Mid-term (up to 12 years) clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis.

Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is still a concerning issue in developing countries. Among delayed RHD presentations, rheumatic mitral valve stenosis (MS) remains a prevalent finding. Percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) is the intervention of choice for severe mitral stenosis (MS).

The effect of chewing-gum on dose rate of salivary gland in differentiated thyroid carcinoma patients treated with radioiodine.

Background: Although, different methods have been suggested on reducing salivary gland radiation after radioiodine administration, an effective preventive or therapeutic measure is still debated. To the best of our knowledge this is the second study that aimed to evaluate the effect of chewing-gum as a sialagogue on the radioiodine content of salivary gland, and radioiodine-induced symptoms of salivary gland dysfunction.

Methods: Twenty-two patients who were referred to radioiodine therapy were randomized into chewing-gum (group A) and control (group B) groups.