ContextThe world health organization (WHO) recommends that all blood donations should be screened for evidence of infections, such as hepatitis B. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in blood donors at the eastern Mediterranean region office (EMRO) of the WHO and middle eastern countries.Evidence AcquisitionA meta-analysis was carried out based on the results of an electronic literature search of PubMed, Ovid, Scopus, and Google Scholar for articles published from January 1, 2000, to August 31, 2015. In accordance with a significant homogeneity test and a large value of I2, the random effects model was used to aggregate data from the studies and produce the pooled estimates using the “Metan” command.ResultsWe included 66 eligible studies. The pooled prevalence of HBsAg in blood donors of both EMRO and middle eastern (E and M) countries was 2.03% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.79 – 2.26). In addition, the prevalence rates in the EMRO countries was 1.99% (95% CI: 1.84 – 2.14) and 1.62% in the Middle Eastern countries (95% CI: 1.36 – 1.88). The prevalence among blood donors with more than one study was 1.58% in Egypt, 0.58% in Iran, 0.67% in Iraq, 2.84% in Pakistan, 3.02% in Saudi Arabia, 1.68% in Turkey, and 5.05% in Yemen.ConclusionsBased on the WHO classification of hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence, the prevalence of HBsAg in blood donors from E and M countries reached an intermediate level. However, there were low prevalence levels in some E and M countries.

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BackgroundOver the past decade, cardiovascular diseases have been recognized as the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most prevalent types of cardiovascular diseases that is caused by the closure of coronary arteries and ischemic heart muscle. Numerous studies have analyzed the role of H. pylori as a possible risk factor for coronary artery diseases, in most of which the role of infection in coronary artery disease is not statistically significant.MethodsThese contradictory findings made us conduct a systematic review to analyze all relevant studies in Iran through a meta-analysis and report a comprehensive and integrated result. All published studies from September 2000 until September 2016 were considered. Using reliable Latin databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, Google search, Scopus, Science Direct and Persian databases like SID, Irandoc, Iran Mede and Magiran. After quality control, these studies were entered into a meta-analysis by using the random effects model. After evaluating the studies, 11 papers were finally selected and assessed.ResultsA total of 2517 participants had been evaluated in these studies, including 1253 cases and 1264 controls. Based on the results of meta-analysis and using random effects model, an overall estimate of OR Helicobacter Pylori with Presence of Myocardial Infarction in Iran was OR=2.53 (CI=1.37–4.67).ConclusionsThe results of this review study show that H. pylori are associated with the incidence of MI so that the odds ratio of MI in the patients with helicobacter pylori is twice greater than that of the people without H. pylori. Future studies are recommended to evaluate the mechanisms associated with relation of H. pylori with MI as well as its association with time.

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Context:The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of HBsAg in pregnant women using available data in Eastern Mediterranean Region Office (EMRO) and Middle Eastern countries from 2000 to 2016. 10.8% Yemen. Conclusions:The available data on the prevalence of HBsAg in pregnant women of EMRO and Middle East countries showed that there was a different pattern of HBsAg prevalence in studied countries. Although there were countries with low prevalence of HBsAg, the lowest frequency in our study was higher than the reported prevalence in developed countries.

Background:There is considerable disagreement over the effects of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on left ventricular diastolic function that has necessitated the investigation of diastolic indices. The present study was conducted to evaluate left ventricular diastolic function and its indices, three months after performing the PCI procedure in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods:In a quasi-experimental clinical trial study (before and after), 51 patients with CAD scheduled for elective PCI were investigated provided that their Ejection Fraction (EF) was > 30%. Before and three months after PCI, echocardiography was carried out to evaluate left ventricular diastolic indices including the E/Ea as the most important criteria for diagnosis of diastolic heart failure (DHF).Results:Based on the E/Ea indices and after PCI, the number of patients with DHF decreased significantly: 40 patients (78.4%) before PCI versus 28 patients (54.9%) after PCI (p<0.05). The Mean and Standard error of deceleration time (DT), isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), early diastolic mitral annulus velocity; Ea (E’), E/Ea and left ventricular ejection function (LVEF) indices underwent significant changes. In addition, MVA dur/PVA dur, PVs/PVd, and E/Ea indices had changed significantly after PCI in both genders. However, no significant difference was reported for the other indices.Conclusion:The E/Ea ratio as an important criterion for diagnosis of DHF was improved after PCI. Improvement of several other diastolic indices was observed after the PCI procedure. It can be concluded that PCI can be an effective treatment modality in patients with left ventricular diastolic indices.

Background: Several studies in the recent decade have supported a relationship between different types of infections and CHD (Coronary Heart Disease); however, such a relationship is not definitely proven. Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common infections in human. The role of inflammation in the pathogens of CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) has been widely discussed; although, the mechanism is not clearly known yet. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis all case-control articles on the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and CHD published from 31st June 2000 to 31st June 2016 indexed in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Iranian databases Magiran, Iran Medex, Irandoc, and SID were included. The articles were searched using the following keywords in Farsi and English. The extracted data was imported into Microsoft Excel and analyzed in Stata 12. Results: Thirty case-control studies conducted in different regions of Iran (15 provinces) have been published from 2001 to 2015 included in this study. A general estimate of OR (Odds Ratio) for the association of Helicobacter pylori and heart diseases in Iran was 2.351 (95 CI: (1.715, 3.221)). Conclusion: According to the observed association between Helicobacter pylori and heart diseases in the resent study, most of the hosts of the bacterium are afflicted with the infection in their childhood. Therefore, personal hygiene promotion and preventive programs for Iranian children may have a considerable role in reducing the risk of the infection and cardiovascular diseases, consequently.

Background: Undesirable health outcomes of anemia impact all different groups of people within a society especially pregnant women (PW). Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate other fetal and maternal complications of anemia in various trimesters of pregnancy. Methods: A large retrospective cohort study was conducted on Iranian PW in 2017. The first and third trimesters of pregnancy were assessed as a separate study. The first study included 1038 anemic and 2463 non-anemic PW and the second comprised 756 anemic and 1986 non-anemic PW. The outcome-related pregnancies were analyzed for each study. Results: After adjusting for the potential confounding factors, the odds of neonatal mortality (OR = 1.63; CI 95%, 1.25 -2.13) were significantly higher and the odds of cesarean delivery (OR = 0.6; CI 95%, 0.46 -0.75) were significantly lower in women who had anemia during the first trimester. The chance of pre-term delivery (< 37 weeks; OR = 2.15; CI 95%, 1.6 -2.91) and abortion (OR = 1.68; CI 95%, 1.11 -2.53) was significantly higher in women who had anemia during the third trimester, while the chance of low birth weight (< 2500 kg) (OR = 0.66; CI 95%, 0.46 -0.93) was lower in anemic women during the third trimester than in those without anemia. Conclusions: Pregnant women who experience anemia in both first and third trimesters of pregnancy have different unpleasant pregnancy outcomes. Since anemia is preventable during pregnancy, many of these outcomes such as neonatal mortality, low birth weight, preterm and cesarean delivery, and abortion could be prevented and decreased by providing health education before pregnancy.