Opium use in a rural area of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Because of its geographic proximity to the major drug production centres, there is easy access to narcotic drugs in the Islamic Republic of Iran despite efforts by governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Using a structured questionnaire as a basis for conversation, local health workers interviewed 310 residents of a rural area in Babol province about opium use. The self-reported rate of opium use, adjusted due to a bias in the sex ratio of the sample, was 8.9%. All the 42 opium users reported opium use at least 2-3 times per week in the previous 3 months. Opium was smoked by 95.2% and taken orally by 4.8%; there was no injecting use. There was no reported use of other substances, including alcohol. There was a statistically significant relationship between opium use and male sex, unemployment and cigarette smoking

[Pattern of firearm related injuries: results of a multi-center study]

Firearm-related injuries pose a serious public health problem in many countries, such as the United States and South Africa. The aim of this study was to report the pattern of firearm injuries using data collected by the national trauma project. The national trauma project has been conducted by Trauma and Surgery Research Center of Sina Hospital in 8 cities of Iran [Tehran, Shiraz, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Babol and Qom] and it includes information of 16753 trauma patients. Overall, 104 patients [0.6%] were identified as having sustained a firearm injury. They were 94 [90.4%] males and 10 [9.6%] females, with a mean age of 28.2 +/- 10.3 [range, 15 to 60 years]. The age group of 21-30 years comprised 49.5% of our patients. Extremity injury was the most common type of injury [47.9%]. Eight patients [7.6%] died resulting from the severity of injuries, with head injury as the main cause of death in 4 of them [50%]. Most patients [73.3%] sustained injuries in an assault. More restricted rights toward keeping and using firearms seem to be necessary. Awareness of physicians of firearm related injuries and their treatment is essential for the appropriate management of patients and reduction of hospital mortality in victims. On the other hand, attempts should be made to build an especial system for monitoring firearm-related injuries in Iran