[Prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse in young people, 15-35 year old, living in Tehran, Iran]

This study was conducted in the first 6 months of the year 2005, to define the prevalence of alcohol, psychostimulant, and psychedelic drug abuse in teenagers and adults ranging 15 to 35 years old living in Tehran. This is a cross-sectional analysis and the study population encompassed persons aged 15 to 35 years living in Tehran. The study was performed from January to June 2005 in all of the 22 urban regions in Tehran. The information was collected through a written survey including demographic and relevant specified variables. The sampling method was clustered randomization in which 8175 individuals were surveyed. After sampling, the information was entered in the data bank and was analyzed with SPSS version 13. The prevalence of psychedelic drug abuse was 3.8%, psychostimulant drug abuse was 7.2%, and alcohol abuse was 25.7%. The mean age in each group of substance abusers was similar to that of the whole population, and the sex distribution was significantly higher in males. Physical exercise, marriage, and the presence of both parents in the family were variables which had a significant correlation with low prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse. Unstable relationships of parents had the most significant positive correlation with drug and alcohol abuse. In this study, we have shown that alcohol abuse has a high prevalence of 25.7% among the individuals of our study population, followed by psychostimulant and psychedelic drug abuse, [7.2% and 3.8% respectively]. Also, parental discord has a significant positive correlation with prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse

[Accuracy assessment of laparoscopic examination of intra-abdominal organs in trauma victims]

Performing traditional autopsy mostly seems to be unpleasant in dead persons' relatives' opinion. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of laparoscopic examination of intra abdominal organs in comparison to the traditional autopsy in trauma victims. From December 2004 to September 2005, 50 fresh cadavers of blunt trauma victims were studied in less than 24 hours from death time. Intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal organs were first evaluated by laparoscope and then the traditional autopsy was performed as gold standard. The organs were assessed regarding impairment and its grade in both ways. Diagnostic accuracy of laparoscope was determined for each case with 95% confidence interval using Fisher's exact test. The values of overall and distinct accuracy of laparoscopic examination for intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal organs were significantly comparable with traditional autopsy. The accuracy of laparoscopic evaluation of intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal organs were 90% [95% CI of 81.7% to 94.8%] and 92% [95% CI of 84.7% to 96%] respectively in comparison to open autopsy. The overall accuracy of laparoscopic examination was 84% [95% CI of 74.3% to 90.5%]. The sensitivity and specificity of laparoscopic examination for intraperitoneal but not retroperitoneal organs were acceptable in comparison to open autopsy. Laparoscopic examination seems to be an eligible substitute for the traditional autopsy in assessment of intraperitonel organs