The association of Kienbock's disease and ulnar variance in the Iranian population.

We retrospectively determined the distribution of ulnar variance in 60 patients with Kienböck's disease. We also measured the ulnar variances in 400 standard wrist radiographs in the normal adult population. The mean ulnar variance of the Kienböck's group was -1.1 mm (SD 1.7) and the mean ulnar variance of the general population was +0.7 (SD 1.5), which was significantly different. In the Kienböck's disease group there were 38 (63%) with ulnar negative, 16 (27%) neutral and six (10%) with ulnar positive variance. The preponderance of ulnar negative variance was statistically significant. There was an association between ulnar negative variance and the development of Kienböck's disease in this study.

Behavioural and clinical factors associated with depression among individuals with diabetes.

Depression has been linked to greater mortality and morbidity in diabetic patients, but this issue has not been adequately studied in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This cross-sectional study described the prevalence of depression in patients attending a diabetes clinic in Urmia and determined the associated sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical factors. Of 295 patients, 128 (43.4%) had depression scores (> or = 15) on the Beck Depression Inventory. The mean score for all patients was 15.4 (SD 9.5). Those with depression were significantly older and less educated than those without depression, had a longer duration of diabetes and were more likely to suffer complications. On logistic regression analysis, older age was the only variable significantly associated with depression.

Behavioural and clinical factors associated with depression among individuals with diabetes

Depression has been linked to greater mortality and morbidity in diabetic patients, but this issue has not been adequately studied in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This cross-sectional study described the prevalence of depression in patients attending a diabetes clinic in Urmia and determined the associated sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical factors. Of 295 patients, 128 [43.4%] had depression scores [>/= 15] on the Beck Depression Inventory. The mean score for all patients was 15.4 [SD 9. 5]. Those with depression were significantly older and less educated than those without depression, had a longer duration of diabetes and were more likely to suffer complications. On logistic regression analysis, older age was the only variable significantly associated with depression

Immune response to measles vaccine after mass vaccination in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran.

We investigated the effectiveness of the mass measles vaccination campaign in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran, by examining the measles IgG seroprevalence and antibody response from paired data before and after the campaign. The overall seropositive rate of 624 subjects aged 5-25 years increased 1 year after the mass vaccination (from 53.0% to 72.3%). A rise in antibody titre occurred in all age groups except the 21-25 years group, which had the highest titre before mass vaccination. On logistic regression analysis, only immune status prior to vaccination was significantly associated with the seroresponse. It may be cost-effective to check antibody titres before mass vaccinations, especially in high vaccine coverage regions with circulating wild virus.

Immune response to measles vaccine after mass vaccination in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran

We investigated the effectiveness of the mass measles vaccination campaign in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran, by examining the measles IgG seroprevalence and antibody response from paired data before and after the campaign. The overall seropositive rate of 624 subjects aged 5-25 years increased 1 year after the mass vaccination [from 53.0% to 72.3%]. A rise in antibody titre occurred in all age groups except the 21-25 years group, which had the highest titre before mass vaccination. On logistic regression analysis, only immune status prior to vaccination was significantly associated with the seroresponse. It may be cost-effective to check antibody titres before mass vaccinations, especially in high vaccine coverage regions with circulating wild virus

Factors affecting patients' rights practice: the lived experiences of Iranian nurses and physicians.

BACKGROUND: The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education published a 'Patient's Bill of Rights' in 2001. AIM: To gain insight into the perception and practice of patients' rights in Iran. This paper reports on Iranian nurses' and physicians' perceptions and lived experiences of respecting patients' rights. METHODS: A purposeful sample of eight nurses and five physicians working in a central teaching hospital in Tehran were interviewed during 2005-2006 for a qualitative study. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The emerging themes were categorized as 'barriers to patients' rights practice' and 'facilitators of patients' rights practice'. Under these themes three subgroups were discussed: awareness, resources and accountability. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals' lived experiences are an important source of data if managers and policy makers are to make changes and legislate for protecting and promoting patients' rights.

Predicting Factors in Iron Supplement Intake among Pregnant Women in Urban Care Setting.

BACKGROUND: The world health organization estimates that 58% of pregnant women in developing countries are anemic. In spite of the fact that most ministries of health in developing countries have policies to provide pregnant women with iron supplementation, prevalence of maternal anemia has not declined significantly. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to the current recommendation in the local population and to describe factors associated with taking iron supplementation during pregnancy. METHODS: A questionnaire assessing the use of prenatal iron supplementation was distributed among women recently having delivered in Urmia, west Azerbaijan Province, northwest Iran. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first included demographic information and the second part covered questions regarding duration of iron supplementation, awareness of per partum anemia and management including benefits and side effects of iron supplementation. SPSS version 10 was used for statistical analysis; data were analyzed by Chi-Square and logistic regression. RESULTS: Eighty seven percent of participants took iron supplements for at least 4 months. Training during pregnancy was associated with longer duration of iron use. In logistic regression analysis nuliparity was the only variable, which remained in the model .Knowledge of participants on anemia, was obviously poor. Health care stuffs were the main source of information. CONCLUSION: The compliance was rather high but knowledge of subjects was low. Therefore, increasing effort is required to mobilize health workers to distribute information on anemia prevention and using iron supplements properly.

Seroprevalence of human herpes virus-8 in renal transplant recipients: a single center study from Iran.

The long-term risk of malignancy among renal transplant patients is approximately 100 times that of the general population. Unlike North America and many European countries, Kaposi's sarcoma is the most common cancer after renal transplantation in most series reported from the Middle East. Human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) has a major role in the pathogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma. The risk of posttransplantation Kaposi's sarcoma is 23% to 28% among seropositive patients compared with 0.7% among seronegative patients. This study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of HHV-8 among our transplant recipients. The sera from 100 renal transplant recipients were examined by indirect immunofluorescence against latent nuclear antigen. Sixty of 100 patients were males. The overall mean age was 41.1 years (range, 17-74 years) with 17 patients older than 55 years. The mean transplantation duration was 41.6 months. Twenty-five percent of patients were seropositive for HHV-8. There was statistically significant seropositivity for HHV-8 among recipients older than 55 years (P=.02). Eight of 17 patients older than 55 years were seropositive (47%), whereas 17/83 patients younger than 55 years were seropositive (20%). There were no significant differences for HHV-8 seropositivity regarding sex, transplantation duration, and immunosuppressive regimen, including dose of immunosuppressive drugs and cyclosporine blood levels. In this study, we showed seropositivity for HHV-8 among a significant percentage of our renal transplant recipients, a finding which may render them at risk to develop Kaposi's sarcoma. Seropositive and seronegative patients were followed for 16 months. One HHV-8 seropositive patient (1/25) developed Kaposi's sarcoma.

Pattern of complementary and alternative medicine use in urban population.

BACKGROUND: To determine the prevalence and patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use in urban population in Isfahan. METHODS: In a crossâ€"sectional study through two-stage sampling methods, 870 individuals were selected from Isfahan Province, center of Iran. We selected 20 clusters randomly and chose one household from each cluster by chance then 24 households were included consequently. Subsequently a resident of each household aged 18 years or older was selected randomly. We assessed the rate of use, types of alternative medicine, and conditional disease during recent two years. RESULTS: The overall use of at least one method of complementary and alternative medicine was 62.5%. The most common problems were as follows: digestive problem, obesity and hyperlipidemia, as well as anxiety and depression. Herbal medicine and bless therapy were the most common methods that people chose. CONCLUSION: Regarding to high prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use, more attention to complementary and alternative medicine is mandate for physicians and health system managers. Health authorities' supervision and training of traditional practitioner is important not only for its economic impact and postponement of seeking treatment, but also for its untoward side-effects either alone or in combination with orthodox medicines.

Professional competence: factors described by nurses as influencing their development.

AIM: To discuss the results of a study that explored factors that may influence competence development. BACKGROUND: Competence, a controversial issue in health care settings, affects many aspects of the nursing profession, including education, practice and management. Although a number of research and discussion papers have explored the issue, in particular the meaning and assessment of nursing competence, to date little research has explored factors identified by nurses themselves as influencing their development of professional competence. METHODS: A purposive sample of 27 registered nurses was recruited from two university-affiliated hospitals. Data collection was by tape-recorded semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the qualitative methodology of content analysis. FINDINGS: Six descriptive categories were identified from the data: experience, opportunities, environment, personal characteristics, motivation and theoretical knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the factors influencing the process of developing professional competence in nursing extend across personal and extra-personal domains. An understanding of these factors may enhance the ability of nursing managers and educators to enable student and qualified nurses to pursue effective competency development pathways to prepare them to provide a high standard of care. These findings, which may have important implications for nursing practice, management and education, are being further tested in a larger study.