Kerbala Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

Influenza virus is a common viral pathogen that can contribute to the progress of otitis media, particularly in children. The connection between influenza and otitis media primarily involves the virus’s impact on the upper respiratory tract. Influenza infection can lead to inflammation and problems with the Eustachian tube, which disrupts normal the middle ear ventilation along with promotes fluid accumulation. This environment facilitates secondary bacterial infections or may allow direct viral invasion of the middle ear. Moreover, influenza weakens local immune defences, increasing susceptibility to ear infections. Clinical observations often show that otitis media occurs a few days following the start of flu signs such as fever, nasal congestion, and cough. Preventive measures, such as annual influenza vaccination, have been shown to reduce the incidence of otitis media through reducing its incidence and severity of influenza infections. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, based on whether the etiologic is bacterial or viral, are essential for managing complications.
The different kinds of ear infections and the associated microorganisms that cause middle ear infections are discussed in this review paper. In order to identify ear infections, we describe the standard methods and clinical trials that employ them.

Background: Case control study was conducted at Imam Al-Hussein Medical City and Imam Al-Hassan Al-Mujtaba Hospital in Karbala, and it included information about changes in some immunologic parameters in type 1 diabetes mellitus(T1DM) patients. The study comprised 30 healthy and 60 patients aged 5 to 20 years from female and male between January 2024 and October 2025. This study measured immunological alterations include antibodies levels such as Insulinoma Associated Antigen-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A), immunoglobulins (IgM), Proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TGF-β1). The present study discovered that There was a significant increase (P≤0.01) in IFN-γ, TGF-β1, IA-2A and IgM in patients group compared with healthy group. The goal of this research is to investigate the immunological profile of patients with T1DM in Kerbala Province by analysing the levels of IA-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and immunoglobulin M (IgM). The purpose of this study is to ascertain how these immunological markers relate to the pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes, ascertain their possible roles in the disease's progression, and find patterns that could help with early diagnosis, better monitoring, and a deeper comprehension of the autoimmune mechanisms underlying T1DM in the local population.

Background: Gestational hypertension is one of the most prevalent pregnancy-related complications and poses significant risks to maternal and fetal health. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of gestational hypertension in Iraqi pregnant women and to examine potential risk factors for its occurrence. Materials and methods: This case-control research comprised 200 pregnant women in total (114 with normal blood pressure and 86 with gestational hypertension). During their prenatal clinic appointments, eligible participants were recruited using a non-random (convenience) sampling technique. Blood pressure and BMI were evaluated, and a systematic questionnaire was used to gather medical and personal information. With a significance level of p < 0.05, descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, the t-test, and binary logistic regression were used in the analysis of the data using SPSS.Results: Gestational hypertension was identified in 43% of the study population, which is a relatively high rate that highlights the critical importance of treating this illness in basic healthcare programs. Significant correlations between prenatal hypertension and a number of characteristics, such as maternal age, gestational age, BMI, parity, and a family history of hypertension, were found by statistical analysis. However, there was no significant correlation found between the condition and characteristics like educational attainment, history of miscarriage, gestational diabetes, area of living (rural versus urban), or usage of hormonal contraceptives. Conclusion: The results imply that obesity are important modifiable factors that contribute to the development of gestational hypertension. Thus, the study highlights the importance of prompt treatment interventions, frequent medical follow-up, and health education as effective preventive measures, especially for high-risk women. The study suggests that in order to improve generalizability and gain a deeper understanding of the factors impacting this condition in pregnant women, larger, more representative samples from different parts of Iraq should be used in future research.

Cognitive impairments, especially spatial memory and cognitive flexibility deficits are core yet therapeutically disregarded aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and there are no approved drugs that specifically address those areas even though they have a significant effect on adaptive functioning. This experiment assessed the therapeutic value of ethanolic M. officinalis extract on hippocampal-dependent cognitive function in a validated prenatal rat model of ASD with valproic acid (VPA) induced ASD. On gestational day 12.5, pregnant Wistar rats were injected with VPA (600mg/kg, subcutaneously) or saline, and male offspring were injected daily with M. officinalis extract (100mg/kg, oral) or vehicle between postnatal days 35-82. Complementary Y-maze paradigms were used to determine cognitive performance as PND 83, including spontaneous alternation (spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility) and spatial reference memory (60 min retention interval). The exposure to prenatal VPA resulted in severe cognitive impairments where spontaneous alternation has dropped to 22.41% and discrimination index dropped to 0.288. M. officinalis daily treatment led to spectacular cognitive restoration with alternation performance increasing to 41.89% almost twice and discrimination index increasing to 0.708, an improvement of 145% and bettering no-exposed controls by nearly 72%. Intrinsic cognitive-enhancing properties were also supported by the fact that extract-treated control animals also showed better results. According to GC-MS, a-terpineol was the major constituent (29.898%). These results indicate that M. officinalis extract plays a significant part in reducing VPA-induced impairments in spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility, which justifies its translational prospects as a multi-target botanical intervention that targets the critically underrepresented area of cognition impairment in ASD.

The accessibility of collection, cost-effectiveness, and ability to mirror systemic physiological and pathophysiological conditions have rendered saliva an attractive non-invasive diagnostic medium. It contains many potential biomarkers, such as proteins, enzymes, hormones, metabolites, and nucleic acids, which can provide significant information about endocrine disorders, cardiovascular diseases, viral infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and genetic defects. This up-to-date review focuses on the types of existing salivary biomarkers, their clinical utilities, diagnostic impact, and recent technical advances reported in studies published between 2018 and 2025. Original articles and review papers were included to discover trends, challenges and possible future directions of saliva-based diagnostics. These findings suggest salivary diagnostics can attain sensitivity and specificity comparable with classical methods, enabling early detection, disease monitoring, and therapeutic recommendations. Despite problems of variability, collection methods and standardization, saliva-based diagnostics have vast potential for clinical utility. Additional investigation is expected to enhance their reliability and clinical application in systemic disease diagnosis.

Standardized cardiology tools such as electrophysiological methods and serum biomarkers lack accuracy in predicting which patients are at risk of Supraventricular Tachycardia, and cardiac pathophysiology may sometimes cause sudden death. This study aims to assess the role of electrolytes in supraventricular tachycardia cases and assess their benefit in diagnosing and screening supraventricular tachycardia. This study involved 128 individuals divided into two groups; the first group included 64 healthy individuals, and the second had 64 patients with supraventricular tachycardia. All individuals had an age range of 17-68 years and a body mass index ranging from (30.4-49.9Kg/m2) The study involved 61 females and 60males; the work was carried out between march-September 2021, all patients chosen from a private Nursing hospital and healthy individuals selected from college of medicine Karbala university.

Background: Communicative microorganisms contribute to maintaining the balance of the oral environment, which is an open environment to the external environment, making it a vital and diverse environment that allows for the colonization of different types of microbes Candida, in particular, is one of the most common types of fungi and is considered a normal flora of the skin. Its overgrowth leads to the development of oral candidiasis, an opportunistic fungal infection that includes inflammation of the tongue and parts of the oral mucosa. Methodology: The study included obtaining 51 samples from children without genetic diseases from the wards of Karbala Teaching Hospital for Children, ranging in age from 16 days to 10 years. The samples were collected using cotton swabs containing a sample collection medium and transferred to the laboratory of the Imam Hussein Center for Manuscripts and Research. The samples were examined morphologically and microscopically, and some virulence factors were studied, and the inhibitory ability of the hot alcoholic extract of harmal seeds against the yeasts used in the study was tested. Results: The results of the study showed that 33 out of 51 samples were positive for Candida growth, representing 65%. C. albicans was recorded at 80% (24 isolates), and C. tropicalis numbered 6, representing 20%. These two Candida species were identified through the study of some morphological and microscopic characteristics, which showed that C. albicans appeared green color and C. tropicalis blue color on chromogenic agar. C. albicans was the most common species in the current study, characterized by its ability to produce germ tubes, hyphae, and Chlamydospore, unlike C. tropicalis, which was only capable of forming pseudo hyphae. The inhibitory activity of harmal seeds was tested, with the highest inhibitory activity recorded at a concentration of 100 mg/ml for both C. tropicalis and C. albicans, reaching inhibition rates of 20.4 and 15.9 mm, respectively. The lowest inhibitory activity was recorded at a concentration of 20 mg/ml for both C. tropicalis and C. albicans, reaching inhibition rates of 12.3 and 8.5 mm, respectively. The inhibition rate of the antifungal nystatin was 13.5 and 14.7 mm, respectively. Conclusions: C. albicans was one of the most common species in this study, as this species was distinguished by possessing a set of virulence factors .The plant (Peganum harmala L) is a medicinal plant with pharmaceutical properties and has proven its inhibitory efficiency against the species under study

Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have gained considerable attention as novel biomarkers in cancer due to their remarkable stability in biological fluids and tumor-specific expression profiles. These small non-coding RNAs are selectively packaged into exosomes, which protect them from degradation and facilitate their role in intercellular communication, influencing tumor progression and metastasis. The clinical utility of exosomal miRNAs encompasses early cancer detection, prognosis prediction, and monitoring therapeutic responses through minimally invasive liquid biopsies. Despite promising results, challenges such as standardization of isolation methods, heterogeneity of exosome populations, and validation in large-scale clinical studies remain to be addressed. Advances in isolation technologies and molecular profiling are expected to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of exosomal miRNA-based assays, potentially revolutionizing personalized cancer management. This review summarizes the current understanding of exosomal miRNAs and discusses their emerging role in oncology diagnostics

Objective: This study aims to assess university students\' awareness of social media addiction and explore the relationship between awareness levels and social media usage patterns. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was done to ascertain the awareness of university students regarding social media addiction, The study was conducted over a specific timeframe from October/ 10th/ 2023 to January/ 19th / 2025. The study utilized a questionnaire comprising of two sections: First to gather sociodemographic data of students consisting of 10 items; Second for the awareness of social media addiction developed by the researcher that consisting of 9 items. Reliability of the questionnaire for awareness of social media addiction (r = 0.856). Electronic convenient sampling was employed involving (450) students, the sample collected at university of Kerbala / colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and dentistry and the exclusion criteria includes the students of Kerbala University who studies at other departments and students who study at other disciplines. The data were analyzed and interpreted through use of the application of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), version 26. Results: The results of the study demonstrate that students have moderate awareness about social media use addiction as reported by 56.7% of them (M±SD= 31.85±5.464) as well as there is a positive significant relationship between students’ awareness about social media addiction and daily hours use of social media at p-value= .046 . Conclusion: students have moderate level of awareness about social media use addiction and the level of this awareness is affected by daily hours use of social media.

This study aimed to assess health awareness, evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion activities, and identify the challenges faced by attendees of the Shaabania mass gathering in Holy Karbala in 2025. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 442 participants, selected using a random sampling technique between February 12–15, 2025. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire covering knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to health promotion. The questionnaire was pre-tested on a small sample for clarity and validity. Data were collected electronically using Kobo Toolbox, and Data were analyzed entirely using Microsoft Excel. Results: Overall, 72.4% of participants reported seeing health messages, but only one-third could recall their content. While 85% believed health promotion was essential, only 31.7% considered the activities fully sufficient. Hand hygiene was practiced consistently (97.5%), yet adherence to other preventive measures, such as sanitizer use and safe food practices, was lower. Among participants who experienced health issues (n=107), only 25.2% found health efforts useful. Conclusion: Although participants demonstrated moderate to high awareness, significant gaps exist in message comprehension and behavioral application. Health promotion should be simplified, culturally adapted, and reinforced with real-time feedback and better visibility of health teams to strengthen preparedness for future mass gatherings.

A study survey was carried out in Al-saadoun slaughter house to show the prevalence of hydatid cysts among the slaughtered animals during the from 1/11/2023 to 30/4/2024, the slaughtered animals were local breeds, both sexes (male & female), different ages and from different region in Nineveh governorate. To detect the lesions of hydatid cysts we followed gross examination by naked eye and palpation with hands. The study sample include 58223 slaughtered animals (22692 sheep, 688 goats, 34843 cattle). The morbidity of hydatidosis was 0.82% (479 animal from 58223) among the whole slaughtered animals, with a value of 1.68% in sheep, 0.26% in cattle and 0.87% in goat. The highest whole infection rate in slaughtered animals was in spring (1.08%). While the lower whole infection rate in slaughtered animals was in winter (0.67%). The study also show that highest infection rate of sheep, goat and cattle with hydatidosis was in the month of March, which amounted to (2.28%, 1.08%, and 0.27%), respectively. The morbidity of hydatid cysts in the liver was 0.93%, represented by (0.73%, 1.16%, 0.70%) in sheep, goats and cattle, respectively. while the lung cyst was 0.42%, represented by (0.44%, 0.46%, 0%) in sheep, cattle and goats, respectively.