CHSJ

Archive issue

Current Health Sciences Journal

vol. 48 no. 2, 2022

1. Correspondence on Knowledge and Willingness to Accept COVID-19 Vaccine

R. Mungmunpuntipantip, V. Wiwanitkit

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2. Liver Histopathological Changes Related to Intraperitoneal Administration of Salicylic Acid/Fe3O4 Nanoparticles to C57BL/6 Mice

B. Mindrila, I. Rogoveanu, S.A. Buteica, L. Cercelaru, D.E. Mihaiescu, M.D. Manescu, I. Mindrila, I. Pirici

With a simple synthesis and easy engineering of physicochemical properties, iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have become widely used in multiple biomedical applications. The study of IONPs toxicity has become an important issue, especially as the results reported so far are contradictory and range from lack of toxicity to cellular toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histopathological changes induced in mouse liver by long-term intraperitoneal injection of low doses of IONPs functionalized with salicylic acid (SaIONPs). The study was performed on C57BL/6 mice that received by intraperitoneal injection (IP), every two days, 0.6ml of SaIONPs aqueous suspension (35mg/kg body weight SaIONPs that contained 20mg/kg body weight of Fe3O4) for 28 days. The results of this study showed that the cumulative dose of 105mg/kg body weight SaIONPs (62mg/kg body weight of Fe3O4) induced histopathological changes in the subcapsular region of the mouse liver, possible by the release of salicylic acid into the peritoneal cavity. The cumulative dose of 244mg/kg body weight SaIONPs (145mg/kg body weight of Fe3O4) induced liver centrilobular necrosis, which requires the use of lower doses in biological applications. However, this may prove to be beneficial in the case of targeted accumulation of SaIONPs.

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3. VEGF Immunoexpression in Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinomas

I. Drocas, S. Craitoiu, A.E. Stepan, C.E. Simionescu, D. Marinescu

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most important stimulator of endometrial tumor angiogenesis, a mechanism that may be a therapeutic target in the context of an incidence and persistent mortality of endometrial endometrial carcinomas (EEC). In this study, VEGF immunoexpression was analyzed for 50 cases of EEC in relation to the histopathological parameters of tumor aggressiveness. High VEGF scores have been associated with the high grade and advanced stage of EEC, but unrelated to the depth of myometrial invasion, the pattern of tumor invasion, or vascular invasion. VEGF may be useful for assessing EEC aggression, but also for tumor angiogenic potential, which recommends it as a possible mark for specific antitumor therapy.

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4. Prediction of Preterm Birth with Serial Measurements of Ultrasound Markers

I.V. Camen, M.M. Manolea, S.C. Vrabie, M.S. Sandulescu, M.S. Serbanescu, M.V. Boldeanu, L. Novac, A.M. Istrate-Ofiteru, S.D. Neamtu, A.L. Dijmarescu

To compare the ability of cervical length (CL), anterior cervical angle (ACA), and cervical consistency index (CCI) to predict premature birth. Methods. This prospective study involved 85 pregnant women who gave birth prematurely and a control group of 31 pregnant women who gave birth at term. The study was performed in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Municipal Clinical Hospital Filanthropia Craiova between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2022. Cases were examined using transvaginal ultrasonography (TVU) in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and cervical length (CL), Anterior Cervical Angle (ACA), and Cervical Consistency Index (CCI) were measured. Results. The mean value from the three measurements at all three parameters was statistically significant with preterm birth (p<0.05). Cervical length <25mm, was highly significant in the prediction of preterm labor with a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 61%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 78%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 97 %, and a positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 2.54 and negative likelihood ratio (LR-) of 0.02. CCI also remains, despite low specificity and PPV values, a potential predictive parameter in the prediction of preterm birth, with a sensitivity of 73%, NPV of 92% and a LR+of 1.32 and LR- of 0.6 also correlated with CL, CCI being more difficult to interpret as an independent predictive parameter. Conclusions. CL remains the standard parameter for predicting the preterm birth, but in combination with other parameters, the prediction rate can increase significantly.

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5. Determining Covid-19 Vaccine Literacy Levels of Nursing Students

D. Yilmaz, D.U. Yilmaz, G. H. Yont

This study aimed to determine nursing students’ levels of COVID-19 vaccine literacy and the affecting variables. This descriptive research was carried out on 391 students receiving education at Bursa Uluda? University Nursing Department between January and March 2022. Research data were collected using a “Student Introduction Form” and the “COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale”. The mean total score of the nursing students included in the study on the COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale was 2.80±0.44. The mean scores of the students on the subscales were 2.41±0.58 for functional skills, 2.99±0.55 for interactive/critical skills. There was a significant difference between the students’ grades, place of residence, and income status and their mean total COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale score and mean interactive/critical skills subscale score (p<0.05). On the other hand, the variables of gender, COVID-19 positivity, and COVID-19 positivity in family member(s) were not associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy (p>0.05). In this study, it was determined that the COVID-19 vaccine literacy levels of nursing students were moderate and that some of the variables affected vaccine literacy.

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6. Factors Influencing the Length of Hospital Stay in a Safety Measures Psychiatric Hospital in Romania

M.E.P. Banu

Introduction: A growth in the number of patients admitted to forensic psychiatric services has been reported worldwide. At the same time, an increase in the length of hospital stay of these patients was observed. Objectives: To identify the factors that influence the length of hospital stay in a Romanian forensic psychiatric sample, as well as to compare the socio-demographic, clinical and criminological features of the “long stay” and “shorter stay” patients. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study that included all patients admitted to S?poca Psychiatry and Safety Measures Hospital according to article 110 of the Penal code (n=650) over a period of 11 years (2008-2018). Long stay was considered as a period of hospitalization greater than 5 years. Results: The average length of hospital stay in the sample was 3.20 years. Approximately one quarter (n=154) of the patients were classified as “long stay”. The variables that were significantly associated with length of stay included the main psychiatric diagnosis, social support, the severity of the offence and the perpetration of violence. Conclusions: Overall, our findings are in line with observations made by researchers from other countries. Our study highlights the need for further, more detailed research on the patients admitted to forensic psychiatric units in Romania.

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7. Living Arrangement of Older Adults and its Effect on Five-Year Survival

A. Bijani, N.Neghabi, S.R. Hosseini, R. Ghadimi, S. Mouodi

Introduction: Given the impact of living alone on health outcomes, this study was conducted to assess the living arrangement of senior adults and its effect on the mortality. Material and Methods: This cohort study carried out on elderly people aged 60 years and over. Demographic characteristics, the number of comorbid disorders and living condition-as being alone or living with other people-were collected. The mini-mental state examination questionnaire, the geriatric depression scale, the Katz index of activities of daily living, the Lawton instrumental activities of daily living scale, and a modified version of Duke social support index were used for data collection. The participants were followed for five years, and their survival was assessed. Results: Out of the 500 examined individuals, 100 (20.0%) were living alone. During 5 years of follow-up, sixteen (19.8%) of the people who died were living alone. The adjusted effect of age (P<0.001), male gender (P=0.004), the number of comorbidities (P=0.031), the person's social support (P=0.028) and dependence to others to do complex daily activities (P=0.020) on the mortality of the participants was significant, however, other factors including living alone, illiteracy, cognitive impairment and depression did not show such a statistically significant effect (P>0.05). Conclusion: Living arrangement, itself, did not show a significant effect on the mortality of older adults.

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8. Clinicopathological Prognostic Parameters of Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinomas

I. Drocas, S. Craitoiu, A.E. Stepan, I.A. Drocas, M.D. Stepan

Endometrioid endometrial carcinomas (EEC) are common malignant lesions of the female genital tract, with incidence and risk factors that raise issues to improve histopathological prognostic factors. The study included 50 EEC cases, for which the clinicopathological parameters represented by age, risk factors, tumor grade, histological differences, invasion pattern, tumor stage and association of endometrial hyperplasia were analyzed statistically. The results indicated the predominance of EEC in the 7th decade of life, with associated risk factors (78%), more frequently well differentiated (52%), with no other specifications related to differentiation (NOS, 60%), with irregular invasion pattern (66%) in<50% of the myometrial wall (48%). Irregular pattern, microcystic, elongated, and fragmented (MELF) pattern and myoinvasion associated with vascular invasion (MVI) pattern were significantly associated with high grade and advanced stage tumors. With the exception of EEC-NOS and squamous differentiation, all other tumors were associated with low grade (G1). In this study there was a tendency to associate the age group of 60-69 years with the presence of endometrial hyperplasia and with high grade and advanced stage. Apart from the high grade and advanced stage, in the aggressive profile of the EEC can be included as the clinicopathological parameters the 7th decade of life and the irregular, MELF and MVI invasion patterns.

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9. Similarity Analysis for Medical Images Using Color and Texture Histograms

M. Ionescu, A.D. Glodeanu, I.R. Marinescu, A.G. Ionescu, C.C. Vere

Medical databases usually contain a significant volume of images, therefore search engines based on low-level features frequently used to retrieve similar images are necessary for a fast operation. Color, texture, and shape are the most common features used to characterize an image, however extracting the proper features for image retrievals in a similar manner with the human cognition remains a constant challenge. These algorithms work by sorting the images based on a similarity index that defines how different two or more images are, and histograms are one of the most employed methods for image comparison. In this paper, we have extended the concept of image database to the set of frames acquired following wireless capsule endoscopy (from a unique patient). Then, we have used color and texture histograms to identify very similar images (considered duplicates) and removed one of them for each pair of two successive frames. The volume reduction represented an average of 20% from the initial data set, only by removing frames with very similar informational content.

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10. Covid-19 Preventive Behaviors in Iranian People: Applying Health Belief Model

M. Barati, S. Bashirian, M. Afshari, S. Khazaei, E. Jenabi, B. Gholamaliee, S. Zareian

Covid-19 disease, as a common infectious disease, has caused infection and death. Preventive behaviors are among the most important essential strategies of the Covid-19 disease prevention and control program. The health belief model (HBM) is one of the models that have been used to investigate the effective motivational factors and ultimately the protective behavior of the individual. Therefore, this study was conducted to define the factors related with Covid-19 protection behaviors among patients referred to comprehensive health service centers in Tuyserkan city using the HBM. A total of 800 patients referred to the comprehensive health service centers of Tuyserkan city during November 2021 were selected as the statistical population of this descriptive-analytical study. Clients were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling from 21 comprehensive health service centers and health bases and then entered the study through simple random sampling. Data collection was online and based on a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: demographic information and HBM structure. The analysis was performed using SPSS24 software after data collection. The mean age of the subjects was 48.80 years and the income of the majority of the subjects was low (86.5%). People who washed their hands frequently kept a social distance, avoided losing others, used masks and gloves were 54.2%, 72.5%, 79.8%, 53.9%, 7.9% respectively. The results showed that with one unit increase in self-efficacy score and practice guide, the average behavior score increased by 0.27 and 0.31. The results show that the importance of prevention of Covid-19 infection among the population is necessary due to the high prevalence of infection and mortality. It seems that in intervention and prevention programs, the factors of prevention of Covid-19 transmission should be fully identified and proper interventions should be planned and implemented based on affective factors.

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11. Lichtenstein Repair in Inguinal Hernia- A Retrospective Study on the Impact of In-Hospital Costs of Diabetes Mellitus

M.M. Racareanu, G. Mogo, A.M. Ifrim-Predoi, A. Goganau, D.N. Margaritescu, C. Constantin, M. Bica, D. Marinescu, S. Patracu, V. Surlin, S. Cazacu

Introduction: Inguinal hernia is one of the most common conditions in surgical departments and diabetes is known to have a significant impact on both patients’ health and healthcare system. The current study aims to evaluate extensively the differences in costs for different subgroups of diabetic patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair in a tertiary care medical center in South-West Romania. Material and methods: A total number of 195 patients underwent hernia repair for primary or recurrent inguinal hernia between 2015 and 2020 and were included in the analysis. The group was divided into diabetic/non-diabetic patients and each of these subgroups was studied separately according to the presence or absence of comorbidities, sex and place of origin. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the division of the age group, highlighting the fact that in diabetic patients the average age was around 74.76 years, unlike those without diabetes in which the average age was approximately 61.31 years. Another statistically significant difference was observed in the classification by hospitalization days of the group of patients with incarcerated inguinal hernia, in a sense that diabetic patients required a prolonged hospitalization by 1.5 days as opposed to non-diabetics. Conclusions: The costs of hospitalization for diabetic patients undergoing hernia repair surgery were marginally higher than in non-diabetic patients, but no statistical difference could be observed between any of the costs subsets in the two patients groups.

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12. Biocompatibility Studies on a Collagen-Hydroxyapatite Biomaterial

O.L. Filip Ionescu, A.G. Mocanu, I.A. Neacsu, M.V. Ciocilteu, G. Rau, J. Neamtu

The current treatment of osteomyelitis includes systemic antibiotic therapy and a debridement procedure of the formed biofilm and necrotic tissue. Moreover, cements and three-dimensional scaffolds are used both for the delivery of therapeutic agents and as fillers for bone defects. The aim of our research was to test, on cellular cultures, the biocompatibility of a previously synthesized microporous biocomposite containing hydroxyapatite and a collagen matrix including a therapeutic agent (ciprofloxacin and gentamicin). The scaffold was obtained by direct mineralization namely co-precipitation of hydroxyapatite on a collagen matrix.

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13. Knee Pain Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Secondary to Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

E.C.P. Chu, A.F.C. Lin

We report the case of a 78-year-old woman who presented with a 14-month history of progressive bilateral knee spasms and pain and reduced quality of life. The patient had undergone bilateral total knee arthroplasty after a diagnosis of osteoarthritis and failure of conservative treatment. Symptoms reappeared 8 months postoperatively, and the patient was diagnosed with cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Consequently, she was successfully treated with chiropractic rehabilitation which involved scraping therapy, spinal manipulation, and intermittent motorized traction to relieve cervical nerve pressure. Thus, cervical spondylotic myelopathy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases of persistent knee pain.

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14. Pediatric Mesenchymal Hamartoma of Liver: A Case Report with Histomorphological Differential Diagnosis and Review of Literature

S. Rao, D. Shetty, A. Sharan, S. Mukharji

Mesenchymal hamartoma of liver (MHL) is a benign liver tumour that occurs mainly in children, especially those under 2 years old. The pathogenesis of this tumor is still unknown. It is believed that MHL is derived from the Ito cells and either a developmental malformation of primitive hepatic mesenchyme; result of toxic or ischemic insult; or a true neoplasm. It is amenable to treatment and has a good prognosis but presents with varied clinical, imaging and histological findings. However, it can be confused with other hepatic tumors and can mimic malignancy. Therefore, it is important to recognize this rare entity to avoid unnecessary over management. We present a case of MHL in a 3-year-old boy with abdominal distension. Based on the clinical presentation, laboratory and radiological findings a diagnosis of complex cyst of liver was made. A final diagnosis of MHL was given after histopathological examination.

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15. Hemobilia Caused by Arterioportal Fistula Following Percutaneous Liver Biopsy Complicated by Acute Cholecystitis and Review of the Literature

O. Ioannidis, A. Malliora, P. Christidis, M.G. Pramateftakis, E. Kotidis, I. Mantzoros, N. Ouzounidis, V. Foutsitzis, S. Angelopoulos

We present a case of a 44-year-old male with chronic hepatitis B that visited the Emergency Department due to epigastric pain after a liver biopsy. The ultrasonography revealed signs of bleeding in the bile ducts. and angiography visualized an arterioportal fistula. Selective right hepatic artery branch embolization was performed, and the bleeding was controlled. Although, the clinical picture was initially improved, the patient presented later with acute abdomen, obstructive jaundice and fever. The patient underwent cholecystectomy with bile duct exploration and placement of a Kehr's T tube in the common bile duct. The postoperative course was uneventful. We also review the relevant literature concerning arterioportal fistula manifested as hemobilia as well as acute cholecystitis occurring after hemobilia.

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