Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with hydatid cysts in Khorasan Razavi Province, from 2011 to 2014

Background: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and clinical aspects of patients with hydatid cyst during 2011 to 2014. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Khorasan Razavi Prov-ince, the Northeast of Iran, from 2011 to 2014. The study population was all cases with hydatid cyst who diagnosed in governmental and private laboratories, hospitals and health centers (HC) in Khorasan Razavi Province during 2011-14. Results: The prevalence rate of hydatidosis was 1.44 per 100000 individuals. Of 357 cases, 54.9 were women, 40.3 rural, 45.8 housewives, and 3.4 were Afghan. The mean age of women was higher than that of men (39.13�18.9 compared to 34.7�17.9 yr, respectively, P-value=0.025). The highest proportion of cases (39.2) was in the age group of 21-40 yr old. Abdominal pain was re-ported in 42.3 of cases. Liver involvement was the most common localization of hydatid cyst reported in 59.4 of patients, and 8.4 had multiple organ in-volvement. The common diagnosis methods of the disease were radiology (42.3) followed by CT scan (37.8). 45.9 of patients had domestic dog and hygiene principles of washing the vegetables was adhered by 6.7 of patients. Conclusion: The prevalence of human hydatidosis, as a most important neglected disease, should be considered by health policy-makers in public health domain. In addition, educational programs to better recognition of the disease symptoms, and to identify the infection sources are needed in high risk group of population. � 2016, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All rights reserved

Nasopharyngeal Carriage, Antibiotic Resistance and Serotype Distribution of Streptococcus Pneumoniae among Healthy Adolescents in Zahedan

Abstract Background and objectives: Colonization of nasopharynx by Streptococcus Pneumoniae can lead to pneumococcal disease. This study was performed to determine the carriage rate of nasopharyngeal S.pneumoniae in adolescents and their antibiotic susceptibility and serotype prevalence in Zahedan, Iran Material and Methods: Nasopharyngeal specimens were obtained from 865 adolescents aged 10-19 years old of eight schools in Zahedan and then assessed by standard procedures to isolate S. Pneumoniae. The serotyping was carried out by latex agglutination test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of penicillin, as well as other commonly used antibiotics, was determined by a broth-dilution method. Results: Pneumococci were Isolated from 15.7% [136/865, 95% confidence interval (CI) 12.3-18.9] of total samples. Of 136 samples, 119 isolates are typified by the available antisera which the most frequent ones are 1, 19A, 15C, 9V, 11A and 19F. Ninthythree pneumococcal isolates are sensitive to penicillin. The MIC values of antibiotics tested are (μg/ml): penicillin 0.01-4, cefotaxime 0.01-4, ceftriaxone 0.02-128, chloramphenicol 0.08-32, ciprofloxacin 0.06-16, erythromycin 0.01-128, tetracycline 0.08- 128 and vancomycin 0.02-1. Conclusion: A clear diversity is seen in the serotype distribution of the S. Pneumoniae isolates and most of the antibiotic resistant strains belonge to a few serotypes. Healthy adolescents in Zahedan commonly show pneumococcal carriage and antibiotic resistance. Keywords: Streptococcus Pneumoniae, nasopharyngeal carriage, penicillin resistance, serotyp

Effect of Music on Postoperative Pain in Patients Under Open Heart Surgery

Background: Music, as a non-pharmacological and inexpensive nursing intervention, can be used easily as a complementary technique in reducing pain along with other methods. While some studies have demonstrated pain to decrease after music, others found music to be ineffective on pain. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of music on postoperative pain in patients under open heart surgery. Patients and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was performed on 60 patients under open heart surgery referred to ICU of Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan city. Patients were randomly divided into two groups including experimental and control groups. Patients in music group listened to nonverbal music for 30 minutes after surgery by headphones. The control group did not receive any intervention other than routine care. Before and after intervention, pain intensity was measured and recorded by visual analog scale in two groups. Data was analyzed using Chi-Square and t-tests. Results: Before intervention, the mean of pain intensity was 6.32 ± 0.21 and 6.10 ± 0.21 for experimental and control groups, respectively; and the difference was not significant (P = 0.21). After intervention, the mean of pain intensity was 3.11 ± 0.12 and 5.81 ± 0.38 for experimental and control groups, respectively; and the difference was significant (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Listening to the relaxant music can reduce postoperative pain. It is suggested that relaxant music be used as a complementary method in patients in order to reduce prospective pain

Experimental Models of Thrombocytopenia in Laboratory Animals and their Application in Identifying the Complications of Chemotherapy Drugs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Thrombocytopenia is one of the complications of chemotherapy drugs that may cause death. Different animal models of thrombocytopenia are used for clinical research and identification of its causes, each with advantages and disadvantages. The aim of this review article is to investigate the methods of thrombocytopenia induction in laboratory animals and their advantages and disadvantages. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted using the keywords “thrombocytopenia platelet”, “chemotherapy”, “animal model”, in PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus databases from 1990 until October 2017. The title and abstract of several articles were reviewed, and after excluding the unrelated items, final articles were selected and reviewed. FINDINGS: Animal models of thrombocytopenia are of two types of immune and non-immune. Non-immune models reduce platelet production through bone marrow suppression. Antiplatelet antibodies are used in immune models. The immune and non-immune thrombocytopenic models have some advantages and limitations and are selected according to the current therapeutic goals. Mice and rats are commonly used as laboratory animals, and cyclophosphamide and carboplatin are the most commonly used drugs. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, due to the limitations of human subject research in diseases that lead to thrombocytopenia, there is a need to develop appropriate animal models for studying and identifying the factors affecting thrombocytopenia

The status of Iran measles surveillance system in 2014

The results showed success of the health system to detect suspected cases of the measles and appropriate sampling from suspected cases that were more than expected. In addition, per every one million population of Iran in 2014, 1.27 of cases of measles were reported; that a numbers of confirmed cases observed in Afghan refugees. Low levels of immunization coverage in eastern neighboring countries and high immigration to Iran, are the main challenge of measles elimination in Iran. The gradual accumulation of susceptible individuals, due to lack of proper vaccination or failure to respond to immunization, may underlie the development of outbreaks of measles in Iran. © 2015, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved

Worldwide prevalence of emerging parasite Blastocystis in immunocompromised patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Blastocystis is one of the most common pathogens of the human intestine, caused by an emerging parasite, which can lead to severe symptoms and even death in immunocompromised patients. We aimed to determine the global prevalence of Blastocystosis infection in people with immunodeficiency. A systematic literature search was conducted on Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar, Science Direct and MEDLINE databases to select all observational studies reporting the prevalence of Blastocystosis infection in Worldwide, based on different diagnostic methods in immunocompromised patients of any age and published from inception to February 2019. Pooled estimates and 95 confidence intervals (95 CIs) were calculated using random effects models and in addition, the I(2) statistic was calculated. The geographic distribution of studies was evaluated and the diagnosis of Blastocystis was compared by various techniques. Electronic databases were reviewed for Blastocystosis infection in HIV/AIDS, cancer and other immunocompromised patients, and meta-analyses were conducted to calculate the overall estimated prevalence. Total68 eligible studies were included. The estimated pooled prevalence rate of Blastocystosis infection in immunocompromised patients was overall 10 (95 CI, 7-13; I(2) 96.04) (P < 0.001), of whom 21 18-25 were in Australia, 12% 4-24 in America, 11% 6-17 in Europe and 10% 5-15, 7% 3-13 in Asia and Africa, respectively. It was calculated that the estimated pooled prevalence rate of Blastocystosis infection in immunocompromised patients was overall 10% and the prevalence estimates ranged from 0.44 to 72.39. Also, overall the prevalence of parasites co-infection in immunocompromised patients was detected as 0.024%. Our finding showed that immunocompromised people show a high prevalence of Blastocystosis infection compared to the control population. Adequate information on the prevalence rate is still missing from many countries. However, current information underscore that Blastocystis should not be neglected

Epidemiological aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran

Background: The prevalence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) has been reported as 1.8 to 37.9 in different provinces of Iran. However, enough knowledge about epidemiological aspects of CL disease is needed to launch a proper program to plan control and preventive strategies about the disease. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the epidemiological aspect of CL in Iran during the first 6 months of 2014. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all cases of CL reported to centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) by state health departments from March 2014 to September 2014 were included. Descriptive statistics including frequency tables, measures of central value, and measures of dispersion to describe the study variables were used to analyze data. Area maps were created using ArcView GIS v. 3.3. Results: Most of the CL cases were observed in eastern, central, and southern provinces. Two thousand thirty-one cases (55.13) were male and 2,306 (62.6) were living in urban areas. The mean age of the patients was 27 ± 18 years old. More than 31 of them were under 14 years of age. Also, 3570 individuals (96.91) were new cases. more wounds were seen so that 62.75 of the wounds were on the hands, 24.8 in the head and neck, and 2.7 in the body. Conclusions: According to the epidemiological features of CL in Iran, Providing a uniform mechanism for control and prevention of this disease is not possible. Thus, initial actions such as staff training, screening in endemic areas, and treatment of patients with urban leishmaniasis as a reservoir for the disease can be useful, according to the geographical position and carrier. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Cancer epidemiology and trends in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran

Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in developing countries. In Iran, cancer is the third cause of death. The present study aimed at providing the incidence rates (crude and agestandardized) of different types of cancers in Sistan and Baluchestan province (Southeastern of Iran). Methods: Data were collected retrospectively reviewing all new cancer patients registered in Cancer Registry Center of Health Heputy for Sistan and Baluchestan province. Common cancers were defined based on the number of cases and standardized incidence rates. To compute the annual percentage change (APC), joinpoint 4.1.1.1 software was applied. Results: A total of 3535 cases of cancers registered during 2004-2009 were identified. Of these, 46.82 occurred in females and 53.18 in males. The most frequent cancer in women was breast cancer followed by esophagus, skin, colorectal and leukemia. The 5 most frequent cancers in men were stomach, skin, leukemia, esophagus and bladder. Joinpoint analyze showed a significant increasing trend for adjusted standard incidence rate (ASIR) for both sexes (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to The results of the present study and comparison to previous studies for other provinces in Iran, cancer incidence in Sistan and Baluchistan is less common but trends of cancers are increasing in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. It is necessary to have a comprehensive health policy for prevention and control of this problem

Estimation of the population attributable fraction of road-related injuries due to speeding and passing in Iran

OBJECTIVES: Speeding and passing are considered to be the main human factors resulting in road traffic injuries (RTIs). This study aimed to estimate the population attributeable fraction (PAF) of speeding and passing in RTIs in rural Iran during 2012. METHODS: The contribution of speeding and passing to RTI-related morbidity and mortality was estimated using the PAF method. The prevalence of speeding and passing was obtained from the national traffic police data registry. A logistic regression model was used to measure the association between the above risk factors and RTIs. RESULTS: Speeding accounted for 20.96 and 16.61 of rural road-related deaths and injuries, respectively. The corresponding values for passing were 13.50 and 13.44, respectively. Jointly, the PAF of these factors was 31.63 for road-related deaths and 27.81 for injuries. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the importance of controlling speeding and passing as a high-priority aspect of public-health approaches to RTIs in Iran. It is recommended that laws restricting speeding and passing be enforced more strictly