High prevalence of HCV coinfection in HIV-infected individuals in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran

We carried out a cross-sectional survey in Shiraz to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus [HCV] in 1 444 individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]. We also determined the risk factors for this coinfection. Demographic and behavioural data were obtained using a standard questionnaire. The prevalence of HIV–HCV coinfection was 78.4% [95% CI: 76.3–80.5]. Intravenous drug use [OR = 7.2; 95% CI: 4.9–10.6], imprisonment [OR = 6.9; 95% CI: 4.6–10.4], tattooing in prison [OR = 2.61; 95% CI: 1.4–4.8], tattooing out of prison [OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.3–3.1] and age [OR = 1.02 with increasing each year of life; 95% CI: 1.0–1.04] were significantly associated with HCV–HIV coinfection. Prevalence of HCV–HIV coinfection is high in Shiraz. Intravenous drug use and imprisonment are the main risk factors for this coinfection. Therefore, serious implementation of HIV and HCV testing, education, prevention, care and treatment programmes and evaluation of harm reduction programmes in prisons are very important.

effect of health belief model educational program and jogging on control of sugar in type 2 diabetic patients

Researchers believe that most of diabetic patients are not necessarily aware of the role of exercises, especially jogging in controlling their disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of educational program and jogging based on health belief model [HBM] on sugar control in type 2 diabetic patients. One hundred diabetic [type 2] patients were involved in this prospective quasi- experimental interventional study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the HBM model, a check list for patient`s practices and a check list for recording the patient`s hemoglobin [HbA1C] and fasting blood sugar [FBS] levels. Our findings indicated that after intervention, there was a significant difference between the mean score of the HBM model variables [susceptibility, severity, benefit and perceived obstacles,] in the experimental group compared to the control group. Additionally, behavioral jogging, level of HbA1C and FBS levels improved significantly among the experimental group when compared to the control group. Applying the HBM model was found to be a very effective means for developing an educational program of jogging for diabetics, in order to control their blood sugar

Calculation of reproductive number using data from H1N1 patients in Fars province, Southern Iran

Effective reproductive number [Re] is an index which considers the proportion of susceptible people in a community. There are different methods for calculation of basic reproductive number. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive number using data from H1N1 patients in Fars Province, southern Iran. According to the data obtained, 233 cases were confirmed between July 15[th] and December 3[rd], 2009 Two waves were observed during this period with a peak in October 21[st] in Fars Province. In the first wave, the highest amount of Ro was 3.22 and the lowest amount was 2.12 and in the second wave, the highest and lowest amounts of Ro were 3.42 and 2.42, respectively. Effective reproductive number could not be more than 1.54. Thus in order to maintain Ro below 1, using preventive measures like vaccination, only 70% of population should be immune. As 54.9% of Fars population were immune against H1N1 if only 15.1 of them take part in vaccination program, the disease will not reach an epidemic level

Prevalence of breast cancer in a defined population of Iran

Prevalence of breast cancer In Asian developing countries is much lower than western developed countries. The main aim of this study was to measure breast cancer prevalence in a defined population of Iran. A total of 25201 women who were under coverage of [Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation [IKRF]], which is an organization for delivering supportive social and cultural services to the deprived and poor subgroups of the society, were involved in the study. The study was conducted during years 2007 and 2008. All subjects were interviewed for their sociodemographic features and underwent precise clinical and paraclinical breast examination. Mean age was 47 years with standard deviation 10 ranging from 11 to 88 years. Subjects were from deprived subgroups of the community; were mainly illiterate or had primary school education [86%] and majority of them [93%] had their first full-term pregnancy at age less than 26 years and also were multiparous. With confirmed diagnosis by breast biopsy, breast cancer prevalence was 0.15% [95%CI; 0.10-0.20]. Compared with developed countries, Asian developing countries have been at a lower risk of breast cancer development. It is seen that more deprived subgroups are at much lower risk. The more industrialized life is accompanied with more hazards

Influenza A [H1N1] virus pandemic in Fars Province: a report from southern Iran, July-December 2009

Influenza type A [H1N1] virus is considered as a major concern for health care system all over the world and imposes a considerable burden on the community. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of the disease in order to help health administrators in making decision for preventive measures. 297 definite cases of influenza A [H1N1] diagnosed from 15 July to 3 December 2009 in Fars province, south of Iran, were included in this study. Diagnosis was confirmed performing Real time-PCR. The patients' information including age, gender, occupation, nationality, education, residency area and history of overseas or domestic travel, history of contact with other influenza patients, and symptoms were collected and analyzed. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 24.4 +/- 15.8 years. 76 [25.6%] patients were admitted in the hospitals, of whom, 11 cases died due to related influenza complications with Case Fatality Ratio [CFR] of 4.4%. The most common reported symptoms were fever, cough and sore throat. There were two waves in the disease incidence, one about 1 month after emergence of the disease and another around 1 month after school openings. The first peak was observed mainly among adults with a history of foreign travel while the second peak was mainly observed among school students. The magnitude of the epidemic was much higher when the disease was transmitted between students at the beginning of the school year. Considering the high incidence of H1N1 flu among the students [41%], vaccination programs and preventive measures should target this age group

Surgical emergency room workload charecteristics: single center experience during one year

Having information on characteristics of work load of emergency surgical room in 3 working-shifts per day help to manage facilities and health care providers more efficiently. The aim of this study is to evaluate the workload pattern of 3 working-shifts of a day in Nemazee Hospital, southern Iran. The patients who were admitted in the surgical Emergency Room from April 2007 to May 2008 were enrolled including the patients' demographics, referral sources, the busiest working-shifts and the type of procedures performed in the Emergency Room. 33,837 emergency surgery referrals were recorded, of which 74.7% were male and 25.3% were female with a mean age of 30.8 +/- 20.1 years. The busiest working-shift of the day was between 8.00 PM and 8.00 AM, when 48.4% patients were admitted. 12.1% were admitted in the Emergency Room while 4.8% patients were admitted in the hospital wards and 5.6% underwent emergency surgery. 32.4% of them were discharged while 39.7% left the hospital with their own responsibility and 4.7% patients escaped from the hospital. The total number of the deaths during the study period was 0.7%. Our results showed that patients were mainly male teenagers and most of the accidents happened by motorbike during the busiest working-shift of the day from 8 PM to 8 AM. Therefore, it would be useful to persuade health system administrators to set up some educational programs to increase the awareness of families and teenagers regarding trauma and also to allocate more resources to shorten waiting lists

Comparison of the rhomboid fasciocutaneous transposition flap with primary simple closure in the treatment of uncomplicated pilonidal disease

Pilonidal disease is a common condition that affects younger people in which over half of the affected patients present with a sacrococcygeal abscess. This study was performed to compare the outcome of excision and primary closure with that of rhomboid excision and flap procedure in patients with uncomplicated pilonidal disease. A total of 90 consecutive patients with pilonidal disease were randomly divided into: group 1 who underwent the rhomboid fasciocutaneous transposition flap procedure [n=45] and group 2 who underwent excision and primary closure [n=45]. Length of hospital stay and postoperative complications, which included surgical site infection, seroma and hematoma, as well as the time to resumption of work and early recurrence were compared for all patients. Duration of hospital stay [p<0.001] and time to resumption of work [p<0.001] was less for group 1. During a median follow-up of 12 months, no recurrence was detected in patients in group 1 whereas six patients developed recurrence in group 2 [p=0.013]. Rhomboid fasciocutaneous transposition flap procedure, with its acceptable long-term results and shorter hospital stay, is preferable to simple excision and primary closure in the treatment of uncomplicated pilonidal disease