IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THYROID FUNCTION: EVIDENCE FROM IRAN.

Context: We assessed the association between the severity of COVID-19 and the thyroid function, and the relationship of thyroid hormones with inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. Subjects and methods: This observational study contained 95 COVID-19 patients. The covariates of interest included the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and the total form of thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Furthermore, the inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lymphocyte were measured. To analyze the data, the t-test, the nonparametric test for comparing the medians, and the Spearman correlation were used. Results: The median (interquartile range) of ages was equal to 53 (41-66) years old, including 54 men (56.8%). As the severity of COVID-19 progressed from moderate to severe, increasing, though non-significant, trends of thyroid dysfunction were observed, the most remarkable for TSH. The only significant association between thyroid hormones and inflammatory markers was a Spearman correlation of -0.28 between TSH and LDH. Moreover, a direct association was found between the severity of COVID-19 and the LDH levels (p-value<0.001). Conclusions: A direct relation between the severity of COVID-19 and the LDH level and a reverse association between the LDH level and the thyroid hormone, TSH was obtained.

Mothers' Satisfaction Rate from Hospital Cares in Hematology- Oncology Ward.

BACKGROUND: Satisfaction evaluation is a good way to assess hospital conditions. In Health Care System, parentscan be also as children's main supporters, thus they may act as patient's viewpoints' representatives.This study aimed to evaluate mother's satisfaction of hospital care in hematology - oncology ward in Dr Sheikh hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Cross-sectional descriptive analytic study was conducted using Pediatric Family Satisfaction (PFS) questionnaire and interviewing with 164 mothers duringMarchto February2013. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS -16 software and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The mean age of mothers and children was31.2±5.8, and 7.95 4/66 years.The children were 64 % male and 36 % femael. A large number of mothers (%56 (describedtheir satisfaction about medical care as moderate,(%70.7) reported their satisfaction about nursing care at very high level and(36.5 %) reported satisfaction about welfare services at high level(59%)and describe overall satisfaction at very high level . The totals mean of mothers' satisfaction ratewas 121.8 ± 10.8. The mean of medical care, nursing care, welfare services was 2.9±34.1,4.6±50 and4.8± 32.9 respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall satisfaction with medical, nursing and welfare staff was acceptable. For more satisfaction, it is widely recommended to improve veinipuncture by nurses, Physicians should inform parents about the tests results, and finally disturbance in ward with noise should be controled.

Frame rate requirement for tissue Doppler imaging in different phases of cardiac cycle: radial and longitudinal functions.

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) has been suggested for quantitative analysis of regional myocardial function. Myocardial movement included different mechanical phases with different duration and tissue velocity profiles need to high sampling rate in the acquisition of tissue velocity imaging for phases with shorter duration. The aim of this study is determining of frame rate requirement for myocardial tissue velocity imaging for longitudinal and radial functions separately. Tissue velocity imaging recorded from 29 healthy volunteers by use of the apical and para-sternal views. Off-line analysis performed for extracting tissue velocity profiles of the myocardial longitudinal and radial functions. The frequency and subsequently the frame rate calculated separately for all LV segments during two consequent cardiac cycles. Segmental distribution of the time intervals measured in all cardiac phases and the minimum frame rate requirement calculated for each segment. We found significant differences between radial and longitudinal functions (P < 0.001) except early diastolic phases. The presented normal frame rate values for LV segments may useful for accurate studies of myocardial longitudinal and radial functions in different cardiac phases. We conclude that data sampling at a rate of at least 105 and 118 frames per second need for longitudinal and radial functions respectively.

Radial strain assessment of the interventricular septum wall by a new technique in healthy subjects.

The aim of this study was to design a new approach for the acquisition of regional radial strain from the middle portion of the interventricular septum. We designed and wrote a program in Matlab (computer-assisted method) for use on a personal computer so that the septum thickness throughout the cardiac cycle could be measured instantaneously. Computer-assisted and conventional manual methods were used on the same 2D echocardiography image frames. Then, real-time 2D color Doppler myocardial imaging and conventional 2D imaging of the septum walls of 12 healthy participants at rest using apical four-chamber view were acquired. Wall thickness was measured using both the computerized program and velocity data used for tracking the segment and intensity line profile modification automatically. Then, the radial strain was estimated. Bland-Altman statistical analysis shows good agreement between the computer-assisted method and conventional manual method. The average of the peak and mean radial strains from the mid-septum of 12 healthy participants were 63.5 +/- 10.7 and 31.7 +/- 7.5%, respectively. We introduced a simple approach that is capable of radial strain estimation of the septum wall, which cannot be measured by current Doppler based methods in echocardiography systems.

Heterogeneity in the campomelic syndromes. Long-and short-bone varieties.

Analysis of 9 cases of bilateral bent limbs (campomelia) and dwarfism, as well as a review of the literature, indicate that campomelic syndrome appears to be a well-defined distinct disorder which the authors call long-limbed campomelic syndrome. Other neonates with congenital bent-limbed dwarfism can be classified as having short-limbed campomelic syndrome, and among these at least two distinct forms have been delineated--the craniosynostotic and the normocephalic form. Congenital bent bones also occur in a variety of generalized disorders of ossification that must be distinguished from these well-defined types of campomelic dwarfism.

Heterogeneity in the campomelic syndromes: long and short bone varieties.

There appears to be definite heterogeneity within the campomelic syndromes. We are broadly classifying these into the classic or long bone campomelic syndromes and 2 distinct short bone varieties designated as the normocephalic short-boned and craniosynostotic short-boned types, respectively (Table 1).