Knowledge, attitude and practice towards blood donation in Iranian population.

BACKGROUND: The increase in demand for blood products because of new surgical and medical procedures seeks more research to find new ways to recruit people to donate blood. OBJECTIVE/AIM: To determine the level of people's knowledge about donating blood considering its relation with infectious and chronic diseases, drug abuse, unsafe sexual intercourse, menstruation and anaemia. In addition, their attitude towards blood donation regarding their previous behaviour and factors such as altruism, religion, family, fears and availability of blood donation centres has been evaluated. METHODS: This study was conducted in Tehran, Iran in 2009 on 1000 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires that comprised 37 questions considering demographic and background characteristics, level of knowledge and positive and negative attitudes towards blood donation. Finally, data were analysed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Of 1000 in this study, 26% were donors, of whom 55% had donated blood more than once. The mean knowledge score of the participants was 8·6, which was associated with the subjects' gender and level of education (P = 0·031 and P < 0·001, respectively). Age, gender and level of education were significantly associated with one's attitude towards blood donation (P = 0·021, P < 0·001 and P = 0·003,respectively). Ninety-five percent of people have stated that their main motivation to donate blood was altruism. CONCLUSION: Altruism and being encouraged by others had the leading roles in peoples' positive attitude towards blood donation; whereas hard access to blood donation centres seemed to be the main inhibitory factor.

Positive exercise tolerance test (ETT) on asymptomatic Iranian cases aged over 60 years.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic importance of positive exercise treadmill test (ETT) in predicting coronary artery disease (CAD) among asymptomatic population based on coronary angiographic findings. METHODS: The comparative study was conducted on a sample of over 60-year-old asymptomatic and symptomatic patients referred to our clinics for screening and clinical reasons between September 2006 and September 2007. All subjects with a positive ETT provided information about their cardiovascular risk factors through a validated questionnaire. The relationship between ETT performance and the CAD risk factors with coronary angiography were studied and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Seven hundred thirty one symptomatic and 160 asymptomatic individuals were enrolled in the study. In the symptomatic group, gender, blood pressure and diabetes were significantly related with the angiographic findings, while blood pressure failed to show such a relation in the asymptomatic group. CONCLUSION: There is an association between positive ETT and the presence of CAD among asymptomatic elderly men but also women with diabetes or high blood pressure.

Validity and reliability of a new food frequency questionnaire compared to 24 h recalls and biochemical measurements: pilot phase of Golestan cohort study of esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: A pilot study was carried out to evaluate validity and reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which was designed to be used in a prospective cohort study in a population at high risk for esophageal cancer in northern Iran. METHODS: The FFQ was administered four times to 131 subjects, aged 35-65 years, of both sexes. Twelve 24-h dietary recalls for two consecutive days were administered monthly during 1 year and used as a reference method. The excretion of nitrogen was measured on four 24-h urine samples, and plasma levels of beta-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and alpha-tocopherol was measured from two time points. Relative validity of FFQ and 24-h diet recall was assessed by comparing nutrient intake derived from both methods with the urinary nitrogen and plasma levels of beta-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and alpha-tocopherol. RESULTS: Correlation coefficients comparing energy and nutrients intake based on the mean of the four FFQ and the mean of twelve 24-h diet recalls were 0.75 for total energy, 0.75 for carbohydrates, 0.76 for proteins and 0.65 for fat. Correlation coefficients between the FFQ-based intake and serum levels of beta-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and vitamin E/alpha-tocopherol were 0.37, 0.32, 0.35 and 0.06, respectively. Correlation coefficients between urinary nitrogen and FFQ-based protein intake ranged from 0.23 to 0.35. Intraclass correlation coefficients used to measure reproducibility of FFQ ranged from 0.66 to 0.89. CONCLUSION: We found that the FFQ provides valid and reliable measurements of habitual intake for energy and most of the nutrients studied.

Effect of tranexamic acid on early postvitrectomy diabetic haemorrhage; a randomised clinical trial.

AIMS: To evaluate the effect of tranexamic acid on early postvitrectomy haemorrhage in diabetic patients. METHODS: In a clinical trial, 62 diabetic patients scheduled for vitrectomy were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group (32 eyes) received two doses of tranexamic acid (10 mg/kg) shortly before and after the operation intravenously, continued orally for 4 days (20 mg/kg/8 hours). The control group (30 eyes) received no medication. Both media clarity and visual acuity were compared during 4 weeks. RESULTS: Four weeks after surgery visual acuity was low (< or =1 metre counting fingers) in 21.4%, moderate (>1 metre counting fingers but<20/200) in 14.3%, and good (> or =20/200) in 64.3% of the treated group. Corresponding figures in the control group were 26.1%, 26.1%, and 47.8%, respectively. These differences were of no statistical significance. The ratio of mild to severe vitreous haemorrhage during the first 4 days and after 4 weeks was 79% to 21% and 82% to 18% in the treatment group and 76.7% to 23.3% and 78.3% to 21.7% in the control group respectively, which showed no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: Tranexamic acid, with the method of administration in this study, had no effect on reducing early postvitrectomy haemorrhage in diabetic patients.

Prevalence and associated factors of insomnia syndrome in the elderly residing in kahrizak nursing home, tehran, iran.

BACKGROUND: As insomnia is common, especially among the elderly in the nursing homes, we aimed to estimate insomnia prevalence among the elderly residing in nursing homes as well as to determine factors associated with insomnia in the elderly. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2009 on 772 elderly residents at Kahrizak Nursing Home, Tehran Iran. The information was gathered through 5-part questionnaires by interviewing either the individuals or the nurses in charge and also reviewing the subjects' medical files. Eventually, the necessary data were analyzed using oneway ANOVA and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 76.8 ± 8.05 years (range, 65 to 107 years). Based on the results, 303 (39.2%) of the elderly, including 86 (34.7%) men and 217 (41.1%) women, had insomnia syndrome. 433 (56.1%) participants complained of difficulty initiating sleep, 357 (46.2%) of disrupted sleep, 362 (46.9%) of early morning awakening, and 313 (40.5%) of non-restorative sleep. Our findings also showed that age (P = .004), number of diseases (P = .019), motility status (P = .017), sleep environment satisfaction (P < .001), cognitive status (P = .023), and functional autonomy (P = .003) were significantly associated with insomnia. CONCLUSION: Insomnia is a prevalent disorder amongst the nursing home elderly population, especially elderly women, and several pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical factors may trigger its occurrence. However, to prevent this problem, further studies are required in Iran and Middle Eastern region to establish a reliable understanding about insomnia patterns, causes, and cures.

Morphological and morphometrical description of trichostrongylus species isolated from domestic ruminants in khuzestan province, southwest iran.

BACKGROUNDS: Genus Trichostrongylus (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae) is one of the most important zoonotic nematodes with wide geographic distribution in the world. The purpose of the present study was to describe morphological and morphometrical characteristics of male Trichostrongylus species, currently prevalent in domestic ruminants of Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. METHODS: Gastro-intestinal organs of 1600 sheep, goats, cattle, and buffalos, slaughtered in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, were examined for infectivity with Trichostrongylus species. For examination and measurements of helminthes, Azo-carmine staining was performed, followed by camera lucida drawings of morphological characters and measurements of morphometrical criteria with a calibrated microscope. Using valid nematodes systematic keys, almost all the parasites were identified at the level of species. RESULTS: Overall, 114 animals were found infected with at least one species of Trichostrongylus. Considering morphological characteristics of male Trichostrongylus, six species were identified including T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus, T. probolorus, T. capricola, T. longispicularis and Trichostrongylus sp. CONCLUSION: Although, compared to the previous decades, currently Trichostrongylus is much less prevalent in the domestic ruminants of the study area, but still different species occur in these animals.

Effect of breastfeeding education on the feeding pattern and health of infants in their first 4 months in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Shiraz, the Islamic Republic of Iran, on 120 pairs of mothers and infants in a maternity hospital that had a rooming-in programme. All 59 mothers in the study group received breastfeeding education, face-to-face, after delivery and during follow-up for 4 months in the mother and child health (MCH) centre or in their homes; the remaining 61 mothers comprised the control group. Exclusive breastfeeding rates were significantly higher in the study group (54%) than in the control group (6.5%), but 5% and 18% of infants, respectively, in the study and control groups had stopped breastfeeding by the age of 4 months. The mean number of days of diarrhoea experienced by infants in the study group were significantly lower (P < or = 0.004) than in the control group. At the end of 4 months, the mean weight and length of the infants were significantly higher (both P < 0.05) in the study group than in the control group. The findings indicate that rooming-in is very important for promoting exclusive breastfeeding and that there is a need for continuous breastfeeding education of mothers.

PIP: This document presents a quasi-experimental study of the effect of breast-feeding education on the duration of exclusive breast-feeding and on the feeding pattern and health of infants in their first 4-months in Shiraz, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The subjects, all of low socioeconomic status, were selected according to the following criteria: they were primiparae, their pregnancy had been normal, followed by vaginal delivery, and they had no chronic disease and were not taking any medication. The 120 mothers were randomly assigned, according to their delivery on odd or even days, to the study (S) or control (C) group, respectively. 59 mothers in the study group received face-to-face breast-feeding education after delivery and during follow-up for 4 months in the mother and child health (MCH) center or in their homes; the remaining 61 mothers comprised the control group. Results showed that at 54%, the study group had higher rates of exclusive breast-feeding than did the control group at 6.5%, but that 5% and 18% of infants, respectively, in the control group and study group had stopped breast-feeding by the age of 4 months. The mean number of days of diarrhea experienced was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. At the end of 4 months the mean weight and length of infants were significantly higher (both P 0.05) in the study group than in control group. These findings indicate that rooming-in is very important for promoting exclusive breast-feeding and that breast-feeding education of mothers should be continued.