Prevalence of needle stick injuries among dental, nursing and midwifery students in Shiraz, Iran

Background: The risk of occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens (including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV) via sharp injuries such as needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health care workers, especially dental, nursing and midwifery students is a challenging issue. Inadequate staff, lack of experience, insufficient training, duty overload and fatigue may lead to occupational sharp injuries. The aim of this prospective cross-sectional study was to evaluate the frequency of NSIs in Iranian dental, nursing, and midwifery students and their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding prevention of NSIs

Dental caries status and its associated factors in pregnant women, Shiraz, Iran, 2014

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dental caries is a common problem in pregnant women which has negative impacts on their quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate pregnant women’s dental caries status and its associated risk factors in Shiraz, Iran, in 2014. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we selected 423 pregnant women attending Shiraz governmental health centers for routine obstetric examinations by randomized cluster sampling. The women's dental caries status was assessed using decayed, missed, and filled tooth (DMFT) index. The women’s demographic characteristics and their oral hygiene habits were evaluated using a valid and reliable questionnaire. The relationship between women's DMFT index and their demographic and oral hygiene characteristics was evaluated using Pearson correlation, analysis of variance, independent sample t-tests, and multiple linear regression models. RESULTS: The mean DMFT index was 5.8 ± 3.6. We found lower scores of DMFT index in women who were younger (P < 0.001), brushed their teeth more (P = 0.014), and used home preventive measures such as mouthwash (P = 0.003) and toothpick (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Dental caries status of the pregnant women was unacceptably lower than optimal. Interventions focusing on holding educational programs and taking office-based preventive measures for pregnant women or women who intend to be pregnant are recommended. The interventions are more necessary for older pregnant women and those who use fewer home preventive measures. KEYWORDS: Dental Caries; Iran; Pregnanc

Investigating the Association between Gender and Age Distribution with Severity of COVID-19: A Single-Center Study from Southern Iran

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a highly contagious disease, which led to a pandemic health emergency. However, age distribution and sex, regarding factors affecting the severity of COVID-19, are controversial. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the effect of gender difference on the severity of COVID-19 infection in the studied age groups.Methods: Patients with COVID-19 of Valiasr Hospital (Khorrambid, Fars, Iran) from February 20, 2020, to February 20, 2021, are included in this retrospective study. The inclusion criteria were the age of above 15 years old and being residents of Khorrambid. COVID‐19 severity was classified as mild and moderate/severe according to the WHO standards. The obtained demographical and clinical data from the patient registry forms were analyzed using SPSS-24; P value <0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Chi-square and independent t-test were used to assess the variables.Results: Herein, 218 patients were recruited with a mean age of 45.6±17.2 and a relatively equal distribution of men and women population. Out of this population, 23.8% had comorbid diseases, 48.2% had mild, and 51.8% had moderate/severe infections. Our results indicated that male gender and the age range of 25-64 years in men are the most important risk factors associated with the disease severity (P<0.0001).Conclusions: The current study revealed that the leading risk factor of the disease severity was higher age (≥65 years) in the studied women. Meanwhile, in the men group, this factor was the age range of 25-64 years. These results suggest that further research is required to identify the possible impacts of gender and age on various aspects of the ongoing epidemic

Long COVID, a comprehensive systematic scoping review

Abstract: Purpose To fnd out what is known from literature about Long COVID until January 30, 2021. Methods We undertook a four-step search with no language restriction. A preliminary search was made to identify the keywords. A search strategy of all electronic databases resulted in 66 eligible studies. A forward and backward search of the references and citations resulted in additional 54 publications. Non-English language articles were translated using Google Translate. We conducted our scoping review based on the PRISMA-ScR Checklist. Results Of 120 papers, we found only one randomized clinical trial. Of the 67 original studies, 22 were cohort, and 28 were cross-sectional studies. Of the total 120 publications, 49.1% focused on signs and symptoms, 23.3% on management, and 10.8% on pathophysiology. Ten publications focused on imaging studies. The results are also presented extensively in a narrative synthesis in separated sections (nomenclature, diagnosis, pathophysiology, risk factors, signs/symptoms, management). Conclusions The controversies in its defnition have impaired proper recognition and management. The predominant symptoms were: fatigue, breathlessness, arthralgia, sleep difculties, and chest pain. Recent reports also point to the risk of longterm sequela with cutaneous, respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, mental health, neurologic, and renal involvement in those who survive the acute phase of the illness

The prevalence of needle stick injuries in medical, dental, nursing and midwifery students at the university teaching hospitals of Shiraz, Iran

BACKGROUND: Medical, dental, nursing and midwifery students are at high risk for occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens (BBPs) via sharp injuries such as needle stick injuries (NSIs). AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of NSIs and the knowledge, attitude and practices of these students regarding their prevention. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The clinical students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were eligible to participate in a survey conducted by a self-administered questionnaire in 2004, asking them about NSIs during their clinical training undergraduate years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study evaluated NSIs and practices regarding protective strategies against BBPs in medical, dental, nursing and midwifery students at Shiraz University, Iran, in 2004. These students completed a self-administered questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were entered into a personal computer using Epi-Info (version 2000). Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests for categorical variables and student t-test for continuous variables were performed, where appropriate, using SPSS version10. Alpha was set at the 5% level. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 688 (53%) students. 71.1% (489/688) of the students had NSIs that most commonly (43.6%) occurred in patient rooms. 82% (401/489) of NSIs were not reported. 87.8% (604/688) of the students received information about standard isolation precautions and 86.2% of them had been vaccinated against hepatitis B. CONCLUSION: NSIs and non-reporting of NSIs were highly prevalent in these students. Education about the transmission of blood-borne infections, standard precautions and increasing availability of protection strategies must be provided

Association of high-sensitive C-reactive protein and dialysis adequacy with uremic pruritus

Uremic pruritus is a difficult symptom in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients, and its patho-physiological mechanism remains unknown. To determine the relationship between pruritus and C-reactive protein as well as dialysis adequacy among the HD patients, we studied 241 chronic HD patients in Shiraz dialysis centers, Iran. The patients were selected by convenient sampling and the data were collected using a checklist, interview and lab tests. The mean age of our patients was 53.9 ± 16.3 years and 128 (53.1%) of them were male. There were 97 (40.2%) patients who complained of pruritus. A significant association was found between high-sensitive C-reactive protein and pruritus (P = 0.004). Also, a significant positive relationship was observed between pruritus and dialysis adequacy (P <0.001). Our results suggested a correlation between the inflammatory reaction and pruritus. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between dialysis adequacy and pruritus. A better understanding of the factors implicated in the cause of uremic pruritus is essential in the development of more-effective treatments and improved quality of life in HD patients

The prevalence of pregnancy-related acute renal failure in Asia: A systematic review

Acute renal failure (ARF) is a major complication during pregnancy and is associated with high mortality rate in developing countries. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of pregnancy-related ARF in Asia. This study is a systematic review Google Scholar, PubMed, and Medline databases were searched for all papers in English on pregnancy related ARF (PR-ARF) in Asian countries that were published between 2010 and 2015 were reviewed. Of all the articles published in that period, 19 were selected - 17 were original articles and two were cases reports. We gathered information on the prevalence of PR-ARF, parity, duration of pregnancy when PR-ARF developed, etiology of PR-ARF, common clinical symptoms, and laboratory findings in PR-ARF

Who is sleeping more efficient? Patients on peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis

Sleep disorder, a common complaint among patients with the end-stage renal disease can affect most aspects of life. Therefore, we aimed to compare sleep quality of patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD). This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients on dialysis who were referred to three major centers of Shiraz. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to compare sleep quality between patients on PD and HD. We also assessed some baseline characteristics to find out if they were independent predictors of sleep quality. Spearman correlation coefficients, one and two sample t-test, Chi-square, or Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the data. P 0.05). On the other hand, the prevalence of sleep disturbance in HD patients (70.1%) was significantly higher than PD patients (35.9%), (P <0.001). HD patients had a higher rate of poor sleep quality than PD patients. Further studies are necessary to investigate the causes of poor quality of sleep in these patients and also to investigate methods to improve sleep quality in this population