344, 233, 352, and 358 nSv/h, respectively. Although dose rates recorded for Germi and Kosar are comparable with some areas with high natural radiation background, however, the dose rates in other districts are well below the levels reported for such locations. Average annual effective dose due to indoor and outdoor gamma radiation for Ardebil province was estimated as 1.73 (1.35-2.39) mSv, which is on average 2 times higher than the world population weighted average.