S-Nitrosylated hemoglobin predicts organ yield in neurologically-deceased human donors.

Current human donor care protocols following death by neurologic criteria (DNC) can stabilize macro-hemodynamic parameters but have minimal ability to preserve systemic blood flow and microvascular oxygen delivery. S-nitrosylated hemoglobin (SNO-Hb) within red blood cells (RBCs) is the main regulator of tissue oxygenation (StO2). Based on various pre-clinical studies, we hypothesized that brain death (BD) would decrease post-mortem SNO-Hb levels to negatively-impact StO2 and reduce organ yields. We tracked SNO-Hb and tissue oxygen in 61 DNC donors. After BD, SNO-Hb levels were determined to be significantly decreased compared to healthy humans (p = 0·003) and remained reduced for the duration of the monitoring period. There was a positive correlation between SNO-Hb and StO2 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, SNO-Hb levels correlated with and were prognostic for the number of organs transplanted (p < 0.001). These clinical findings provide additional support for the concept that BD induces a systemic impairment of S-nitrosylation that negatively impacts StO2 and reduces organ yield from DNC human donors. Exogenous S-nitrosylating agents are in various stages of clinical development. The results presented here suggest including one or more of these agents in donor support regimens could increase the number and quality of organs available for transplant.

Inflammation Progresses to Normal Tissue in Patients with Anthracosis after Discontinuation of Exposure to Fossil Fuel.

Background: Exposure to toxic materials predisposes the lungs to infectious agents and inflammatory responses. The present study was performed on patients with anthracosis caused by exposure to fossil fuels in previous years, and histopathological features of airways' normal-appearing tissue were compared with histopathological features of anthracotic plaques in these patients. Methods: Bronchoscopic evaluations were performed on bakery workers who were directly in contact with fossil fuels. Samples were taken from anthracotic plaques (Group A) or seemingly intact tissues at their periphery (Group B). Pathological evaluations were done after hematoxylin and eosin staining. Then, microbiological cultures were performed for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Data obtained from bronchoscopy, pathology, and cultures were compared between anthracotic and normal-appearing peripheral tissues using chi-square and analysis of variances (ANOVA) at a 95% confidence level. Results: Sixty-eight patients were diagnosed with anthracotic plaques. The mean ± SD of the patients' age was 72.12 ± 13.74 years. Females comprised 58.8% of the sample, and 85.3% of the patients were Iranian. The frequency rates of disseminated plaques and obstructive types were 86.8% and 48.5%, respectively. Ten patients (14.70%) were diagnosed with tuberculosis, and 4.41% (3 of 68) had granuloma, which was detectable only in samples gathered from Group A. Fibrosis was more common in Group A (10.3%, p = 0.03), and most of the evaluated samples in both groups exhibited inflammatory features. Conclusion: Inflammatory changes and tissue damage can be seen in anthracotic plaques and the surrounding normal-appearing tissue, even after removing the triggering factors. So, it is suggested to take a biopsy from seemingly intact tissue at the periphery of the anthracotic plaque when a biopsy is needed in a patient with anthracosis to reduce the risk of bleeding. Besides, medical treatment should be done to control inflammation.

Epidemiology of musculoskeletal symptoms, rheumatologic disorders, and disability in the Zoroastrian population in Yazd, Iran: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study (stage 1).

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints, rheumatologic diseases, and disability among the Zoroastrian population in Iran. METHODS: The city of Yazd, in central Iran was selected for this study, with the highest population of Zoroastrians in Iran. Subjects were selected by cluster sampling of 9 neighborhoods populated with Zoroastrians. Subjects ≥15 years old were interviewed by trained interviewers in their houses. The validated Farsi translation of Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Disease (COPCORD) Core Questionnaire (CCQ) was used for this study. Subjects with musculoskeletal complaints (pain, stiffness and/or swelling) were examined by a rheumatologist. Laboratory tests and radiographic exams were performed when deemed necessary. RESULTS: Two-thousand subjects were interviewed during a 12-month period, of which 956 were male, and 1044 were female. The mean age was 41.1 ± 18.3 years (95%CI: 40.3-41.9). 36.9% of the subjects had university-level education. In the 7 days prior to the interview, 27.6% of the subjects had musculoskeletal complaints, with the knee, dorsolumbar spine, and shoulder being the most common sites of complaints. The most common rheumatologic diagnoses were osteoarthritis (21.5%) and low back pain (10.3%). Rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed in 1.2% of the subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of musculoskeletal complaints and rheumatologic disorders was inconsistent with previous COPCORD studies in Iran, with a lower prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in general, lower rates of Behçet and lupus, and a higher prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis. The findings of this study can be for development of better prevention, screening, and treatment programs for the vulnerable population of Zoroastrians in Iran.

Evaluation of the diagnostic potential of trans abdominal ultrasonography in detecting intra-abdominal adhesions: A double-blinded cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Intra-abdominal adhesion is one of the most important complications of abdominopelvic surgery. It increases morbidity and mortality for patients. Although laparoscopy is the gold standard of adhesion diagnosis, it can cause visceral damage during the operation. Therefore, surgeons prefer to use non-invasive methods for planning the operation. We designed this study to evaluate transabdominal ultrasonography ( TAU) accuracy for diagnosing Intra-abdominal Adhesions. MATERIAL & METHODS: This double-blinded cohort study was conducted on 47 patients with previous laparotomy who undergo another surgery. Spontaneous visceral slide (SVS) and induced visceral slide (IVS) were measured during TAU. RESULTS: The mean age and BMI of 47 patients were 43.21±10.3 and 27.545±5.76. The majority of the patients were female (76%). Mean SVS and IVS in patients with intra-abdominal adhesion were 8.73±1.60 and 44.84±11.60. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of TAU in intra-abdominal diagnosis were 83.33%, 51.72%, 51.72%, 83.33%, 63.83%. CONCLUSIONS: Although TAU is an appropriate method for detecting the intra-abdominal adhesion, it isn't good enough for diagnosing free adhesion area. We recommended further researches with greater sample size and other non-invasive techniques.

Pharmacologic Targeting of Red Blood Cells to Improve Tissue Oxygenation.

Disruption of microvascular blood flow is a common cause of tissue hypoxia in disease, yet no therapies are available that directly target the microvasculature to improve tissue oxygenation. Red blood cells (RBCs) autoregulate blood flow through S-nitroso-hemoglobin (SNO-Hb)-mediated export of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity. We therefore tested the idea that pharmacological enhancement of RBCs using the S-nitrosylating agent ethyl nitrite (ENO) may provide a novel approach to improve tissue oxygenation. Serial ENO dosing was carried out in sheep (1-400 ppm) and humans (1-100 ppm) at normoxia and at reduced fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2 ). ENO increased RBC SNO-Hb levels, corrected hypoxia-induced deficits in tissue oxygenation, and improved measures of oxygen utilization in both species. No adverse effects or safety concerns were identified. Inasmuch as impaired oxygenation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, ENO may have widespread therapeutic utility, providing a first-in-class agent targeting the microvasculature.