Publications by authors named "Safa Wassef"
Objective: To determine the predictive value of commonly used clinical and laboratory factors for mortality in patients with pneumonia in the Arab world.
Methods: We retrospectively analyze the data collected from all inpatients over the age of 16 years with a diagnosis of pneumonia in Tawam Hospital, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates between the years 1997 and 2002. Patients were grouped into those who survived and those who died in the hospital.
Article Synopsis
- IL-5 levels are significantly higher in mild to moderate atopic and non-atopic asthmatics compared to healthy controls, indicating its role in asthma pathogenesis.
- The study found no significant difference in IL-5 levels between asthmatics using inhaled glucocorticoids and those not using them, suggesting that these medications may not fully counteract the inflammation linked to asthma.
- Overall, regular inhaled steroid use does not appear to reduce systemic Th2 inflammatory response in patients with mild to moderate asthma.
Elevation of plasma transforming growth factor beta1 levels in stable nonatopic asthma.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol
November 2003
Article Synopsis
- Increased TGF-beta1 levels were found in the plasma of nonatopic asthmatic patients compared to both atopic asthmatic patients and healthy controls, indicating a potential difference in inflammatory response.
- A total of 56 asthmatic patients were studied, with 32 classified as atopic and 24 as nonatopic, revealing nonatopic patients also had higher neutrophil counts.
- There was no relationship observed between asthma duration or severity and TGF-beta1 levels, suggesting that the elevated TGF-beta1 levels in nonatopic patients may be linked to different underlying mechanisms, possibly like infections.
Silicosis is an occupational respiratory disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica dust. We report the case of silicosis in a 50-year-old woman that presented with pulmonary fibrosis and later developed pulmonary tuberculosis. Her condition is believed to be due to inhalation of dust produced by scrubbing a silica rich surface during usual daily housework.
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