ObjectivesHead lice infestation is one of the most important health problems, generally involving children aged 5–13 years. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of head lice infestation and its associated factors among primary school children using systematic review and meta-analysis methods.MethodsDifferent national and international databases were searched for selecting the relevant studies using appropriate keywords, Medical Subject Heading terms, and references. Relevant studies with acceptable quality for meta-analysis were selected having excluded duplicate and irrelevant articles, quality assessment, and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria. With calculating standard errors according to binomial distribution and also considering the Cochrane's Q test as well as I-squared index for heterogeneity, pediculosis prevalence rate was estimated using Stata SE V.11 software.ResultsForty studies met the inclusion criteria of this review and entered into the meta-analysis including 200,306 individuals. Using a random effect model, the prevalence (95% confidence interval) of head lice infestation among primary school children was estimated as 1.6% (1.2–2.05), 8.8% (7.6–9.9), and 7.4% (6.6–8.2) for boys, girls, and all the students, respectively. The infestation rate was found to be associated with low educational level of parents, long hair, family size, mother's job (housewife), father's job (worker/unemployed), using a common comb, lack of bathrooms in the house, and a low frequency of bathing.ConclusionThis meta-analysis revealed that the prevalence of head lice infestation among Iranian primary school children is relatively high with more prevalence among girls. We also found that economic, social, cultural, behavioral, and hygienic factors are associated with this infestation.

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Introduction: Drug resistance is one of the critical aspects had to be considered in the tuberculosis control program. Factors related to drug resistance are different in geographic regions and vary during the time. The present study aims to determine the risk factors of drug resistance among TB patients in northern of Iran. Methods: In this case control study, 22 cases (drug resistant TB patients) and 88 controls (TB patients selected out of those with successive treatment) were randomly selected from a cohort of TB patients in Northern of Iran. The required information was collected from TB registration software in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Results: Of 22 drug resistant TB patients, resistance to isoniazid, rifampin and also multidrug resistance were observed in 10(9.1%), 3(2.7%) and 9(8.2%) respectively. Moreover, 22.2% of MDR cases, 66.7% of rifampin resistant cases and 40% of isoniazid resistant patients had experienced previous TB treatment (p = 0.363). Logistic regression models showed that the history of previous treatment was significantly associated with drug resistance (OR = 16.55, 95% CI = 2.83-96.89). Conclusion: History of previous anti-TB treatment can be a determinant factor for TB drug resistance.

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