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Objectives Hemangioblastoma refers to a benign vascular neoplasm that comprises stromal and capillary cells. Based on the classification of nervous system tumors proposed by WHO, hemangioblastomas are classified as Grade I meningeal tumors of uncertain origin. These tumors are found almost exclusively in the central nervous system (CNS) and account for 0.9% to 2.1% of all primary CNS tumors. Materials & Methods In this descriptive retrospective study, the archives of pathology reports were reviewed in the Department of Pathology of Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Tehran, Iran and patients with definite diagnosis of hemangioblastoma made through histopathological examinations during 2004-2014 were identified. Age, gender and the location of tumor were extracted from the medical records and entered into SPSS statistical software v.22 for analysis. Results Thirty patients including 16 males (53.3%) and 14 females (46.7%) were identified. The mean age of the patients was calculated to be 41.2±13.47 yr, ranging from 19 to 62 yr old. The majority of lesions had been found in the cerebellum of the patients (93.3%); only one had occurred in the cerebrum (3.3%) and another in the fourth ventricle (3.3%). Conclusion Cerebellum is the most commonly affected location in patients with CNS hemangioblastomas, and a male preponderance is observed in these cases.

Introduction: Hemothorax is one of the most prevalent injuries caused by thoracic traumas. Early detection and treatment of this injury is of utmost importance in prognosis of the patient, but there are still controversial debates on the diagnostic value of imaging techniques in detection of hemothorax. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of chest ultrasonography and radiography in detection of hemothorax through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Two independent reviewers performed an extended systematic search in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Data were extract and quality of the relevant studies were assessed. The number of true positive, false positive, true negative and false negative cases were extracted and screening performance characteristics of two imaging techniques were calculated using a mixed-effects binary regression model. Results: Data from 12 studies were extracted and included in the meta-analysis (7361 patients, 77.1% male). Pooled sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography in detection of hemothorax were 0.67 (95% CI: 0.41-0.86; I2= 68.38, pConclusion: The results of this study showed that although the sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of hemothorax is relatively higher than radiography, but it is still at a moderate level (0.67%). The specificity of both imaging modalities were found to be at an excellent level in this regard. The screening characteristics of ultrasonography was found to be influenced of the operator and frequency of transducer.

Introduction: Ultrasonography is currently being used as one of the diagnostic modalities in various medical emergencies for screening of trauma patients. The diagnostic value of this modality in detection of traumatic chest injuries has been evaluated by several studies but its diagnostic accuracy in diagnosis of pulmonary contusion is a matter of discussion. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography and radiography in detection of pulmonary contusion through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: An extended systematic search was performed by two reviewers in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. They extracted the data and assessed the quality of the studies. After summarization of data into true positive, false positive, true negative, and false negative meta-analysis was carried out via a mixed-effects binary regression model. Further subgroup analysis was performed due to a significant heterogeneity between the studies. Results: 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis (1681 chest trauma patients, 76% male). Pooled sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of pulmonary contusion was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.81-0.96; I2= 95.81, p

It remains unclear whether biomarkers in the serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be used for diagnosis or prognosis of spinal cord injuries (SCI). Therefore, a systematic review was undertaken to evaluate the prognostic or diagnostic value of serum and CSF biomarkers in assessing the severity of SCI and the outcome of patients. Two independent reviewers summarized the human studies retrieved from the electronic databases of Medline, Embase, Scopus and ISI Web of Science until April 2018. Seventeen studies were included (1065 patients aged 16 to 94 years old). Although the findings of the included studies suggest that inflammatory and structural proteins may be useful in assessing the severity of SCI and prediction of neurological outcome, the level of evidence is generally low. Given limitations to the available evidence, further investigation in this field is required using large prospective datasets with rigorous analysis of sensitivity, specificity and prediction.

Introduction: The role of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion has long been a subject of interest but controversial results have been reported. Accordingly, this study aims to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on diagnostic value of ultrasonography and radiography in detection of pleural effusion through a meta-analytic approach. Methods: An extended search was done in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the quality of the articles. Meta-analysis was performed using a mixed-effects binary regression model. Finally, subgroup analysis was carried out in order to find the sources of heterogeneity between the included studies. Results: 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis (1554 subjects, 58.6% male). Pooled sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-0.97; I2= 84.23, pConclusion: Chest ultrasonography, as a screening tool, has a higher diagnostic accuracy in identification of plural effusion compared to radiography. The sensitivity of this imaging modality was found to be higher when performed by a radiologist or an intensivist and using 5-10MHz probes.

Introduction: Rapid acute physiology score (RAPS) and rapid emergency medicine score (REMS) are two physiologic models for measuring injury severity in emergency settings. The present study was designed to compare the two models in outcome prediction of trauma patients presenting to emergency department (ED).Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the two models of RAPS and REMS were compared regarding prediction of mortality and poor outcome (severe disability based on Glasgow outcome scale) of trauma patients presenting to the EDs of 5 educational hospitals in Iran (Tehran, Tabriz, Urmia, Jahrom and Ilam) from May to October 2016. The discriminatory power and calibration of the models were calculated and compared using STATA 11.Results: 2148 patients with the mean age of 39.50±17.27 years were studied (75.56% males). The area under the curve of REMS and RAPS in predicting in-hospital mortality were calculated to be 0.93 (95% CI: 0.92-0.95) and 0.899 (95% CI: 0.86-0.93), respectively (p=0.02). These measures were 0.92 (95% CI: 0.90-0.94) and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83-0.90), respectively, regarding poor outcome (p=0.001). The optimum cut-off point in predicting outcome was found to be 3 for REMS model and 2 for RAPS model. The sensitivity and specificity of REMS and RAPS in the mentioned cut offs were 95.93 vs. 85.37 and 77.63 vs. 83.51, respectively, in predicting mortality. Calibration and overall performance of the two models were acceptable.Conclusion: The present study showed that adding age and level of arterial oxygen saturation to the variables included in RAPS model can increase its predictive value. Therefore, it seems that REMS could be used for predicting mortality and poor outcome of trauma patients in emergency settings

Introduction: Despite the vast number of surveys, no consensus has been reached on the optimum timing of spinal decompression surgery. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of early and latespinal decompression surgery on neurologic improvement and post-surgical complications in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries. Methods: Two independent reviewers carried out an extended search in electronic databases. Data of neurological outcome and post-surgery complication were extracted. Finally, pooled relative risk (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported for comparing of efficacy of early and late surgical decompression. Results: Eventually 22 studies were included. The pooled RRwas 0.77 (95% CI: 0.68-0.89)for at least one grade neurological improvement, and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77-0.92)for at least two grade improvement. Pooled RR for surgical decompression performed within 12 hours after the injury was 0.26 (95% CI: 0.13-0.52; p

Since no comprehensive study has been conducted on blood pressure (BP) percentiles established upon nationally representative sample population of adults, the present study aimed to construct the blood pressure percentiles by age, sex and body mass index (BMI) of the subjects. Analyses were based on data collected in 2011 from 8,425 adults aged 25 to 69 years old. Data on demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and blood pressure was recorded for each subject. Linear Regression analysis was used to assess the adjusted relationship of age-sex-specific standard deviation scores of BMI, height, and weight with blood pressure. Four separate models for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of men and women were constructed for BP percentiles according to age and BMI. Blood pressure increased with the rise in BMI and weight, but showed a negative correlation with height. SBP and DBP rose steadily with increasing age, but the rise in SBP was greater than DBP. Overweight and obese population, seem to fall into the category of hypertensive. The findings of present study show that BP percentiles are steadily increased by age and BMI. In addition, most obese or overweight adults are hypertensive., EXCLI Journal ; Vol. 14, 2015