Evaluation of hepatitis B infection prevalence in institutionalized intellectually disabled children

Background: Hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection causes chronic infection in human population, with high mortality. One of the high risk communities is mentally retarded children, who are institutionalized. Special conditions in these centers predispose children for HBV infection and transmission to healthy people. In this study our objective was to determine the prevalence of HBV infection among institutionalized mentally retarded children and study its associated risk factors

Materials and Methods: In this study, 250 mentally retarded children [younger than 14 years old] were included. They were living in 5 nursing institutions, located in different parts of Tehran. Hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] was measured in the sera of these patients by ELISA method

Results: Among 250 children, 20 children [8%] were HBsAg positive. HBV infection in girls was more than boys [11% to 5.6%]. Among the types of mental retardation, children with cerebral palsy had the highest positive result for HBsAg. The most HBV infection [28.5%] was seen in children with longest duration of being institutionalized [10 to 11 years]. Vaccinated children were more HBsAg positive [8.7%] than non-vaccinated children [5.3%]. However, no significant relationship was observed between any of these factors and HBsAg positivity

Conclusion: Despite improvement of people's health condition and implementation of HBV vaccination, the prevalence of HBV infection is increased in institutionalized mentally retarded children, which highlights the need for active measures to reduce this infection among this high risk population

[ cross-sectional study of Latex allergy among operation room staff of hospitals of Tehran university of medical sciences, 1380-1381]

Latex allergy is a major occupational disease with prevalence nearly 5-17% among the health care workers. To determine the prevalence of latex glove allergy and its contributing factors among operation room staff. In this study, 512 operation room staff were evaluated for latex allergy, using a complete questionnaire. Those suspected to have latex allergy underwent these tests: Eosinophils counting, measurement of serum total and latex specific IgE, latex skin prick test, latex and glove additives patch test. From evaluated staff, 178 [34.8%] had a history of sensitivity to latex gloves, from which 59 persons underwent the tests voluntarily. According to the results of the tests, 13 [22%] had type I allergy to latex, 3 [5.1%] had type IV allergy to latex and 9 [15.3%] had both allergies. There were no significant relationship between latex allergy and age, sex, job, season, family and personal history of allergies. Significant relationship was found between type I allergy to latex and allergy to kitchen gloves and also between type IV allergy and allergy to other plastic clothing. Prevalence of latex allergy in this study is much higher than similar studies, which demands more evaluation to determine the contributing factors

study of malnutrition in Iranian patients with primary antibody deficiency

Nutrition is an important factor that influences immunity, and nutritional deficiencies can impair resistance to infections. Malnutrition is the most common cause of immunodeficiency worldwide. Trace elements such as zinc, selenium, iron, and copper can influence several components of immunity. Primary antibody deficiency disorders are a group of disorders characterized by an unusual susceptibility to infections and malnutrition. Impaired nutritional status has been reported in immunodeficient patients. The aim of this study was to determine anthropometric indices and trace elements status in these patients. Thirty-eight children [28 males, 10 females, aged 2-18 years] with primary antibody deficiency referring to Children's Medical Center of Tehran University of Medical Science were enrolled in this research. Primary immunodeficiency disorders consisting of CVID, XLA, IgA deficiency, IgG subclass deficiency, and hyper IgM were assessed. Anthropometric indices, comprised of height, weight that were measured and body mass index [BMI] was calculated. Height-for-age [HAZ], weight-for-height [WHZ] and weight-for-age [WAZ] were determined according to Z-score to study mild, moderate and severe malnutrition. Serum copper, zinc, selenium and iron levels were measured by an atomic absorption spectrometer. The most common disorders were CVID 52.5% and X-linked agammaglobulinaemia 27.5%. Based on BMI measurements 21.1% of patients had malnutrition. According to HAZ, 13.2%, 13.2% and 36.8% had severe, moderate and mild malnutrition, respectively. According to WAZ, 10.5%, 18.4% and 28.6% had severe, moderate and mild malnutrition, respectively. Regarding to WHZ, 14.3% and 28.6% had moderate and mild malnutrition, respectively. Low selenium levels and high copper levels were observed in 37.5% and 70.3%, respectively. Anthropometric data showed that the frequency of malnutrition in these patients was higher than the CDC standard. Low serum selenium levels and high serum copper levels were observed, suggesting further research is needed on these parameters. Most of the patients had serum zinc and iron levels within the normal range. It is recommeded that clinical immunologists and nutritionists should make a collective effort to provide these patients with standard or specialized diets so as to decrease the risk of infection