Incidence of Snake Bites in Kashan, Iran During an Eight Year Period (2004-2011)

Background: Snake bites are one of the significant health problems in the tropical and subtropical regions. Snake bite is a common medical emergency in Iran, and the epidemiological features and management of such cases vary from region to region. Objectives: This present research study was conducted to obtain new information about the epidemiology of snake bites in the region of Kashan, located in the central part of Iran. Patients and Methods: This research was a descriptive retrospective study. Data from 2004 to 2011 of snakebite cases were collected from case reports. Information included; age and sex of the victim, district, month of incident, mortality, and time of bite. Results: The results of this study showed that the majority of snake bite patients were male (96%). The age distribution of patients indicated that the greatest rate of snake bites occurred among the 15-24 year old group. Data collected in this study revealed that the highest incidence of snake bite cases took place in summer (60%) and the lowest number occurred in winter, with no snake bite cases being recorded. The peak number of snakebite cases was seen during June-September. Conclusions: It was concluded that snake bite cases in Kashan are similar to other areas in Iran from an epidemiological point of view, including; age distribution rates, gender and site of the bites. The existence of Macrov ipera lebetina, a dangerous venomous snake, can cause a range of clinical effects among residents in central parts of Iran, such as Kashan area

The relationship between turbidity, residual chlorine concentration and microbial quality of drinking water in rural areas of Kashan during 2008-9

Background: Common belief is that water quality evaluation must be based on its appearance, not only the apparent characteristics but also the microbial and chemical characteristics should be considered. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between turbidity, residual chlorine concentration and microbial quality of water used for drinking in rural areas of Kashan. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on drinking water samples taken from 57 villages of Kashan during 2008-9. Among the total samples taken during three stages, only one sample was selected and analyzed for water quality parameters of turbidity, residual chlorine concentration and heterotrophic plate count (HPC).Results: HPC, residual chlorine concentration and turbidity of water samples desirable in three stages and undesirable in another three stages were 86, 22.8 and 75.4 12.3, 29.8 and 0, respectively. Furthermore, HPC in 95 of samples under the supervision of rural water and wastewater company (RWWC) and in 64.7 of samples that were not under the supervision of RWWC, were in the range of standard drinking water.Conclusion: The results of the study show that correlation between residual chlorine concentration and HPC level of drinking water in Kashan rural areas was significant, while there is no significant correlation between residual chlorine concentration and turbidity HPC and turbidity. Hence, RWWC supervision has a prominent role in supplying safe drinking water for such areas

Study on Performance of Infectious Waste Sterilizing Set in Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital and Determination of its Optimum Operating Condition

Background and Objectives; Autoclaving is one of  the methods which sterilizes infectious solid wastes. Since variety of parameters such as temperature, time, and pressure influence autoclave performance, this study was carried out to evaluate the parameters and set optimum condition for the autoclave apparatus  applied in Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the performance of subjected autoclave was surveyed based on biological index and through setting 144 tests. Variables were packaging type in two groups (open and wrapped), loading type in three groups (light, medium and heavy), and four temperature-time features in fixed pressure equal to 101 kpa. Biological index was ATCC 7953 which contained Stearotermophilus Geobacillus spores. Finally obtained results were analyzed by Chi-Square test.Results: The results of statistical test showed that there isnt any meaningful relation between packaging type of waste, system loading, and efficiency of sterilization(P>0.05),while meaningful relation was found between system performance and variety states of temperature-time feature(P<0.05), illustrating temperature and time effects in fixed pressure on sterilization of solid waste.Conclusion: Based on the results, the best autoclave operational condition for sterilizing infectious solid wastes are: temperature-time equal to 10 min-140°C and 15 min-134°C in fixed pressure of 101 kpa, respectively. It was also revealed that temperature-time condition suggested by manufactory, i.e. 20min-121°C, is not sufficient for complete sterilization of solid waste

The quality of hospital services in Kashan educational hospitals during 2008-9: the patients' viewpoint

Background: The main mission of any hospital in a health care system is to promote care quality for patients and to meet their needs and expectations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of hospital services from the viewpoint of patients admitted to Kashan educational hospitals. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 390 patients admitted to Kashan educational hospitals were selected based on the stratified sampling and their points of view were evaluated using SERVQUAL questionnaire during 2008-9. The quality attributes of the questionnaire consisted of seven dimensions (e.g. physician's empathy, physician's availability, the reliability of physician performance, nurse's responsibility, nurse's empathy, drugs management and tangibility of services). Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed using content validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.93), respectively. The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 45.72±18.36 years and 54.1 of subjects were men. There was a significant difference among the mean of seven dimension scores and the total quality dimension. Moreover, a significant difference was observed in the quality score mean of different dimensions among hospitals. The highest and lowest means of quality score were for physician's empathy (3.97±0.75) and tangibility of the services (3.76±0.58), respectively. Conclusion: From the patients' viewpoint, educational hospitals have made good progress in providing hospital services however, different quality scores among quality dimensions in any hospital signify that the health care administrators should pay more attention on the quality improvement programs to improve patients' satisfaction

Prevalence of postpartum depression and its relation to some psychosocial factors in mothers referred to health centers of Kashan during 2007-8

Background: Postpartum depression is a serious problem that may have negative effects on mother and family mental health. Considering that several theories have been proposed to explain the epidemiologic and demographic factors associated with the postpartum depression, the aim of this study was to identify the factors related to postpartum depression in Kashan. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 50% of all health centers in Kashan were randomly selected during 2007-8. All of 204 mothers referred during 2-3 months of postpartum with minimum literacy (primary education) showed willingness to complete the questionnaire which included two parts: demographic and psychosocial questions and BDI (Beck Depression Inventory). Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, CI, OR, and logistic regression. Results: Seventy-seven (37.7%) out of 204 mothers referred to Kashan health centers experienced postpartum depression (0.31-0.44). There was a statistically significant relationship between seven demographic and psychosocial factors and postpartum depression, in logistic regression (P<0.001), three factors (husband's appropriate behavior, intimate relationship with family, and no prior history of depression) were remained in the model. The findings indicated that the mentioned factors can reduce the incidence of postpartum depression. Conclusion: According to the results, factors including husband's appropriate behavior, intimate relationship with family and no prior history of depression may reduce the incidence of postpartum depression