Background: Patients with chronic kidney failure and those undergoing chronic hemodialysis (CHD) treatment are at high risk of infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The incidence of occult HCV infection (OCI) in CHD remains controversial and the real burden of HCV in this population may be affected by the rate of OCI. This study evaluates the molecular assessment of OCI in CHD in an Iranian population. Methods: All subjects on CHD in the South Khorasan province of Iran were invited for participation in the study. Whole blood samples were taken and serological, clinical, and demographic information was recorded. HCV-RNAs were checked in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using an in-house semi-nested PCR assay. Viral load was determined using a real-time PCR-based quantification kit. Sequencing was performed to determine genotypes. Results: Overall, 120 cases participated in the study; 57.5% were male and the rest were female. In serum samples, no positive case was found for HCV-RNA. In PBMC samples, 2/120 (1.6%) were positive for HCV-RNA (95% CI, 0.002 to 0.059); the mean age of OCI positive cases was 37.5 ± 19.2 years which was significantly lower than OCI negative cases (P = 0.026). Only one case had detectable viral load which was 49 IU/mL. The only HCV genotype identified was 1a. Conclusion: This study showed that there is a risk of OCI among CHD patients; the very low and undetectable viral loads of OCI warrant further follow-up molecular testing for earlier diagnosis and treatment in the era of DAA.
Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) among prisoners in Iran, by performing a systematic and meta-analysis study on the related articles. Methodology: Scopus, Iran doc, Cochrane, Pubmed, Medline, Embase and Iran Medex, Magiran, SID, Google Scholar, and EBSCO were searched. After quality assessment of the articles, a fixed or random model, as appropriate, was used to pool the results in a meta-analysis. Heterogeneity between the studies was assessed using I-square and Q-test. Results: The overall sample size of included studies was 19562 that 64 of them were with TB. The highest prevalence of tuberculosis was related to the study of Rasht, 517 in 100,000 but the lowest rate was related to the study of Sought Khorasan, 25 in 100,000. The ES of the random effect model is 0.003 (95% CI, 0.001-0.005) and p-value <0.0001. The Higgins’ I2 of all studies is 86.55%, and the p-value of the Cochrane Q statistics is <0.001, indicating that there is heterogeneity. Based on the Egger regression plot (t=2.18, p = 0.08, CI 95%: -0.001, 0.005) no publication bias existed. Conclusion: The frequency of TB among the prisoners in Iran was low. Due to important limitations in this study, it is not possible to indicate the exact prevalence of TB among prisoners in Iran and compare this with the general population. More studies are needed to assess the related risk factor for designing health interventions plan to decrease the incidence rate of TB among prisoners.
Introduction: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important zoonotic disease between humans and mammalians that causes remarkable economic loss and public health problem in different regions of the world. Case Presentation: We present the case of a 43-year-old male patient living in Nehbandan city, Iran. He referred to the Nehbandan Hospital with sudden dyspnea. Two days before admission, he had suddenly suffered from the shortness of breath and had admitted to the Nehbandan Hospital to receive penicillin, but was discharged. The next morning, due to the exacerbation of the shortness of breath, he returned to the hospital. Pleural effusion in the left lung was observed in radiography. The patient was transferred to Valiasr Hospital in Birjand city for CT scanning. The anti-Echinococcus specific total IgG antibody was positive. Conclusions: Hydatid disease should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses in every patient with respiratory symptoms and in those who are living in endemic areas. The early identification of the cyst and its surgical removal will improve the patient's symptoms. In the present case, following the definitive diagnosis, a surgery was done while treatment with albendazole had started one week before surgery that continued after discharge from the hospital.
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