AN ASSESSMENT OF RADIATION EXPOSURE DOSES IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING PRIMARY PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION BASED ON ANGIOGRAPHIC RECORDS.

The stochastic and non-stochastic (deterministic) effects of radiation dose in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) have been investigated using data recorded by an angiographic monitoring system. A total of 132 patients with acute myocardial infarction referred to the angiography department of Vali-Asr hospital, Fasa, Iran, during the second half of 2016 were recruited. Quantities like dose-area product (DAP), total air kerma (Ka,r) and fluoroscopy time (FT) were calculated and converted into effective dose (ED) and peak skin dose (PSD). The values for Ka,r, DAP and FT equaled 80 399.20 ± 63 312 mGy cm2, 1392.80 ± 1155.373 mGy and 524.11 ± 423.057 s, respectively, which were within the ranges reported in previous studies. After considering standard dose thresholds for Ka,r and PSD, it was revealed that only a small portion of patients had reached these thresholds and exceeded them (<3%). Moreover, ED < 20 mSv for the majority of patients was fairly consistent with results from a recent research in eight Belgian hospitals. It was shown that angiographic records are reliable for assessing radiation dose in patients.

Is endoscopic nodular gastritis associated with premalignant lesions?

BACKGROUND: Nodularity on the gastric mucosa is occasionally seen in general practice. There is no consensus about the association of nodular gastritis and histological premalignant lesions. This study is designed to investigate the prevalence of histological premalignant lesions in dyspeptic patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis. METHODS: Consecutive patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis were compared with an age- and sex-matched control group. Endoscopic nodular gastritis was defined as a miliary nodular appearance of the gastric mucosa on endoscopy. Biopsy samples of stomach tissue were examined for the presence of atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia. The presence of Helicobacter pylori infection was determined by histology. RESULTS: From 5366 evaluated patients, a total of 273 patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis and 1103 participants as control group were enrolled. H. pylori infection was detected in 87.5% of the patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis, whereas 73.8% of the control group were positive for H. pylori (p < 0.001). Prevalence of incomplete intestinal metaplasia (p = 0.016) and dysplasia (p < 0.001) in patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis were significantly higher than in the control group. Prevalence of atrophic gastritis and complete intestinal metaplasia were also more frequent in patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Dysplasia, incomplete intestinal metaplasia and H. pylori infection are significantly more frequent in patients with endoscopic nodular gastritis. Although further studies are needed before a clear conclusion can be reached, we suggest that endoscopic nodular gastritis might serve as a premalignant lesion and could be biopsied in all patients for the possibility of histological premalignancy, in addition to H. pylori infection.