Seroprevalence of pertussis antibodies in 6-17-year-old students in Ahvaz, south-west Islamic Republic of Iran

Although pertussis is a vaccine-preventable infection, vaccine-induced immunity is not lifelong and booster doses are recommended according to national disease epidemiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate pertussis-IgG levels in school-aged students in Ahvaz, south-west Islamic Republic of Iran. In a descriptive, cross-sectional study, blood samples were obtained from 640 students [382 boys and 258 girls] aged 6-17 years during 2010-2011. All students had received a full course of pertussis whole-cell vaccination at ages 2, 4, 6 and 18 months and 4-6 years. Using a Bordetella IgG ELISA kit, pertussis-IgG was detected in 301 [47.0%] students. No statistically significant differences in pertussis-IgG levels were found between girls and boys or across different age groups. The findings show that the overall level of pertussis-IgG seropositivity was unacceptable. Booster vaccination with an acellular pertussis vaccine should be considered in adolescents and/or adults in our region

[Comparative defense style used by nurses in stressful situations]

Introduction: Nursing is a stressful occupation that its related tensions could affect individual spiritual health. Therefore, defense style against stress is very important for nurses. The aim of this study was comparative defense style used by nursing personnel in stressful situations, in Abadan College of Medical Sciences

Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out at the Abadan College of Medical Sciences. The study population consisted of 100 nurses from Abadan and Khorramshahr hospitals' that was selected by purposive Sampling method. Data were collected by questionnaires include demographic data and [Defensive Styles Questionnaire-40] that consist of three parts of mature defense style, neurotic and immature. Cronbach alpha of the questionnaire was 0.82 and data were analyzed using SPSS/18 software. Appropriate statistical analysis such as one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and t-test were employed to analyze the collected data

Finding: The results showed that 67.3% of Taleghani Hospitals and 67.2% of Vali-e-asr hospitals' Nurses used mature defense style as defense mechanism. The mean score for mature defense style was 11.55???2.4 which illustrates that most nurses used this type of defense style

Conclusion: Although the results of this study showed that most nurses' in front of occupational exposure to stress used appropriate and mature defense mechanisms but around one - third of them used inappropriate defense mechanism. Teaching defense style to nurses to cope with anxiety and stress is suggested for future study work

[Intravitreal and intracameral bevacizumab in neovascular glaucoma: an interventional case series]

To evaluate the effects of intravitreal and intracameral injection of bevacizumab in patients with neovascular glaucoma [NVG]. This interventional case series was conducted on 40 eyes of 40 patients with neovascular glaucoma. Data included the extent of iris [NVI] and angle neovascularization [NVA], peripheral anterior synechia [PAS], and intraocular pressure [IOP]. Following standard NVG treatment, 1.5 and 1 mg of Bevacizumab were injected intravitreally and intracamerally, respectively. Six weeks after injection, the same procedure was repeated. Intraocular pressure decreased significantly from 40.15 +/- 18.33 to 29.27 +/- 15.07 mmHg [P<0.001]. NVI and NVA were eliminated in 97.5% and 100% of patients, respectively. No significant change was seen in best corrected visual acuity [BCVA]. After the injection, hyphema occurred only in one eye. Intravitreal and intracameral injection of bevacizumab is an effective complementary treatment for reducing NVI and NVA and hence IOP in NVG

[An epidemiologic model for risk factors of migraine and tension type headaches among Primary Schools Teachers of Shiraz, 2003]

This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of migraine and tension-type headaches among Shiraz primary schools teachers and to provide an epidemiologic model for them. A random sample of 538 teachers, constituting a 10% sample of the primary schools teachers' population, was evaluated on the basis of the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society [HIS] as well as clinical diagnosis. The estimated prevalence was 10% [54 subjects] for migraine, 24% [129 subjects] for tension-type headache and 5.2% [28 subjects] for coexisting headaches. In a case-control study, each case of migraine, tension-type and coexisting headache was matched for age, sex and educational region to respectively two, one and three controls selected among headache-free teachers and conditional logistic regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses of the relationships between each type of headache and the considered variables. The relationship between the studied headaches and measures of general health questionnaire [GHQ-28] were also determined. Significant associations were found between migraine and positive family history of headache, anxiety and abnormal sleeping pattern. Tension-type headache was significantly associated to positive family history of headache, anxiety, depression, marital status and social dysfunction. Significant associations were found between the coexisting ?headache and positive family history of headache, anxiety, depression, abnormal sleeping pattern and social dysfunction. No association was found between any type of headaches and blood pressure, body mass index, birth order, study position, cigarette smoking and level of education. Improving general health measures including physical status, social performance, anxiety and depression alleviation in home and school in cases with tension-type headache and correction of sleeping pattern and stress alleviation in subjects with positive family history of migraine headaches are recommended for prevention and treatment of these headaches