Childhood disintegrative disorder with seasonal total mutism: A rare clinical presentation.

Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) is a rare autistic-like clinical condition with unknown etiology, in that previously acquired age-appropriate language, social and adaptive abilities deteriorate significantly in 2-10-year-old healthy children, although physical and neurological evaluations display no observable abnormality. Our case is a 22-year-old female born of a consanguineous marriage, with the appearance of CDD symptoms in her fifth year of age following normal mental and physical development during her initial four years of life. Without any precipitating factor, she gradually lost her language abilities, social relational skills, affectionate behavior, adaptive capacities, peer play and meaningful interest in her surrounding, friends and family members over a period of 4 years, reaching a plateau in her ninth year of age. The unique special clinical symptom in this case is a seasonal total mutism, which after the beginning of her CDD symptoms is revealing every year covering the spring. As no additional physical or psychological change accompanies her total seasonal speech loss, it cannot be attributed to any mental condition known as having a seasonal pattern. Because in the literature CDD is presented mostly as case reports with lacking of advanced research data, describing any new case is recommended to improve the knowledge about this rare condition, especially if it displays some new unusual signs, not reported till now.

Gabapentin induces edema, hyperesthesia and scaling in a depressed patient; a diagnostic challenge.

Gabapentin is a common drug used as analgesic and anticonvulsant and also is prescribed for insomnia, depression, obsessive - compulsive disorder and panic attack. We report a case of a 48-year-old man who is prescribed gabapentin because of insomnia, headache, and depressed mood. In the first period of using the drug no complication has been seen. However in the next period, side-effects such as hyperesthesia, scaling and severe localized edema has been observed. After several laboratory tests and imaging, no reason was found for his edema. And after discontinuing gabapentin the pain and edema was quite relieved. We found out the brand of the drug has been switched in the second stage. The point which makes our study special is the incidence of side-effects such as severe edema, scaling and hyperesthesia for the first time because of using gabapentin and changing the drug combination.

Arterial blood gas analysis and the outcome of treatment in tricyclic antidepressants poisoned patients with benzodiazepine coingestion.

Background. Poisoning with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) is still a major concern for emergency physicians and intensivists. Concomitant ingestion of other psychoactive drugs especially benzodiazepines with TCAs may make this clinical situation more complex. This study aimed to compare the arterial blood gas (ABG) values and the outcome of treatment in patients with coingestion of TCA and benzodiazepine (TCA + BZD) poisoning and TCA poisoning alone. Methods. In this cross-sectional study which was carried out in a tertiary care university hospital in Iran, clinical and paraclinical characteristics of one hundred forty TCA only or TCA + BZD poisoned patients (aged 18-40 years) were evaluated. ABG analysis was done on admission in both groups. Outcomes were considered as survival with or without complication (e.g., intubation) and the frequency of TCA poisoning complications. Results. Arterial pH was significantly lower in TCA + BZD poisoning group compared with TCA only poisoning group (7.34 ± 0.08 and 7.38 ± 0.08, resp.; P = 0.02). However, other complications such as seizure, and the need for the endotracheal intubation were not significantly different. All patients in both groups survived. Conclusions. Concomitant TCA plus BZD poisoning may make the poisoned patients prone to a lower arterial pH level on hospital admission which may potentially increases the risk of cardiovascular complications in TCA poisoning.

Mismanagement of a hypochondriacal patient.

Hypochondriasis is a persistent preoccupation that despite appropriate medical evaluations and assurance of patient's physical health, the patient insists on having a serious disease. The case which is discussed in this article is a 39-years-old woman that hospitalized for half of her life and no one can perceive her disorder according to her assertions. The mentioned case is a "difficult patient" with fear of oxygen shortage and being choked (Pnigophobia) which leads to continuous tendency to wear oxygen device even during sleep. There is no benefit in exaggerating her condition for herself so there is no fictitious disorder considered. During the therapy she has been assured that she does not have a serious disease and she has learnt to decrease oxygen intake and breath with his mouth. The point that makes this study different from the others is that most of hypochondriacal patients have a fear of getting HIV, cancers, hepatitis and MS but our patient has phobia of pulmonary embolism.

The outcome of agitation in poisoned patients in an Iranian tertiary care university hospital.

Introduction. This study was conducted to evaluate and document the frequency and causes of agitation, the symptoms accompanying this condition in intoxications, relationship between agitation score on admission and different variables, and the outcome of therapy in a tertiary care referral poisoning center in Iran. Methods. In this prospective observational study which was done in 2012, 3010 patients were screened for agitation at the time of admission using the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale. Demographic data including age, gender, and the drug ingested were also recorded. The patients' outcome was categorized as recovery without complications, recovery with complications (hyperthermia, renal failure, and other causes), and death. Results. Agitation was observed in 56 patients (males, n = 41), mostly aged 19-40 years (n = 38) and more frequently in illegal substance (stimulants, opioids and also alcohol) abusers. Agitation score was not significantly related to the age, gender, and previous history of psychiatric disorders. Forty nine patients had recovery without any complication. The need for mechanical ventilation was the most frequent complication. None of the patients died. Conclusion. Drug abuse seems to be a must-to-consider etiology for patients presenting with acute agitation and its morbidity and mortality could be low in agitated poisoning cases if prompt supportive care is performed.

Anterior and posterior corneal curvature: normal values in healthy Iranian population obtained with the Orbscan II.

The objective of study was to determine the normative values of anterior and posterior best fit sphere (A-BFS and P-BFS) measured with Orbscan II Topography System. In this cross-sectional study, patients (age range: 18-40 years) referred to the Khatam Eye Hospital (Mashhad, Iran) were put in an observational cross-sectional study. The A-BFS and P-BFS were measured with the Orbscan II. The differences between genders, between right and left eyes, and age-related changes were evaluated. A total of 977 healthy participants consisted of 614 female and 363 male subjects aged 18-35 years participated. The average A-BFS in our study population was recorded as 43.060 ± 1.541 D (median: 43.00 D, mode: 43.10 D, range: 38.80-55.80 D). The average P-BFS in our study population was recorded as 52.702 ± 2.190 D (median: 52.60 D, mode: 53.10 D range: 46.9-62.20 D). The A-BFS and P-BFS were respectively 42.753 ± 1.629 and 52.327 ± 2.376 D in males and 43.242 ± 1.457 and 52.924 ± 2.041 D in females, which were statistically different between the genders (P < 0.001). However, A-BFS and P-BFS were not statistically different between right and left eyes (P = 0.649 and P = 0.688 respectively). In addition, A-BFS and P-BFS were not correlated with the age (r = 0.038, P = 0.096 and r = -0.142, P = 0.178 respectively). Considering 95 % confidence interval, A-BFS less than 43.13 D and greater than 42.99 D and P-BFS less than 52.80 D and greater than 52.60 D would be considered abnormal. Detailed description and analysis of A-BFS and P-BFS with Orbscan demonstrated that the obtained average value of BFS were higher in male than female and did not change with increasing age.

Sprengel deformity and Klippel-Feil syndrome leading to cervical myelopathy presentation in old age.

Klippel-Feil syndrome is a rare condition characterized by the congenital fusion of two of the seventh cervical vertebrae. A 50-year-old woman presented with a 2-year history of neck pain and ataxia for 1 year. She had not urinary incontinence. She was referred to a neurosurgeon by a neurologist because of her progressive gait ataxia. Risk for brachial plexus injury because of compression or stretching by the clavicle accelerate with age. Therefore, the surgical approach of adults' patients with Sprengel's deformity can intend suitable surgical conclusions.

Predictors of smoking cessation and duration: implication for smoking prevention.

BACKGROUND: There are few articles studding the factors associated with successful smoking cessation in Iranian smokers. The aim of this study is to clarify the association between socio-demographic factors and smoking behavior, such as number of failed smoking cessation and duration of abstinence in Iranian population. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire survey of 673 participants was conducted in a local government health-care center. The questionnaire included items on socio-demographic information including, age, marital status, education, income, and job. Furthermore, information on smoking cigarettes including number of smoking per day, duration of smoking, cigarettes brand, nicotine concentration, and history of cessation was obtained. RESULTS: Mean ± SD of age and daily cigarette consumption were 39.7 ± 1.1 and 22.1 ± 1.1 respectively. Failure rate of smoking cessation was higher in the lower age group (odds ratios [OR] 2.9; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.1, 7.7) and less than 10 numbers smoking per day (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.3, 4.5) and duration of smoking more than 30 years (OR 3.4; 95% CI 1.2, 9.3) and foreign cigarette brand (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1, 2.7). Length time of cessation was prominent in participants with lower age group (OR 5.4; 95% CI 1.3, 22.1), and less than 10 numbers smoking per day (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.5, 4.9) and lower in smokers with duration of smoking more than 10 and 10-19 years (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.12, 0.89), (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.17, 0.76), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The above results suggest that there are a significant association between socio-demographic factors and smoking-related behaviors in the Iranian population, consistent with previous reports world-wide. These factors should be considered to have appropriate public-health and policy response.

Social risk factors and outcome analysis of poisoning in an Iranian referral medical center: A toxico-epidemiological approach.

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is the second major reason of death in the age range of 15-24 and is the eighth reason for overall death of adults. Because of high accessibility of people to different medications in our society, one of the easiest ways for suicide is intentional self-poisoning with medications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the rate of suicide with respect to influencing social factors on patients with intentional self-poisoning. METHODS: This was an analytic-descriptive prospective study. All study data were collected through a checklist in patients with intentional self-poisoning who had been referred to referral hospital within 2011-2012. FINDINGS: A total of 400 patients (60% female) were evaluated. Age average ± standard deviation of participants was 22.57 ± 9.20 years. About 78.2% had high school degree or less. Nearly 27.8% of all happened suicides take place as a result of family disputes, marital problems (21%) and poverty (11.5%). Love issues with a rate of 10.3% were set in the next step. About 23.2% had a history of a past psychological disorder. Around 97.5% of the patients survived. The shorter the time of hospitalization is for each patient, the better survival rate is obtained through post-suicidal medical care. A statistically meaningful relationship was observed between self-poisoning to commit suicide and absence of academic education (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Suicide attempt through self-poisoning is more common in female, married individuals, people without academic education and those with a poor socio-economic status. Furthermore, results announce family disputes as the most pre-disposing factor for suicide.

Renal allograft nephrectomy: comparison between clinical and pathological diagnosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The most common complication of renal transplantation is allograft dysfunction, which in some cases leads to graft loss. The role of graft nephrectomy in the management of transplant failure is controversial. The procedure remains associated with a significant morbidity and also mortality. Our main purpose was the comparison between clinical and pathological diagnosis of graft nephrectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The documents of 88 patients who admitted for graft nephrectomy in Shariaty hospital for the last 25 years were reviewed. Slides of graft pathology were revised by an individual nephropathologist. Data was analyzed by SPSS 18 using ANOVA and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: THE PERCENTAGES OF CLINICAL DIAGNOSES FOR THE GRAFT NEPHRECTOMY ARE: chronic rejection (38%), graft infection (26%), gross hematuria (10%), acute rejection (10%), accelerated rejection (8%), hyper-acute rejection (4%) and thrombosis of the renal artery (4). On the other hand, the pathological diagnoses are: necrosis concomitant with thrombosis (35%), only necrosis (26%) and 5 (3) concomitant with 4 (3) in 16% of cases that means severe interstitial atrophy and fibrosis adjacent with acute cellular rejection and intramural vasculitis. CONCLUSIONS: Pathology included necrosis in about half of the graft nephrectomized patients. If the panel reactivity test is negative preoperatively, and there is no absolute indication for the operation, one may abstain from graft nephrectomy to save the patient, the morbidity and even the mortality of the procedure. On the other hand, the advantages of leaving the graft in situ are erythropoietin production, hydroxylation of calcidiol and maintenance of some residual diuresis.