Abolfazl Khoshdel; Ebrahim Saedi Dezaki; Froozan Ganji; Roya Habibian; Reza Imani; Elham Taheri; Azar Nikkhah
Volume 9, Issue 1 , January 2014, , Pages 23-27
Abstract
Background and Objectives: An increasing number of tularemia was reported in all over the world. This infection is characterized by different clinical syndromes that can be considered in differential diagnosis of infectious disease. Despite effective antibiotics against Francisella tularensis, ...
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Background and Objectives: An increasing number of tularemia was reported in all over the world. This infection is characterized by different clinical syndromes that can be considered in differential diagnosis of infectious disease. Despite effective antibiotics against Francisella tularensis, this infection is still as one of the agent of mortality and disability among infectious disease.The aim of this study was investigation of seroepidemiological of F. tuleransis among children between 2-18 years old in a risky zone in Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional, laboratory-based study in two distinct villages Saragha seyed and Khoye in Chaharmahal va bakhtiari Province involved 183 children, adolescents who had no sign and symptom of disease and were screened for tularemia immunoglobulins G (IgG), using the ELISA-based quantitative assay.
Results: In general, from 183 children 11 persons (6%) were seropositive, compared with 172 persons (94%) were seronegative.
Conclusion: According to the high prevalence of antibodies against F. tularensis in this study, this infection must be considered as differential diagnosis of infectious disease in suspect patients.
Abolfazl Khoshdel; Mahdi Mahmoudzadeh; Soleiman Kheiri; Reza Imani; Ghorbanali Shahabi; Ebrahim Saedi; Elham Taheri
Volume 3, Issue 4 , September 2008, , Pages 203-207
Abstract
Background and Objective: According to the fact that neonatal infection is a challenging diagnosis field, several studies have tried to test sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests. This study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of procalcitonin (PCT) as a single ...
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Background and Objective: According to the fact that neonatal infection is a challenging diagnosis field, several studies have tried to test sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests. This study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of procalcitonin (PCT) as a single early marker of neonatal sepsis. Materials and Methods: In this study, 150 neonates admitted to NICU and neonatal ward in Shahrekord Hajar hospital were enrolled. A full workup including blood cultureand other tests and PCT was conductede. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for PCT was determined. Results: It was found out that 8 patients had definite infection, 15 patients had possible infection, and 127 patients had no infection. Although PCT was not able to significantly differentiate between those with definite and possible infections (p>0.05), but there was a significant difference for frequency of abnormal PCT between non-infectious patients and other patients. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of PCT was 87.5%, 87.4%, 30.4%, 99.1%, and 87.41% respectively. Conclusion: Beside the limitation of the sample size, the satisfactory diagnostic characteristics of PCT highlight it as a good measure for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Further studies are essential to be carried out.
