Background:Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common disorder caused by bacterial agents in pregnancy, which can lead to important complications in newborn of such mothers in case of inappropriate diagnosis and treatment.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to study the prevalence of UTI among pregnant women and its complications in their newborns during the birth in the hospitals of Dezful City, Iran, during 2012 - 2013.Patients and Methods:In this cross-sectional retrospective study, 1132 women admitted to Dr. Ganjavian and Ayatollah Nabavi Hospitals in Dezful City, Iran, during 2012 - 2013 were randomly allocated into the case and control groups and were matched based on their age, numbers of pregnancy, sex and diseases of their children. UTI was the only difference between the two groups.Results:Twenty-two thousand six hundred deliveries occurred within the course of this study. Due to UTI, 5% of deliveries led to hospitalization of mothers (1132 patients).Weight and height of newborn infants of mothers afflicted with UTI (P < 0.001) were significantly lower compared to newborns of healthy women (P < 0.001). There was a significant association between the two groups of pregnant women with UTI in terms of type of delivery (normal and caesarean section) (P < 0.008).Conclusions:The lower incidence of UTI in pregnant women compared to other areas of Iran represents the role of climate and weather in the prevalence of UTI. In addition, the increased number of low-birth-weight infants had a remarkable correlation with UTI, which can influence the health of the next generation.

Background:Over one million new cases of breast cancer (BC) are diagnosed each year with a mortality rate of more than 600 thousand women per year. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a patient-centered, inexpensive, and noninvasive diagnostic test. We focused on the role of screening in BC in early diagnosis.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate awareness and attitude of women toward BSE in Dezful City, Iran, in 2013.Patients and Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study included 1020 women over 15 years of age in Dezful City, in 2013. Simple random clustering was used to enroll accessible women. We have applied the available pieces of software for statistical analysis.Results:The mean age of recruited women was 37.1 ± 1.3 and 23.6% of participants had a history of BC in themselves or in their relatives (mother, sister, aunt, and grandmother). In addition, 70.1% of participants benefited from early diagnosis of BC, 83.3% of participants considered BSE necessary and useful for early diagnosis of BC, and 51% of them performed BSE. There was a statistically significant correlation between being married and doing BSE (P = 0.034) and between women‘s level of education and awareness to perform BSE (P = 0.009).Conclusions:With regard to high prevalence of BC in Iran, this study showed a positive attitude of women in Dezful City toward BSE. Health policymakers in Dezful City can establish training programs to increase women’s awareness of BSE and to instruct them to perform it properly.

Background: Neonatal sepsis is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in newborns. Since early diagnosis of neonatal septicemia is important for timely initiation of correct antimicrobial therapy and considering the existence of variability in nonspecific clinical laboratories, we assessed the role of clinical manifestations and laboratory findings to find the right diagnosis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate, record and rank the clinical manifestations and lab data of neonates with clinical sepsis. Methods: In a cross sectional descriptive prospective study in 2013, a total of 110 consecutive infants with clinical manifestations of sepsis were studied in two groups including early onset sepsis (EOS) taking place at 72 hours of age or younger, and late onset sepsis (LOS) occurring after 72 hours. Check list of infant's data, presenting symptoms or signs and laboratory data in both groups were evaluated and recorded. Significant differences were set at as P < 0.05. Results: Overall, 81.8% of infants had EOS while 18.2% of infants had LOS. The mean age at the time of EOS and LOS presentation was one to two days and four to twelve days, respectively. The most common clinical manifestations were respiratory distress in 49 (44.5%), jaundice in 28 (25.5%), vomiting in 26 (23.6%) and poor feeding in 23 (20.9%) of the infants. Other clinical manifestations were lethargy (weakness), decreased sucking reflex, fever, tremor, abdominal distention and seizure, found in 12 (10.9%), 10 (9.1%), 4 (3.6%), 4 (3.6%), 3 (2.7%) and 2 (1.8%) neonates, respectively. Early Onset Sepsis was considerably associated with respiratory distress (P < 0.001), while LOS in neonates was followed by jaundice (P < 0.001), seizure (P = 0.02) and fever (P < 0.001). Anemia, leukocytopenia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia and C-reactive protein (CRP) positive results and blood culture was detected in 36 (32.7%), 2 (1.8%), 0 (0%), 2 (1.8%), 19 (17.3%) and 110 (100 %) neonates, respectively. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) cultures were negative in all infants. Positive urine culture was seen in 10 (9.1%) infants. Conclusions: Respiratory distress is more common in EOS whereas jaundice, fever and seizure are more likely to be observed in LOS infants. Considering the results, clinical manifestations should be regarded as an important part of early diagnosis of sepsis.

SUMMARYObjective: To compare clinical and bacteriologic responses to intramuscular benzathine penicillin G (BPG) and single dose of amoxicillin in Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis. Design: This study included 571 children from 6 to 15 years old age, with pharyngitis, who were admitted to 45 elementary and guidance schools from 7 regions of Education Organization in North-East of Iran, Mashhad. They were screened for enrollment and if he/she presented pharyngitis with clinical criteria of sore throat, erythema, exudate and tender or enlarged anterior cervical lymph nodes. Exclusion criteria included reports of antibiotic use, negative throat culture for GAS and history of allergy to the drugs. Clinical and bacteriologic responses to BPG and once daily orally amoxicillin were considered and compared. Results: In the amoxicillin group, treatment failure was more than the penicillin group (18.9% vs. 6.4%, respectively) but the difference was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Both drugs were significantly effective in reducing pharyngitis manifestations but penicillin was significantly more effective in reducing exudate than amoxicillin. Conclusion: Our study was in line with studies comparing the two drugs. The results show that once-daily therapy with amoxicillin is as effective as intramuscular benzathine penicillin G for the treatment of GAS pharyngitis, but penicillin was significantly more effective in reducing exudate and concurrent signs vs. amoxicillin.

BackgroundRecent studies have mainly focused on the roles of serum calcium and phosphorus product in the development of valvular heart failure. We determined the association of calcium-phosphorus product with the severity of heart valve failure in patients under chronic hemodialysis (being under hemodialysis for 6 months or more) in Boo-Ali Hospital in 2012 and 2013.MethodsIt was a cross-sectional, descriptive, comparative study. Thirty-three patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis were recruited to the study. All the patients were hospitalized at Boo-Ali Hospital. The study was done in a 2 years long time frame and the association of calcium-phosphorus product and severity of heart valve failure was evaluated among them.ResultsThe results demonstrated that there was no significant association between age, gender, renal failure cause and hemodialysis duration (P > 0.05). Our results showed a negative correlation between the severity of cardiac valves failure and CA × P level. It was not a meaningful correlation though (P > 0.05).ConclusionsBased on the obtained results, it is concluded that there is not any association between calcium-phosphorus product and the severity of heart valve failure in patients under chronic hemodialysis.