Value of urinary survivin as a diagnostic marker in bladder cancer.

Objective: To study the value of urinary survivin as a diagnostic marker for diagnosis of bladder cancer as compared to urine cytology.

Study Design: This study was carried out on 40 patients presenting with bladder cancer and 20 patients presenting with benign urological disorders.

Results: For bladder cancer diagnosis, urine cytology has lower sensitivity, accuracy, and negative predictive values as compared to survivin, while it has higher specificity and positive predictive value than survivin.

Effect of the use of a polyethylene wrap on the morbidity and mortality of very low birth weight infants in Alexandria University Children's Hospital.

Background: Thermal management of the very low birth weight (VLBW) infant (<1500 g) is a cornerstone of neonatology because thermal stress is an important determinant of survival. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of applying polyethylene occlusive skin wrapping to prevent hypothermia during resuscitation at birth in VLBW neonates.

Participants And Methods: Using a quasi experimental nonrandomized study design, 50 preterm VLBW infants were wrapped immediately after birth by low-density polyethylene transparent plastic wraps and another 50 infants were subjected to ordinary resuscitation guidelines, and both were admitted to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU).

Identification of the auditory hazards of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing of both patients and staff members exposed to such treatment. It used different hearing screening instruments, and compared the sensitivity of these instruments for the detection of the earliest change in hearing induced by this procedure. The results of this study show that ESWL has a potentially hazardous effect on hearing.

Eosinophil cationic protein as a serological marker of disease activity in childhood bronchial asthma.

To study the value of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) as a serological marker of disease activity in childhood bronchial asthma, ECP levels were measured in 20 healthy control children and 25 asthmatic children, during and 2 weeks after acute exacerbation. The mean serum ECP level of all asthmatic patients, during and after exacerbation, was significantly higher than the control group and was significantly higher during attacks than 2 weeks after their termination. ECP levels were highest in severe attacks, but did not differ between mild and moderate attacks.