COVID-19 progression in patients with and without using tobacco and other substances

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only ushered in severe environmental and economic challenges but has also led to the tragic loss of over 18.57 million lives worldwide, particularly impacting marginalized populations. Among these vulnerable groups, with a notably high prevalence in Iran, are individuals using substances. Objective: In this study, we sought the impact of substances on COVID-19 progression and compared it with the non-substance users. Design, Setting, and Participants: We studied 726 participants over different areas of Iran. 363 participants did report using any type of substances and 363 didn’t report any. COVID involvement was confirmed with PCR or CT scan. Main outcomes: We assessed different laboratory, clinical and admission days and mortality measurements. Results: Two groups were significantly different regarding age, gender, education, diabetes mellitus, asthma, and hypertension and didn’t differ regarding having cardiovascular disease, COPD, cancer, receiving chemotherapy and corticosteroids, kidney failure, and HIV. Case group suffered less severe illness (p<0.001). Logistic regression showed that the control group suffered 2.48 times more than the case group and this remained significant after controlling other factors. We couldn’t find any difference in mortality between the two groups. Case group hospitalization days were significantly shorter than the control group and Cox regression showed control group stayed at the hospital 24% more than the case group. However, when we controlled for other factors, we found no significant difference. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the imperative for conducting broader and more inclusive studies involving a diverse and sizable population of substance users, in order to effectively address their unique requirements

Evaluation of the prevalence of Rotavirus in children under 5 years with acute diarrhea in Ahvaz, 2014

Background and Aim: The mortality of the Rotavirus diarrhea still remains a major problem among developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of rotavirus among children below 5 years with acute diarrhea who admitted in reference one of Hospitals (Hospital Abuzar) is located in Ahvaz. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey on 200 fecal samples taken from children under 5 years of age with gastroenteritis, referred to Abuzar hospital in Ahwaz. Sampling started in January 2014 and continued until September 2014. Samples were transported to the laboratory in the Department of Virology, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Science and were tested. The latex agglutination test was performed on samples and the RT-PCR was tested for accurate detection of rotavirus. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Of the 200 samples collected, latex agglutination test and RT-PCR confirmed the presence of rotavirus in 41% and 21% of cases, respectively. Positive samples were equally in boys and girls. The highest incidence was observed in children under 2 years of age (88.1%) and in the age range of 6-8 months (28.57%). Diarrhea, vomiting and fever were the most common symptom of the disease and powdered milk consumption was observed in 50% of the positive samples. Also, the highest and the lowest number of positive samples were reported in February-March 2014 and August- September 2014, respectively. Conclusions: According to the high percentage of Rotavirus infection in different region of Iran, continuous monitoring of the amount of Rotavirus gastroenteritis is recommended in healthcare centres

Prevalence of celiac disease in siblings of Iranian patients with celiac disease

CONTEXT: Celiac disease, one of the best-known autoimmune human leukocyte antigen-dependent disorders, has a relatively increased prevalence in first-degree relatives. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of celiac disease in siblings of patients with confirmed celiac disease. METHODS: Siblings of confirmed celiac disease patients in our center were identified and enrolled in this study. Their serum immunoglobulin A and tissue transglutaminase antibody-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (anti-tissue transglutaminase, immunoglobulin A, and immunoglobulin G) were measured and multiple endoscopic duodenal biopsy specimens were obtained with parental consensus. Celiac disease was confirmed by observation of characteristic histological changes. RESULTS: A total of 49 children (male, 29; female, 20; age, 2-16 years) with confirmed celiac disease in a pediatric gastroenterology ward were studied from 1999 to 2006. We found 30 siblings (female, 16) all shared in both parents. The only measurement available was for immunoglobulin A tissue transglutaminase antibody. A duodenal biopsy was performed in all 30 siblings. Clinical findings such as abdominal pain, fatigue, growth retardation and diarrhea were found in 53.3% of the completely studied siblings, and positive serology without histological changes was identified in four cases. Both serology and biopsy (confirmed new cases) were positive in 2 of the 30 siblings. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of celiac disease among siblings of patients with confirmed celiac disease necessitates serologic screening (and confirmatory biopsy if indicated) in families having celiac disease. It is advantageous to diagnose the disease as soon as possible because early diagnosis and diet intervention may prevent serious complications such as growth retardation, short stature, chronic diarrhea, and malignancy

Performance of Latex agglutination, ELISA and RT-PCR for diagnosis of Rotavirus infection

The rotavirus is one of the major factors of inducing the acute gastroenteritis infection in children under 5 years of age. The laboratory diagnosis is progress and bringing it under control as well as avoiding its diffusion. The purpose of the present study was to determine the performance of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Latex agglutination (LA) tests against reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for evaluating the children’s acute gastroenteritis by rotavirus. One hundred feces specimens were collected from February to May 2014 and analyzed by LA, ELISA and RT-PCR. In this study, the positive results for rotavirus detected by ELISA, LA and RT-PCR were 37, 43 and 27%, respectively. In addition, the result showed that the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA and LA were 74 and 85%, respectively, when compared to RT-PCR. For laboratory detection of Rotavirus infection, RT-PCR has the highest sensitivity and specificity but because of the high costs, ELISA and LA based kits with good performance, as shown by this study, can be preferred for the routine use