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Background: The diabetic foot is a chronic complication of diabetes. There is a strong relationship between glucose levels, the severity of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), and the need for amputation. This study aimed to evaluate the blood sugar (BS) trends before and after surgery in patients with DFU who had been amputated. Methods: The adult patients who had undergone DFU-related amputation surgery between 2017 and 2020 in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran, were evaluated. The cases whose BS levels were charted at least three days before and after amputation were recruited. The main data, including hypoglycemia (defined as a blood glucose level < 70 mg/dl) and mean BS and fasting BS (FBS) levels, were recorded. The data were then analyzed and compared before and after amputation. Results: Of 267 patients reviewed for inclusion criteria, 55 patients were included in the study. Twenty-eight patients (50.9%) were men, and the mean age was 60 years. The mean FBS before and after amputation was 229.5 and 181.3 mg/dl, respectively, and the mean BS before and after amputation was 227.3 and 197.8 mg/dl, respectively. The differences were significant (P < 0.001). Twelve patients (21.8%) before and 21 patients (36.4%) after amputation suffered from hypoglycemia (P = 0.057). Conclusion: DFU-related amputation is associated with a significant decrease in blood glucose levels and inflammatory indexes. However, it can increase the risk of hypoglycemia during the first three days after the surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HIV infection in Iranian long distance truck drivers using rapid HIV test. Methods: The study included 400 consecutive participants in Bazargan city, north-west of Iran in the late 2008 and the early 2009. Results: No HIV infection was observed among these long distance truck drivers. Conclusions: Although results of this study is plausible compared to other similar studies, repeated surveys are necessary to know the trend of HIV infection in truckers in Iran.

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a precursor peptide for the hormone calcitonin and is frequently increased in overt sepsis. The aim of this study was to test diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin among patients with positive systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in identifying sepsis. In this cross sectional study, from 563 patients with positive SIRS admitted through the emergency department of a university hospital, we included 120 patients. Procalcitonin was measured semi-quantitatively. Two groups of patients (with and without infection) were defined based on clinical, laboratory and bacteriologic findings throughout the admission course; the serum PCT levels were compared between the two groups. Seventy two (60%) patients were male and 48 (40%) were female, and the mean age was 49.1 ± 20.2years. Final diagnosis was infection in 71 patients (59.2%) and 49 (40.8%) had non-infectious SIRS. When considering PCT > 0.5 μg/L as the cut-off point, PCT had a sensitivity of 88.7%, a specificity of 77.6%, a positive predictive value of 85.1% and a negative predictive value of 82.6%. Serum level of procalcitoninin infectious group was significantly higher than in non-infectious group (P < 0.0001). PCT level was a predictor of mortality in patients with infectious SIRS. (P = 0.01) In summary, PCT is a useful marker for differentiating sepsis from other cause of SIRS. With change in the cut-off value of PCT in any situation its application can be maximized. Procalcitonin can also be a good marker for predicting outcome in patients with infection.