ABSTRACT
Amniotic membrane is the inner-most layer of the three fetal membranes. The membrane is consisted of three layers; epithelial layer, basal membrane, and connective tissue. Owing to expression of mRNA of elafin, HBD 1-3, and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitors, amniotic membrane has antimicrobial properties. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial effect of human amniotic membrane on standard bacterial species of Salmonella enterica BAA-708, E.coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 7881, and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212. Fresh amniotic membranes were obtained from Organ Transplant Bank of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran. The membranes were obtained from pregnant women who had negative tests for HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis after elective Cesarian section. The membranes were cut into 1.5× 1.5 cm pieces under sterile conditions. The membrane pieces were placed on Müller-Hinton agar medium containing the bacterial suspensions and then incubated at 37 [degree sign]C for 24 hours. The antibacterial properties of amniotic membrane against Salmonella enterica and E. coli were demonstrated by development of the no growth halo, but for Pseudomonas aeruginosa only a very narrow halo was observed. The halo was not developed for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus faecalis. Amniotic membrane showed antibacterial effects against a wide spectrum of bacteria. With regard to the increasing antibiotic resistance, use of amniotic membrane against pathogenic bacteria can be considered valuable
ABSTRACT
Considering that hospital costs of the growing elderly population account for a significant share of the health care costs, this study aimed to investigate the elderly hospitalization cost in teaching hospitals of Kashan university of medical sciences. In this cross-sectional study, 2067 patients [age >/= 60] admitted to teaching hospitals of Kashan university of medical sciences during a one-year period [Sep. 2009-Sep. 2010] were randomly selected using stratified random sampling. Data related to hospitalization charges of cases were obtained from medical records and analyzed. The mean hospitalization charge was 5533529 Rials. The highest cost share was for "bed-day" [26.4%]. The highest average hospitalization cost for different diseases were for digestive, neoplastic and respiratory system, respectively. However, diseases of the eye and circulatory system accounted for the largest share of total hospital costs. Regarding the ward, the highest charges were paid for the elderly patients in ICU and CCU, but internal wards had the largest share of total hospital costs. In addition, a significant relation was seen between the cost for each elderly hospitalized and the ward/disease condition [P<0.001], and the comorbidities [P=0.001]. To reduce the hospital costs, careful attention should be paid to disease services with the highest costs. Moreover, the preventive measures as well as alternative low-cost services [e.g. home care] and developing long-term care should be provided