qualitative study on a 30-year trend of tobacco use and tobacco control programmes in Islamic Republic of Iran

We conducted in-depth interviews with key tobacco control policy-makers to explore their views and opinions of trends in tobacco use and the effectiveness of tobacco control programmes over the past 3 decades. A qualitative interview study was conducted in 2014 using a grounded theory approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 86 key tobacco control policy-makers and data collection was based on principles of saturation. The core code "tobacco consumption and its control programme" was extracted and its related themes were listed. After review and classification by an expert panel, 9 categorized codes emerged. The final 31 codes were ordered according to their conceptual differentiations. Overall, tobacco consumption was constant over the past 3 decades; however it was increasing in females and young people and decreasing in older people; hookah consumption was increasing. A positive outcome is that tobacco use is now viewed negatively in the Islamic Republic of Iran, largely due to tobacco control programmes but the current situation is still not ideal and a comprehensive tobacco control law is needed

Study of methacholine positivity in patients with chronic cough at Masih Daneshvari hospital, Tehran, 2007-2008

While airways reactivity is among the characteristics of asthma, is not considered a sufficient condition diagnostically and the methacholine challenge is a non-specific diagnostic aid in cases of chronic cough and reactive airways disease. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the metacholine response positivity and diagnosis of asthma in patients with chronic cough presenting to a hospital in Tehran during 2007 and 2008. Of 101 patients with chronic cough [with no history of sinusitis, recent pulmonary infection, bronchitis, gasteroesophageal reflux or underlying pulmonary conditions], 51.5% showed reactive airways disease to the methacholine test, 40.6% were unreactive and 7.9% were indeterminate. A positive methacholine challenge test was positively correlated with new wheezing. Although the methacholine challenge test is not a primary test for evaluating chronic cough, if no other reason for chronic cough is found, it may be a guiding test for asthma

Role of private laboratories in tuberculosis detection in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

To study the participation of the private sector in detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis, all suspected cases referring to 4 private laboratories in Tehran for acid-fast bacillus examination during 2002-03 were documented. Of 9037 cases enrolled in the study, 637 had positive examination results [7.1%]. Of these 531 [5.9%] cases were direct smear-positive and 489 [5.4%] were culture-positive. Data from the Iranian Ministry of Health showed 9479 cases referred to government laboratories in Tehran urban area during the study period, 208 [2.2%] of which were positive. This larger than expected proportion of TB patients who are detected and managed by the private sector indicates that much closer cooperation is needed between the public and private sectors

[Registration status of patients with tuberculosis detected by private laboratories, Tehran/Iran]

To determine the registration status of patients with tuberculosis [TB] detected by private laboratories. a cross sectional study Out of all TB suspected subjects referred to four private labs for acid-fast bacilli [AFB] examination during 2002-3, those with confirmed TB were enrolled in this study. All AFB positive cases were then followed for registration by National Tuberculosis Program [NTP] of the Ministry of Health of Iran. Of all the cases referred to the private laboratories, 646 subjects were reported as AFB positive and followed. Of these, 317 [49.1%] were female and 328 [50.8%] male, with a mean age of 52.2 years [95% CI, 21.7]. Using telephone and dwelling addresses to contact patients, 82 [12.7%] patients were found to be registered by NTP and 564 [87.3%] were not registered. Registration status was independent of age and sex [p=0.122, p=0.178]. However, a positive association was detected between physician referral of patients and registration [Fisher's exact test, p<0.00 1]. The cases detected and treated by private sector are far beyond our expectation, which indicates the valuable role of this sector in tuberculosis detection. Nevertheless, what needs to be improved is the management of relations between private and public sectors. On the other hand, physicians play an essential role in referring patients to NTP for registration, but it seems that they have not been performing well enough given the small proportion of patients referred

[ role of private laboratories in Tuberculosis detection, Tehran/ Iran [SGS02/85]]

To study the role of the private sector in detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis suspected cases by referring to the private labs. This Cross sectional study was performed to evaluate all cases referring to 4 private labs for AFB examination during 2002-3. The total number of referred cases and the positivity ratio were calculated. A total of 9037 were enrolled into our study, 44.9% being female and 55.1% being male. The two peak ages of patients were 15-25 yrs and >65 yrs and the majority of the patients were Iranians [98.6%]. As a whole, 637 cases had positive examination results [7.1%], among which 531[5.9%] cases were direct smear positive and 489[5.4%] culture positive. This is comparable to data given by MOH, where the total number of cases referred to governmental labs in the Tehran urban area, during the period of study was 9479, including 7850[82.8%] Iranians and 208[2.2%] being positive. A larger than expected proportion of TB patients are detected and [managed] by the private sector which indicates that a much more intimate cooperation should develop between the public and private sectors