Ergonomic evaluation of musculoskeletal discomfort among public bus drivers

Nowadays, prolonged exposure to awkward and inappropriate posture is supposed to be one of the main causes of musculoskeletal disorders among workers and operators round the world. Such exposure also causes upper limb disorders, chronic backache and increases the risk of accidents. According to previous texts and statistics published by international organizations. musculoskeletal disorders are of main causes of work force debilitation, work days loss and decreasing system efficiency. Driving, has always been among the most exhausting, repetitive and mundane jobs in the world. In this study, we specifically assessed the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among city bus drivers in Isfahan. Bus drivers, as their job usually entails, are exposed to risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders such as vibration, inappropriate seat [not ergonomic], a worked posture and long hours of sitting [sedentary work] This was a randomized cress-sectional study among 178 drivers. The study was carried out in two times, in the morning [bigining of work day], after evening [end of work day] successively. The data were gathered using a questionnaire by an occupational health expert. The data include: type of vehicle, personal information of the driver, job record. the drivers past medical history [general, congenital, previous occupational diseases, etc], general specifications of the seat used, and finally the result of musculoskeletal disorders assessment using the Nordic questionnaire. Drivers were asked during their breaks. The general observation of the job was considered as well. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The most common compilations observed, included: pain and discomfort in lowerback, shoulders, knees and upper back with the frequency of 130, 115, 112, 91, 80 respectively. Dependent variables like weekly work hours, work years, and inappropriate seats had direct increasing effect on complications rates. Data processing proved significant musculoskeletal discomfort prevalence among drivers working overtime, who are over weighted or mainly taller than the others and these who have got longer work records or were using inappropriate seats. According to the study findings musculoskeletal discomfort prevalence was higher in drivers who; worked overtime, were overweighted, were taller, with longer work records, and using inappropriate seats

Prevalence of anti-CMV antibodies in blood donors in Urmia

Infection with cytomegalovirus [CMV] is very common. Contamiated persons can transmit the virus to normal recipients through blood donation. While infection with CMV in normal immunocompetent persons usually has no adverse outcomes, transmission of the virus to immunocompromised patients can lead to serious morbidity and mortality. So we designed a study to determine the prevalence rate of anti-CMV antibodies among the blood donors of Urmia Blood Transfusion Center. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the prevalence rate of anti-CMV antibodies [IgM, IgG] was estimated by ELISA method in serum samples obtained from 180 healthy blood donors in various age and sex groups of Urmia. According to the findings, all [100%] of the sera studied were positive for IgG irrespective of the age and sex of donors while only five persons [2.8%] had anti-CMV IgM at detectable levels. There were four males and one female, all living at urban regions with the age range of 20 to 50 years. The high rate of positive test results among blood donors indicated that nearly all of donated blood units have an infectious nature at least for immunocompromised patients. The findings of this study clearly show that it is time for all blood donations to be screened for CMV infectivity at least for immunocompromised group of recipients such as the patients with malignant diseases receiving chemotherapy and recipients of allograft organs. This group of patients should at least benefit from protective measures in blood transfusion including the use of leukocyte filters which is at the time being limited to thalassemic patients in our country

Does red blood cell distribution width [RDW] improve evaluation of microcytic anaemias?

The red cell distribution width [RDW] is an index of the variation in red cells size [anisocytosis]. A study was conducted to examine the validity of using RDW in improving classification of microcytic anaemias. A total of 300 blood samples collected from a patient population aged 3 months to 55 years who were referred for haemoglobin electrophoresis were examined at the Aga Khan University Hospital [AKUH]. On complete blood count, initially 200 patients [66.6%] were found to have hypochromic microcytic anaemia. Following haemoglobin electrophoresis 41% [82/200] patients were diagnosed to have thalassemia minor and 59% [118/200] had hypochromic microcytic anaemia with either a normal haemoglobin pattern or an abnormal haemoglobin. The mean [ +/- SD] RDW estimated in 250 apparently healthy Pakistani population was 14 [ +/- 1.5%]. Elevated RDW of 23% was present in 94% [110/118] of the patients with hypochromic microcytic anaemia due to other causes, whereas 48% [39/82] of the patients with thalassemia minor had elevated RDW of 16%. Also, of the 82 thalassemia minor, 28 patients had normal haemoglobin level, of which 6 had elevated RDW and of the 54 with low haemoglobin level, 35 had elevated RDW. RDW was normal in 41 patients with thalassemia minor trait. Our results suggest that RDW alone cannot be used as a reliable indicator to distinguish between thalassemia minor and other causes of microcytosis