Role of endoscopic ultrasound in evaluation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors--report of 22 cases from a tertiary center in Iran.

BACKGROUND: The pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) is relatively rare and generally felt to follow an indolent course. EUS has an important role in detection of pNET. This is a review of clinical and radiological presentation and pathologic reports of 22 patients with pNET. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study we analyzed clinical and radiological presentations and pathologic reports of all relevant cases who were referred to Taleghani hospital for 3 years since 2008. RESULTS: A total of 22 patients 28-74 years old (mean=49) were enrolled between 2008 and 2011. Among the total, 13 (59%) were male, 9 (41%) were female and 16 (72.7%) had functional tumors. The results of CT were negative in 12 (54%) cases but EUS was capable of detecting the lesions in these patients, cysts being found in 4 (19%) patients. CONCLUSION: EUS is a highly sensitive procedure for the localization of functional pNETs and especially insulinomas. Nonfunctional tumors were detected in more advanced and late stages and cystic lesions were more common in this group.

[Serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance rates of Shigella spp. isolates in Tehran, Iran]. / Tahran'da izole edilen Shigella türlerinin serotip dagilimi ve antimikrobiyal direnç oranlari.

In this study, antimicrobial resistance patterns and serotype distributions of Shigella spp. isolated from pediatric and adult patients with diarrhea, inhabiting in Tehran, were investigated. Stool specimens of 1350 patients with diarrhea who were admitted to the seven different hospitals in Tehran from November 2003 till March 2005 were taken into the study. Antibacterial susceptibility patterns of Shigella spp. isolates were determined by standard disk diffusion method. Overall isolation rate of Shigella spp. was found as 11.5 percent. S. sonnei was the most frequent species (55.1%) followed by S. flexneri (30.8%), S. boydii (9.6%) and S. dysenteria (4.5%). Resistance rates to ampicillin (81.4%), trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (93.6%), chloramphenicol (28.2%) and tetracycline (98.7%) were high, whereas low resistance rates to cefixime (5.1%) and nalidixic acid (2.6%) were detected. All isolates were found susceptible to ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacine. These data may help physicians for choosing appropriate empirical chemotherapy although subsequent antibacterial susceptibility testing is always recommended.

Molecular epidemiology of Escherichia coli diarrhoea in children in Tehran.

From July to December 2003, four categories of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli were investigated in Tehranian children with acute diarrhoea. Stool specimens of children under 5 years of age with diarrhoea (n=200) and matched controls (n=200) without diarrhoea were studied for the presence of entero-aggregative (EAEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC) and Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) E. coli by PCR identification of six different genes of diarrhoeagenic E. coli. STEC isolates were typed by O157 and H7 antisera. EAEC was the most prevalent category and was found in 24% of patients with diarrhoea and 8% of controls (p<0.0001). ETEC was isolated in 15.5% of patients with diarrhoea but not in any controls ( p<0.0001), STEC in 15% of patients and 2% of controls (p<0.0001) and EPEC in 6% of patients and 5% of controls. Of 30 STEC isolates from patients with diarrhoea, seven were O157:H7 and 23 were non-O157:H7.