The quantification of hepatitis C viral load using an In-House Real-Time PCR assay in HCV infected patients in Khorramabad city

Background : Molecular diagnostic methods are among major tools in management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in infected patients. Many studies have shown that viral load is associated with stage of infection and response to treatment. Therefore, the evaluation and quantification of viral load is very important. The goal of this study is implementation of inexpensive, yet accurate method for quantitative assessment of viral load in plasma samples of infected patients. Materials and Methods: After development and validation of the assay, quantification of HCV RNA on 200 chronic patients the start of therapy was performed using an In-House Real-time PCR assay. Measuring the concentration of viral RNA was performed using an external standard curve. It should be noted that the validation and standardization of all procedures in this study were performed using RNA standard panel. The results of this method were compared with results obtained from Artus commercial kit. Results: Detection limit of the assay was 50 IU/ml. The mean viral load measured on a logarithmic scale (5/81&plusmn; 0/22, p<0/05). Parallel analysis of samples with commercial kit showed that there is a good correlation between these two methods (R2 = 0.988 p< 0.05). Conclusion: Viral load detection of HCV was reported for the first time in Khorramabad city.&nbsp; According to the results, this method has a good sensitivity and specificity for HCV quantification in large-scale. It can be a good replacement for commercial kits especially for clinical evaluation of therapy

Evaluation of the complaints against physicians and dentists to the office of vice chancellor for treatment of Lorestan university of medical sciences from 2007 to 2011

Background: The complaints against physicians and dentists have been increasing at recent years. This complaints can waste the time and energy of these groups. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons of the complaints against physicians and dentists of the treatment centers of Lorestan province from 2007 to 2011. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was approved by research committee of Lorestan university of medical sciences. In 2011, the referred complaints to the office of vice chancellor for treatment of this university from 2007 to 2011 were evaluated. The incomplete complaints were excluded. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (V. 16) and the results were presented as frequency and mean. There was no conflict of interest in this study. Results: At the time span of the study 328 complaints had been recorded, among which 168 complaints were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 34±11.2. 112 of the complainers were female. The most complaints were done against dentists, gynecologists, and orthopedists. 25% of the complaints were due to the side effects and the body injuries of the treatment and 22.6% of them were due to delinquency and lack of attention of the physicians. Conclusion: With regard to the complaints, it seens that more close relations with the patients and more explanation to them about their disease and the treatment can prevent the formation of the complaints

The effect of oral clonidine pre-medication prior to anesthesia on bleeding during tympanoplasty

Background: Intraoperative bleeding is one of the most important complications of surgery. Different techniques and methods have been used to decline this problem. In this study, the effect of oral preanesthetic clonidine on producing a bloodless surgical area was examined on patients undergoing tympanoplasty. Materials and Methods: A randomized, triple blind clinical trial was carried out 88 patients candidates for tympanoplasty. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. 44 patients received oral clonidine 300 µgr, 90min before arriving at the operating room, and 44 patients received placebo. The method of anesthesia was similar in both groups. Interaoperating bleeding assessed on a four –point scale from 3 (abundant bleeding) to 0 (no bleeding). Moreover, surgeon’s satisfaction in the field of surgery and the homodynamic changes were assessed and recorded in data collecting sheets. Results: There were no statistically significant differences regarding gender and age between two groups. The homodynamic changes in the group that had received clonidine were fewer in comparison with those in the control group. In addition, the bleeding amount in the group receiving clonidine was 54.6 times less than in the control group, and the surgeon,s satisfaction in the clonidine group was 54.6 times more than that in the control group. The statistical analysis using independent sample t test showed significant difference between these two groups. Conclusion: Oral clonidine as a premeditation reduces bleeding in tympanopalsty and improves surgeon’s satisfaction

Seroepidemiologic study of hepatitis B in Kouhdasht and Sepid dasht districts in 2012

Background: Hepatitis is a disease causing inflammation of the liver and impairment of its function .It is often transmitted through contaminated blood and blood products and may become chronic presenting with flu like symptoms .Also fatigue , loss of appetite , myalgia and arthralgia , nausea and vomiting are its remarkable symptoms. The aim of this research was to study the prevalence rate of hepatitis B in rural papulation of Garab, Padervand, Chaghabal and Tang-e Panj in terms of age, sex, job… and its comparison with prevalence rate in similar regions of our province and country. Materials and Methods: Aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HbsAg infection in areas of Garab, Padervand , Chaghabal and Tang-e Panj and relationship between defined epidemiological factors and the infection in the population under study, after providing a questionnaire containing the symptoms of the disease, the data were collected and blood specimens were obtained. Then the specimens were tested by ELISA . Results : Out of a total of 454 cases 227 were male and 227 were female ( identical sex ratio ) of them 27 cases (6.2 % ) were HBsAg positive . Out of infected persons 14 were male(51.9%) and 13 were female(48.1%) . Most infected ones were 20 to 40 years old and housewives , truck drivers and students were amongst the most infected cases . Conclusion : Based on the findings of the study heptitis B infection in these areas is far more frequent than the mean national rates amounting to 2 to 3 percent that is in accordance with surveillance system data in the mentioned areas . Although the findings does not define the main transmission pattern of the disease , when age and gender distribution of infected cases is considered ( almost equal sex ratio and preponderance of married ones ) we can state that this pattern is largely directed to sexual transmission .Although all age and sex groups are at risk , men and those at the age of 20 to 40 are more prone to infection . Occupation, blood transfusion , household dimension , vaccination history were significantly related to HbsAg infection

Prevalence of refractive errors among high school Students in Western Iran

To determine the prevalence of refractive errors among high school students. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we applied stratified cluster sampling on high school students of Aligoudarz, Western Iran. Examinations included visual acuity, non-cycloplegic refraction by auto refraction and fine tuning with retinoscopy. Myopia and hyperopia were defined as spherical equivalent of -0.5/+0.5 diopter (D) or worse, respectively; astigmatism was defined as cylindrical error;0.5 D and anisometropia as an interocular difference in spherical equivalent exceeding 1 D. Results: Of 451 selected students, 438 participated in the study (response rate, 97.0%). Data from 434 subjects with mean age of 16;1.3 (range, 14 to 21) years including 212 (48.8%) male subjects was analyzed. The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism was 29.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 25-33.6%], 21.7% (95%CI, 17.8-25.5%), and 20.7% (95%CI, 16.9-24.6%), respectively. The prevalence of myopia increased significantly with age [odds ratio (OR)=1.30, P=0.003] and was higher among boys (OR=3.10, P<0.001). The prevalence of hyperopia was significantly higher in girls (OR=0.49, P=0.003). The prevalence of astigmatism was 25.9% in boys and 15.8% in girls (OR=2.13, P=0.002). The overall prevalence of high myopia and high hyperopia were 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The prevalence of with-the-rule, against-the-rule, and oblique astigmatism was 14.5%, 4.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Overall, 4.6% (95%CI, 2.6-6.6%) of subjects were anisometropic. Conclusion: More than half of high school students in Aligoudarz had at least one type of refractive error. Compared to similar studies, the prevalence of refractive errors was high in this age group.</p