BACKGROUND: Gabapentin and pregabalin are antiepileptic drugs that are also used for chronic pain treatment. This study evaluated the effects of pregabalin and gabapentin on postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: A total of 108 candidates for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly assigned to gabapentin (n = 36), pregabalin (n = 36), and placebo (n = 36) groups. Patients received 800 mg of gabapentin or 150 mg of pregabalin orally one hour before surgery. Postoperative analgesia was administered by pethidine via patient-controlled analgesia. The amount of opioid consumed, number of nausea events, vomiting, and pain scores at 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery were recorded. RESULTS: The gabapentin and pregabalin groups had significantly lower pain intensity than the placebo group, and pain intensity in the pregabalin group decreased more compared to the gabapentin group. The mean amount of pethidine consumption in the placebo group was significantly higher than in the gabapentin and pregabalin groups. CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of gabapentin or pregabalin decreased postoperative pain and nausea, as well as vomiting and opioid consumption after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Moreover, the findings revealed that pregabalin was superior to gabapentin for reducing postoperative pain.
Analgesia ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Anticonvulsants ; Cholecystectomy ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic* ; Chronic Pain ; Humans ; Meperidine ; Nausea ; Pain, Postoperative* ; Pregabalin* ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVEOcular trauma is a common cause of visual impairment and accounts for 38% to 52% of all patients presenting as ophthalmic accident and emergency cases to the hospital. The purpose of this study is to describe the pattern of ocular injuries that leads to hospitalization in the elderly in Kashan, Iran.

METHODSIn the retrospective consecutive case series, a total of 94 geriatric patients (larger than or equal to 65 years) who admitted and underwent management for ocular trauma from April 2001 to March 2011 at Matini Hospital of Kashan, the only center of eye surgery in the region of Kashan, were reviewed. The items include age, sex, injury mechanism, site and extent of damage, presenting and final best corrected visual acuity at least 3 months after trauma, which were reviewed and analyzed with SPSS software.

RESULTSDuring the 10 years, 94 eyes of 94 patients with ocular trauma were included. Mean age of patients was (77.5+/-5.1) years (range 65 to 102 years). Male to female ratio was 2.76. The mechanism of ocular injury included sharp trauma in 56 patients (59.6%) and blunt in 38 patients (40.4%). Trauma occurred mostly in males (69 patients, 73.4%) and at the work place (38 patients, 40.4%). On admission the visual acuity in 50 patients (53.2%) with damaged eyes was light perception to hand motion. While the final best corrected visual acuity in 36 patients (38.3%) was better than hand motion.

CONCLUSIONOcular trauma is a serious cause of visual impairment in the elderly. Appropriate and timely management may improve their visual prognosis.

Aged ; Eye Injuries ; Humans ; Iran ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSEOcular trauma is the third leading cause of hospitalization in ophthalmology patients, imposing direct and indirect physical and psychological costs on society. This study aims to investigate the status of ocular trauma in hospitalized patients in the industrialized city of Kashan in 2011.

METHODSThis cross-sectional descriptive applied study was conducted in 2012 on patients hospitalized for ocular trauma. Data, including age, gender, occupation, education, timing of admission following accident, location of accident, type of injury, damaging instrument, and type of trauma, were collected using a questionnaire designed by a trained nurse, and analyzed using SPSS-16 software by means of means ± standard deviation, frequency, and percentage for descriptive data and t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Chi-square and Fisher exact test for analysis at significance level of p < 0.05.

RESULTSIn total, 82 patients were hospitalized due to ocular traumas. The majority of patients were male (65 patients, 79.3%). Their mean age was (25.4 ± 21.4) years, with an age range of 20-40 years (30 patients, 36.6%). Hyphema was the most common injury (26 patients, 25.5%), home was the most frequent incident location (32 patients, 39%), and knife or other cutting tools were mostly responsible for injuries (18 patients, 21.9%). Patients were hospitalized for 1e6 days, and the average length of stay in hospital was 2.63 days. Frequency distribution of injuries based on whether or not ruptures differed significantly among different age groups.

CONCLUSIONThe majority of ocular trauma occurred in young males. Knife was the principle culprit for eye injuries, followed by vehicles. To reduce such incidents, it is recommended that people be trained to avoid high-risk behaviors when using knives and to better heed driving rules and regulations.

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Eye Injuries ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo compare the value of Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and cerebral state index (CSI) on predicting hospital discharge status of acute brain-injured patients.

METHODSIn 60 brain-injured patients who did not receive sedatives, GCS and CSI were measured daily during the first 10 days of hospitalization. The outcome of prognostic cut-off points was calculated by GCS and CSI using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve regarding the time of admission and third day of hospitalization. Sensitivity, specificity and other predictive values for both indices were calculated.

RESULTSOf the 60 assessed patients, 14 patients had mild, 13 patients had moderate and 33 patients had severe injuries. During the course of the study, 17 patients (28.3%) deteriorated in their situation and died. The mean GCS and CSI in patients who deceased during hospitalization was significantly lower than those who were discharged from the hospital. GCS<4.5 and CSI<64.5 at the time of admission was associated with higher mortality risk in traumatic brain injury patients and GCS was more sensitive than CSI to predict in-hospital death in these patients. For the first day of hospitalization, the area under ROC curve was 0.947 for GCS and 0.732 for CSI.

CONCLUSIONGCS score at ICU admission is a good predictor of in-hospital mortality. GCS<4.5 and CSI<64.5 at the time of admission is associated with higher mortality risk in traumatic brain injury patients and GCS is more sensitive than CSI in predicting death in these patients.

Adult ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; mortality ; Female ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Male ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trauma Severity Indices

PURPOSEThe aim of this study was to analyze the trend of road traffic fatalities in Kashan Region, Iran, in a period of eight years.

METHODSThrough a cross-sectional study, all road traffic deaths classified under the V01V99 codes according to ICD-10 in Kashan region, central Iran, from March 2006 to March 2013 and population data were collected from the registration system of Kashan University of Medical Sciences. Years of lost life (YLL) and mortality rates were calculated regarding age, gender and year of the accident. Generalized linear model (GLM) with Poisson log-linear link was used to evaluate the effects of the mentioned variables on mortality rate.

RESULTSDuring the period of the study (8 years), 928 people (767 men) died due to road traffic injuries (RTIs). The total YLL was 20,818. The mortality rate due to RTIs has been declined constantly from 43.1 in March 2006 to 21.1 per 100,000 in March 2013. The highest mortality rate was found in the age group of over 60 years old and the lowest in the age group of 0-14 years old. Both mortality rate and YLL was greater in men than in women. Poisson regression showed that age, gender and year of the accidents had a significant effect on mortality rate (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONAlthough there has been a constant decline of mortality rate in Kashan area within the study period, the value remains higher than the mean level of Eastern Mediterranean region and the global average, which is a notable fact for policymakers and authorities.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) is a transcriptional coactivator that binds to a diverse range of transcription factors. PPAR coactivator 1 (PGC-1) coactivators possess an extensive range of biological effects in different tissues, and play a key part in the regulation of the oxidative metabolism, consequently modulating the production of reactive oxygen species, autophagy, and mitochondrial biogenesis. Owing to these findings, a large body of studies, aiming to establish the role of PGC-1 in the neuromuscular system, has shown that PGC-1 could be a promising target for therapies targeting neuromuscular diseases. Among these, some evidence has shown that various signaling pathways linked to PGC-1 are deregulated in muscular dystrophy, leading to a reduced capacity for mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In the light of these results, any intervention aimed at activating PGC-1 could contribute towards ameliorating the progression of muscular dystrophies. PGC-1 is influenced by different patho-physiological/pharmacological stimuli. Natural products have been reported to display modulatory effects on PPAR activation with fewer side effects in comparison to synthetic drugs. Taken together, this review summarizes the current knowledge on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, focusing on the potential effects of natural compounds, acting as regulators of PGC-1.