Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Keratomycosis is a fungal infection of the cornea which could be sight-threatening and even causes eye loss. Considering the high humidity and the dominance of agriculture as important predisposing factors of keratomycosis in north of Iran, this study was carried out for diagnosis of fungal keratitis in patients with corneal lesions in Rasht, Gilan province, Iran. 
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2015 to November 2016 on 56 patients with corneal lesion suspected to keratomycosis and referred to eye emergency ward of Amiralmomenin hospital, Rasht, Iran. Corneal scraping was performed in all cases and specimens were subjected to direct examination and culture. Only colonies grown in sites of corneal scraping inoculation were considered significant. Fungal isolates were identified according to their macroscopic features of colonies and microscopic characteristics in slide cultures. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 21 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA) and P<0.05 was considered significant.

Background: Suicide is one of the main health problems in different societies and is associated with different risk factors. The result of a suicide attempt is directly related to the selected method. Invasive suicides are known as violent methods of self-harm and are usually happened in different patterns of age and gender. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome and varieties of suicide via invasive methods in a long-term period in Ilam province, Iran.
Methods: In this retrospective study, the required data, including demographic variables, outcomes and the kind of invasive method was extracted from a comprehensive registration system of suicide cases, recorded by Ilam University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), to investigate the invasive suicides during the 1993-2013 years. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ilam University of Medical Sciences and based on this approval the permission to access the suicide data was issued. Data were entered into the SPSS 20 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and using descriptive statistical methods and chi-square were analyzed based on completed or attempted outcome of suicide.
Results: Among a total of 1516 cases of invasive suicide, 643 (42.6%) were attempted and 867 (57.4%) were completed suicides. Self-immolation method showed the highest frequency of suicide (both completed and attempted). The highest frequency of completed suicide was occurred in females (52.8%) but the attempted suicide was higher in males (63.6%). The age groups of 25-34 years and above 65 years indicated the highest frequencies of attempted and completed suicides respectively.
Conclusion: One of the main objectives of this study was identification of high risk groups who used the invasive methods for suicide commitments, based on their epidemiological characteristics such as gender and age. The results showed that women and elderly individuals were among the high-risk groups who committed completed suicide using the invasive methods and self-immolation attributed the most frequent method among invasive methods for suicide in Ilam province which resulted in death.

Background: The deficiency of enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is among the most common genetic diseases in human. The deficiency of G6PD enzyme is one of the most common encountered enzymes, affecting about 400 million people and causing a wide range of undesirable clinical complications worldwide. The performed studies have reported a variety of statements about the relationship between malaria and survival of people with defect, but these kinds of studies are limited in Iran. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of G6PD deficiency among newborns in malarious areas of Fars province.
Methods: The present study was conducted ecologically and descriptively-analytically on 59745 neonates with G6PD deficiency in Fars province, Iran from April 2011 to March 2015. To determine the defect, a point fluorescence test and Kimia commercial kit (KimiaPajoohan Co., Tehran, Iran) were used. To determine the areas with malaria, factors associated with malaria-causing cells in Fars province, including the presence of carriers, the presence of malaria, the incidence of new malaria and the presence of malaria activated sites were studied. The incidence of defect was calculated using the statistical method of estimating the annual incidence rate. ArcGIS software, version 10.3 (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA) was used to provide geographic mappings and distribution patterns in malarious areas.
Results: The total incidence of G6PD deficiency in newborns was estimated as 15.58 per 100 live births, including 16.25 for boys and 14.85 for girls. The incidence of this defect in malaria-prone areas was higher than other areas. As a region was more malaria-prone, the incidence of G6PD deficiency increased too, which was statistically significant (P= 0.039).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, Fars province is among areas with high incidence of G6PD deficiency. The incidence of G6PD deficiency in malaria-prone areas of Fars province, Iran, is higher than other regions, which indicates better survival of patients against malaria in the past.
 

Background: One of the most important causes of chronic liver disease is hepatitis C virus (HCV), which causes liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To control the prevalence of the disease, knowledge and information in risk factor of HCV are required. The aim of this study was to compare the risk factors of infection between HCV patients with genotypes 1a and 3a.
Methods: This is an observational analytical study. HCV patients who referred to the clinic of hepatology, Rasoul-e-Akram University Hospital from July 2015 to July 2017, were assigned to the genotype 1a and 3a. Demographic (age, sex, family history), clinical (cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma) and laboratory data, history of intravenous drug and alcohol usage, and history of imprisonment were gathered and compared between two groups. All the patients completed the informed consent form. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software, version 22 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA). P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Overall, 97 HCV patients were included in this study. Mean age was 45±12 years and 78 (80%) of patients were male. Among them, 58 (60%) and 39 (40%) had genotype 1a and 3a. respectively. History of injection drug usage was recorded in 34/39 (87%) of patients with genotype 3a, and significantly higher in genotype 3a as compared to genotype 1a [OR adj: 3.1, CI (1.3-6.2)]. Also, in this study, genotype 3a was significantly recorded in younger patients [OR adj: 1.7, CI (1.2-4.1)]. However, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was more common in patients with genotype 1a as compared to genotype 3a [OR adj: 2.05, CI (1.6-5.4) and OR adj: 2.8, CI (1.3-5.7)] respectively.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, hepatitis C virus transmission risk factors differed in genotypes 3a and 1a. Genotype 3a is found among young patients with a history of intravenous drug usage and genotype 1a in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: According to the direct connection between congenital hypothyroidism and iodine deficiency in pregnant women, also relatively high incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in some areas of Kerman province, especially Raver district located in North of Kerman province, this study was performed to determine and compare the urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in pregnant women referring to health centers.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was done during March 2014 and May 2015. Inclusion and exclusion criteria to be considered and UIC were measured by spectrophotometry in 384 and 374 pregnant women in Ravar and Kerman cities, Iran. Sampling method for this study was all of pregnant women in Ravar and random stratified sampling in Kerman. data were collected using a structured questionnaire. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Software, version 20.0 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA). Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation coefficient and Logistic regression were used for associations and differences.
Results: The mean UIC was 200.21 µg/L in pregnant women of Ravar and 238.79 µg/L in pregnant women of Kerman. 22.7% of pregnant women were with low concentrations of iodine, 57.8% within the normal range and 19.5 percent were with high iodine concentrations in Ravar. While 5.3 percent of pregnant women were with low concentrations of iodine, 54.5% were within the normal range and 40.1% were with high UIC in Kerman. There were no significant differences between demographic variables and UIC in the two regions (P> 05/0). Multivariate regression models showed significant connections between the residence and UIC pregnant women (P< 0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that UIC in pregnant women of Ravar was significantly lower than Kerman and the place of living can be considered as a predictor of UIC in pregnant women.

Background: Children's health, preserving and promoting it is a health priority of any society. Malnutrition affects all age groups, but malnutrition in children is one of the most common nutritional problems that can delay body growth, shortened height, frequent infections, mental retardation, the prevalence of mental disorders, lack of academic achievement and reduced efficacy. Because of the importance and impact of this issue in children, the purpose of this study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of underweight in Iranian children, in order to highlight the importance of this issue to health policy-makers.
Methods: A meta-analysis was performed for relevant articles in scientific databases including Scientific Information Database (SID), ScienceDirect, PubMed and Google Scholar. Entrance criteria included cross-sectional studies (March 1996 to February 2017) that had a low incidence of underweight in Iranian children in different parts of Iran. Non-relevant articles included review articles, interventions, cohorts and case studies, and studies that looked at obesity, overweight and the relationship between these factors and other diseases, excluded from the study list. Reference lists of identified articles were reviewed for additional articles. Heterogeneity of study was checked using I2 index and the possibility of publication bias by funnel plot and Begg and Mazumdar's rank correlation test and a significance level of 0.1. Data were analyzed using the comprehensive meta-analysis software, version 3 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA).
Results: In 26 articles reviewed in the study, total number of participants was 142938  persons at the age of 1 month to 12 years. The overall prevalence of underweight in Iranian children was 15.5% (Cl 95%: 12%-19.7%) during 1996 to 2017. The highest prevalence of underweight in was recorded in Birjand city in 2006 and Zahedan city in 2009, 68.6% (Cl 95%: 63.3%-72.9%) and the lowest prevalence of underweight in was found in city of Jahrom in 2013, 1.8% (Cl 95%: 1.2%-2.9%).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the prevalence of low-birth-weight in the country is high and requires interventional measures.

Background: Burns are one of the most devastating forms of trauma worldwide. In the elderly, flame and scald burns, or scalds alone, are the major causes of burns, occur at home, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom. Because elderly burned patients suffer from greater morbidity and mortality than younger patients with similar burn extents, preventing burns is paramount to continuing functionality and quality of life. Burns are largely explainable by characteristics of both the individual and the physical environment. Our study aims to analyses the epidemiologic characteristics of burn in the elderly (above 60 years old) in Iran.
Methods: Records of elderly patients (aged 60 and older) admitted with acute burns to the Burn Center of the Shahid Motahari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between March 2007 and March 2014 was carried out. Patient demographics, etiology of burn, mechanism of injury, burn extent, mortality, severity of burn, length of stay in hospital, and outcomes were reviewed. The information was analyzed by SPSS software, version 18 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). T-test, oneway anova and K square were used.
Results: A total of 374 elderly patients were admitted. Majority of the patients were men 231 (61.8%) and the number of women were 143(38.2%). The most common etiologies were scalds (20.3%) and (oil-benzine-gasoline) (19.8%). The mean age of the patient was 71.5 years, which was average in women (72) and men (70.5 years). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean age in both male and female groups, so that the mean age of women was significantly higher than men (P=0.004). There was a significant correlation between gender and (etiology, hospital stay-mortality) and between treatment outcome and (etiology and motivation) and between motivation and etiology (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Boiling water was the main cause of burning in older women. Diminished senses, concentration disorders, slower reaction time, reduced mobility, and bedridden states may decrease elder's ability to identify fire and also to escape harm.

Background: Tariff setting in healthcare is an important control knob affecting the quality, access and cost of services. As part of Iran Health Transformation Plan (HTP) in 2014, the relative value of health care and services was increased to motivate healthcare providers to deliver high quality services. This study aimed to examine the impact of HTP on health services tariffs.
Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study used the data from California Tariff Book (2013 edition) and the new relative value book (2016 edition). The weighted average of the relative value of the anesthetic and surgical services in both books was calculated and compared.
Results: The California book and the new relative value book had 5281 and 3448 service codes respectively in 13 major medical specialties (34.7 percent reduction of service codes in the new tariff book). Overall, 64985.9 K and 125133.6 K were considered in the California book and the new relative value book (92.6% growth). The California book and the new relative value book considered 25,976 K and 22,307 K for anesthesia services, respectively in those 13 medical specialties (14.1% reduction). The HTP has increased the relative value of healthcare services tariff by 1.9 times in average.
Conclusion: The HTP has doubled the tariff of healthcare services. A rise in the relative value of healthcare services has incurred financial burden on Iranian public health insurance companies and made it difficult to finance health system of the country. A sustainable health financing system should be developed as well a change should be applied in provider payment system to control the cost and increase the health system efficiency.

Background: Various prediction models have been developed aiming to estimate risk-adjusted mortality, morbidity and length of intensive care unit stay following cardiac surgeries. The European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation II (EuroSCORE II) is a prediction model which maps 18 predictors to a 30-day post-operative risk of death. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the EuroSCORE II risk-analysis predictions among patients who underwent heart surgeries.
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted to collect required variables for all consecutive patients underwent heart surgeries in Emam Reza hospital, Mashhad, Iran, from March 2014 to March 2015. Once the patient was hospitalized a cardiologist or a general physician evaluated pre- peri- and post-operative state to fill out the pre-designed structural paper form. Comparing the observed and expected mortality, the sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and finally the discrimination power of the model for our patients were calculated and reported. The model value was calculated using the online tool.
Results: A total of 1337 patients (60% males) were included, the observed mortality rate was 3.2%. Although the overall performance was acceptable, the model showed poor discriminatory power (AUC=0.667, CI 95%: 0.648-0.685) and accuracy with sensitivity=61.88% and specificity=66.23%.
Conclusion: Our single-center study, based on consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery showed that EuroSCORE II demonstrated a moderate statistical overall performance with poor discrimination and calibration measures remain as concerning issues regarding 30-day post-operative mortality prediction after adult cardiac surgery. Poor performance measures for this system show the need for reformulating this risk stratification tool aiming to improve post cardiac surgery outcome predictions in Iran.

Background: Hospital accreditation is a systematic external evaluation of a hospital’s structures, processes and results by an independent professional accreditation body using pre-established optimum standards. This study aimed to evaluate the hospital accreditation system.
Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out between November 2015 and February 2016 using a questionnaire covering accreditation standards, methods, surveyors, implementation and effects. The study population consisted of 161 hospital managers in Tehran province, Iran. Overall 87 hospital managers were surveyed through stratified random sampling.
Results: The mean score of managers’ satisfaction of hospital accreditation system was 2.93 out of 5 score. About 16 percent of managers were satisfied with the hospital accreditation system. Hospital managers were most satisfied with accreditation effects (3.14) and least satisfied with accreditation standards (2.54). Hospital managers were satisfied with surveyors’ attitude, number of survey days and the number of surveyors in the accreditation team. They were least satisfied with the lack of consistency among surveyors, lack of transparency of standards, too many standards and low competency of surveyors. Hospital managers mostly believed that accreditation should be done by Ministry of Health, compulsory, and every two years. About 97 percent of managers agreed that self-assessment is necessary and beneficial prior to the accreditation survey.
Conclusion: Accreditation was moderately successful in Tehran hospitals. Accreditation had the most effect on improving patient safety and meeting patients' rights and least effect on improving employees' job satisfaction and involving doctors in quality improvement. Strengthening Iran hospital accreditation system, training managers and employees on implementing standards, and providing necessary resources make it possible to achieve accreditation goals.

Head injury is one of the most important types of injury and is responsible for most of the deaths due to trauma. Low-income and middle-income countries face with more risk factors, but they still lack adequate health-care capacity to deal with complications. Trauma literally means the damage and injury, and head injury was defined as physical damage to the brain or skull caused by external forces. Head trauma is an important event. Anyone can fall including toddlers, adults and elders. There are several mechanisms for head injury, including motor vehicle accidents, falls, assault and violence. After the motor vehicle accidents, fall is the second most important cause of head injury. Deaths from falling in countries with lower socioeconomic conditions are higher. To collect the information for this study, the PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases were used. Sixty-four related articles were reviewed from 1980 to 2018. The keywords including "head injury", "head trauma", "brain damage", "fall mechanism", "Iran" and "epidemiology" were used to search the articles. According to the findings of this review fall is the second most common head injury mechanism in Iran. The fall mechanism is more common in the age group of young children and elderly. Also, the incidence of fall mechanism is more in males with head injury than women. In most other countries in the world, fall is the first and the second head injury mechanism. Also, falling from lower altitudes is a more common mechanism than a fall from higher altitude in injury to the head. Falling from lower level is a more common mechanism than fall from higher level in head injuries. In addition, the outbreak of the fall mechanism in children and the elderly with head injuries is more. Despite the efforts that have been made in the past years to determine the pattern of epidemiology of head trauma and its results in Iran, there is not enough information on fall-related head injury. Considering that the head traumatic injury is one of the most common and most dangerous outcomes of fall, the purpose of this review study is to investigate epidemiologic fall-related head injury.

Background: In forensic anthropological identification, we usually use body remains. Accurate sex estimation from these remains is very important and needs the knowledge of specific population standards of that area. Sometimes, human remains are damaged by environmental circumstances. So, we must examine single bones for sex estimation. One of the relatively resistant bones to environmental conditions are hand bones. Specific hand phalanges and metacarpals have significantly different dimensions in two sexes depending to each population and can be a helpful tool to estimate the gender of individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of estimating gender using phalanges and metacarpals dimensions in Iranian people.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted on the X-ray images of adult people hands between the months of March and September 2017. They referred to Shafayahyaian Hospital, the educational and referral center of orthopedic disease of Iran University of Medical Sciences, in Iran. 200 adult persons (100 male and 100 female) without any background of specific disease, entered in our study. In each case, the length of D: distal phalanx, M: middle phalanx, P: proximal phalanx, MC: metacarpal, Fl: finger length, and T: total (Distal phalanx+middle phalanx+proximal phalanx+soft tissue of the finger tip) were measured in millimeter and reported in ratio. All analyses were done using SPSS software, version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: Student t-test showed that many ratios were significantly different between two genders. It is concluded that the length ratio of metacarpals and phalanges could be used for sex determination. The most valuable ratios were FL1/FL3 and MC4/MC5. Multivariate logistic regression test reported an equation by which the gender is predictable. Z= 5.856+ -3.904 X FL1/FL3+ -1.865 X MC4/MC5.
Conclusion: If “Z=0”, the gender is male and if “Z=1”, it is female without any doubt. In our knowledge, this study provides the first population sex estimation formulae from the hand bones in Iranian population. However, we need further studies in larger groups to use this equation for sex determination in forensic contexts.

Background: The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a child neurodevelopmental disorder has increased significantly during the past 3 decades worldwide and in Iran. This chronic disease does not cause premature death and there is no definitive treatment. Thus, the cost of ASD is extremely heavy and overwhelming. The purpose of this study is to calculate the economic burden of ASD in Iran.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted to calculate all-important ASD costs. Two hundred and ninety autism patients in Tehran participated in this study in 2017 with the support of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to estimate direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs and indirect costs.
Results: The annual economic burden of ASD is estimated to be 223,561,841 Rials ($6,883 2014 USD) per patient in Tehran, Iran in 2017. Approximately 32%, 52% and 16% of the total cost were direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs. The average ASD direct cost was $5,765 of which 38% was direct medical costs and 62% was direct non-medical costs. The average annual ASD direct medical cost was $2,215 per patient of which 70%, 16% and 7% were related to rehabilitation, medicine and doctor visit costs. The average annual ASD direct non-medical cost was $3,550 per patient of which 35% was the cost of parents’ immigration to Tehran to receive health care services. The average annual ASD indirect cost for productivity loss from unemployment or reduced work productivity was estimated at $1,118. The largest cost component was parents’ productivity loss due to caregiving (70%).
Conclusion: Autism imposes substantial direct and indirect economic effects on patients and their families. Hence, health policy makers must take the most effective measures to make best use of scarce societal resources, to reduce the cost of the disease for patients and their families and subsequently, reduce its psychosocial burden.

Background: Campylobacter genus is considered some of the most important agents of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Campylobacter coli (C. coli) is accounted to at least 25% of all Campylobacter related diarrheal diseases moreover, C. coli infections can result in severe complications, such as bacteremia, sepsis, meningitis and spontaneous abortion. Finally, there is evidence that the frequency of antimicrobial resistance is higher in C. coli, when compared to C. jejuni. There is no data regarding the frequency and antibiotic resistance profile of C. jejuni isolated from human gastroenteritis samples. The present study aimed to determine the frequency and antibiotic resistance patterns of Campylobacter coli isolated from infectious diarrhea samples.
Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, 200 infectious diarrhea samples collected in Arak University of Medical Sciences Hospitals, Markazi Province, Iran, from May to November 2015 were subjected to the study. In order to identify C. coli modified Gram stain, modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) and Brucella agar media with filter and CeuE gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were accomplished. Antibiotic resistance against tetracycline, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin and gentamicin was evaluated phenotypically and genotypically.
Results: In total, out of 200 modified gram stained samples, 2 cases (1%) of C. coli were identified. Cultivating methods using mCCDA medium found 2 isolates (1%), 3 isolates (1.5%) were grown on Brucella agar with filter and 5 cases (2.5%) were determined as C. coli using PCR assay. Antibiotic resistance was observed in 5 cases against tetracycline, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin (100%), in 4 cases against ampicillin (80%), in 2 cases against gentamicin (40%), in 5 cases with CmeB, 23srRNA mutation in, qnrS, tet (o) (100%), in 4 cases with gyrA4 (80%), in 3 cases with gyrA5 (60%), in 5 cases with gyrA6 (100%), in 4 cases with Oxa61 (60%) and in 1 case with aphA-3-1 (20%).
Conclusion: In this present study C. coli with low prevalence and entire resistance to ciprofloxacin and erythromycin which are the first line antibiotic for the treatment of campylobacter gastroenteritis is introduced as a causative agent of gastroenteritis in patients at central part of Iran.

Background: Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are obligate ectoparasites of mankind, and are mainly transmitted head to head directly from one person to another. Human head lice treatment is faced with some challenges such as lack of complete treatment and the need for treatment repeatedly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two pediculicide products (substances used to treat human head lice infestation); 1% permethrin shampoo and 4% dimethicone lotion.
Methods: In this clinical trial, 140 cases of head lice infested people that were referred to the urban comprehensive health centers of Qom provincial health center related to Qom University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Iran, from April to March 2017. The cases randomly were treated with two pediculicide products; 1% permethrin shampoo and 4% dimethicone lotion. The outcome of the treatment included removal of adult human head lice, nymphs, and nits in confirmed human cases at 14 and 21 days after starting treatments were considered.
Results: The success rate of human head lice infestation treatment in case of double use (at one-week intervals) with 1% permethrin shampoo and 4% dimethicone lotion was 65.7% and 62.9%, respectively. There was no statistical significance between the therapeutic effects of the two above-mentioned methods (odds ratio=1.22, P=0.59, CI=0.6-2.5). While the recovery rate of men compared to women was 3.8 (P=0.036), it was 3.1 (P=0.05) for housewives compared to students, and in families with one case compared to ones with more than one patient, this rate was found to be 3 (P=0.034). Family size was one of the most important variables that had a significant effect on the therapeutic rate of 1% permethrin shampoo and 4% dimethicone lotion.
Conclusion: The findings of this study do not support the reduction in efficacy of 1% permethrin shampoo and 4% dimethicone lotion as pediculicide products.

Background: Nutrition education and introduction of procedures for choosing healthier food have an important role to reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases. It was shown the amount of risk factors of non-communicable diseases such as energy, salt, sugar, fat and trans fatty acid on the traffic light of food labelling. The status of risk is presented through three colors of red, yellow and green that are the signs of risk, precautious and safe use of food. The object of this study was to evaluate the influence of education on the knowledge, attitude and practices of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences students to the traffic light on food labeling.
Methods: This project was an empirical study performed by random sampling of 379 students of nine schools in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from January 2017 to March 2018. The knowledge, attitude and practices of students toward the traffic light were assessed by self-administered and structured questionnaire. Education was performed face to face with the usage of pamphlet. In the period of three to six months, questionnaires were refilled out by students to determine knowledge, attitude and practice. Descriptive statistics were calculated using SPSS in mean± SD. Paired t-test was performed to assess the influence of education in total score of knowledge, attitudes and practices in test-retest. P value was considered less than 0.05 as statistically significant.
Results: Before education, the average of scores for knowledge, attitude and practice was 1.12±0.84, 14.44±4 and 2.25±2.2, respectively. Afterwards, the scores were increased to 11.72±0.75, 18.67±3.18 and 17.69±4.7 after education. Significant difference was observed in the scores of knowledge, attitude and practice of students before and after education (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Education of traffic light had a significant role in the improvement of knowledge, attitude and to some extent of practice of students in selection of healthier food.

Background: Metronidazole resistant clostridium difficile is one of significant pathogens in Iran. It is one of the WHO-declared microbial resistance emergencies. Prevalence of metronidazole resistant clostridium difficile is rising. The aim of this study was to detect prevalence of metronidazole-resistant clostridium difficile using meta-analysis in Iran.
Methods: This study was conducted as a meta-analysis. Articles and derivatives were reviewed by two researchers. Initially, each of the researchers searched the databases separately and used all available Persian and English articles in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from October 2017 to February 2018. Persian databases (including Magiran, Irandoc, Barakat and SID) and international databases (including PubMed, Sciencedirect, and Scopus) were searched during this period (2007-2016) with a combination of phrases and keywords. The list of references to these studies has also been evaluated and relevant articles have been included in the study. First, all the articles were extracted and then duplicated articles were deleted using the EndNote software, version X6 (Thomson Reuters™, New York, NY, USA) through the search for electronic banks. Such that the high heterogeneity (50% Results: From the search of medical databases at first, 68 articles were selected. In total, 19 remaining studies entered the meta-analysis phase. In this study, the overall prevalence of clostridium difficile is 32.57% (CI95%: 21.86-44.30); in 2016 it was 55.25% (CI95%: 50.22-60.19) and in 2009 was14.26% (CI95%: 12.32-16.37). The heterogeneity was estimated to be 98.7% (CI95%: 98.5-98.8).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the prevalence of metronidazole resistant clostridium difficile in Iran is high and increasing.

Background: Identifying determinants of maternal mortality is essential in developing appropriate health policies for reduction of maternal death. This study aimed to determine the determinants of maternal mortality in Iran during 1990- 2015 and also to identify the trends of these determinants during the same period.
Methods: This is a quantitative longitudinal study that has been conducted at the Tehran University of Medical Science, Iran, from March to December 2018. Initially, a long list of determinants (n=32) were identified through a comprehensive systematic reviews. Variables with more than 25% missing data were omitted and the missing values for remaining variables were estimated through statistical methods. The data for the identified variables were gathered through internal sources including Iran’s Ministry of Health and international sources including the websites of World Bank, World Health Organization and United Nations. Finally, 12 indicators as determinants of death were constructed after data processing and data management and their associations with maternal mortality rate in Iran were examined through regression analysis.
Results: Maternal mortality rate has been reduced by 80% during 1990- 2015 in Iran. Improvement of indicators including employment status, total health expenditure share (as a percent of GDP), vaccination coverage, urbanization, access to health and welfare facilities, GDP per capita and political performance played a significant role in reduction of maternal deaths according to the multivariate analyses. A reduction in out of pocket payment and total fertility rate also showed a significant association with lower maternal mortality. However neither education level in the country nor life expectancy at birth showed an important role in the maternal mortality rate.
Conclusion: Maternal mortality rate was reduced significantly in Iran during the last quarter of the century. Maternal death is not only affected by health and biological factors of mothers, but also, by macro-economic, social and welfare factors. A high political performance of the countries also is a grantor of better health of mothers and the community in general.

Background: Psychosocial issues and quality of life are important components at the patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis is a chronic liver disease that can affect quality of life of patients. In this study, we compared the quality of life between patients with hepatitis B and C and finally presented a structural model about it.
Methods: In a prospective analytic study, 86 patients with hepatitis B and 86 with hepatitis C who referred to the Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital in Tehran from April 2015 to April 2018 were compared regarding the quality of life and health-related quality of life. The clinical and radiographic data of patients were extracted from their medical records. The 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) was used for the evaluation quality of life and health-related quality of life. The questionnaire consisted of 36 questions in eight sub-scales (physical performance, physical role, physical pain, general health, vitality, social role, emotional role, and mental health).
Results: Generally, the quality of life score was significantly lower in patients with hepatitis C (34.13±9.37) than patients with hepatitis B (51.5±10.5) (P=0.001). Except for the physical role and vitality, all other SF-36 subscales were significantly lower in the HCV patients group (P>0.05). Based on the results of logistic regression, the emotional dimension of patients was reported as most important effect on the quality of life in patients [(OR=9.15, 95% CI=(4.11-15.41), P=0.001)]. Based on the results of linear analysis, hepatitis type [(B=4.21, P=0.001)], patient income [(B=2.57, P=0.001)], the level of education [(B=2.9, P=0.014)] and the gender of patients [(B=2.77, P=0.023)] were reported as most important factors affecting the quality of life of patients, respectively. There was no significant difference between age, body mass index and smoking reported in patients' quality of life (P>0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the quality of life in patients with hepatitis C was significantly lower than the quality of life in patients with hepatitis B.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an important infectious disease with high mortality in the world. None of the countries stay safe from TB. Nowadays, different factors such as Co-morbidities, increase TB incidence. World Health Organization (WHO) last report about Iran's TB status shows rising trend of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV/TB. More than 95% illness and death of TB cases are in developing countries. The most infections are in South East Asia and West Pacific that 56% of them are new cases in the world. The incidence is actually new cases of each year. Incidence prediction is affecting TB prevention, management and control. The purpose of this study is designing and creating a system to predict TB incidence by time series artificial neural networks (ANN) in Iran.
Methods: This study is a retrospective analytic. 10651 TB cases that registered on Iran’s Stop TB System from March 2014 to March 2016, Were analyzed. Most of reliable data used directly, some of them merged together and create new indicators and two columns used to compute a new indicator. At first, effective variables were evaluating with correlation coefficient tests then extracting by linear regression on SPSS statistical software, version 20 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). We used different algorithms and number of neurons in hidden layer and delay in time series neural network. R, MSE (mean squared error) and regression graph were used for compare and select the best network. Incidence prediction neural network were designed on MATLAB® software, version R2014a (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA).
Results: At first, 23 independent variables entered to study. After correlation coefficient and regression, 12 variables with P≤0.01 in Spearman and P≤0.05 in Pearson were selected. We had the best value of R, MSE (mean squared error) and also regression graph in train, validation and tested by Bayesian regularization algorithm with 10 neuron in hidden layer and two delay.
Conclusion: This study showed that artificial neural network had acceptable function to extract knowledge from TB raw data; ANN is beneficial to TB incidence prediction.