Investigating the Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis among Healthcare Workers of Major Hospitals of Ahvaz, Iran - Pages 237-242

Amir Hooshang Bavarsad, Esmaiel Idani and Maryam Haddadzadeh Shoushtari

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2019.07.04.6

Published: 18 November 2019

Abstract: Background and Objective: Healthcare and laboratory workers in hospitals have a higher exposure to hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) than the general populations. Tuberculosis (TB) infection is a common HAI that is communicated from the patients with TB admitted or hospitalized in the healthcare centres. This study aims to determinate the incidence and prevalence of latent TB infection among healthcare workers in the major Hospitals in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, Iran.

Methods: This is a case-control study conducted on healthcare workers diagnosed with TB between January 2010 to December 2017. The study population consisted of healthcare workers of the three major hospitals of Ahvaz, Khuzestan including Imam Khomeini Hospital, Golestan Hospital and Shafa Hospital. All subjects underwent Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) and after 48 to 72 hours the reaction was measured as the length of induration. The induration equal to or greater than 10 mm was considered as positive TB. Moreover, the subjects and controls were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire on potential risk factors for TB.

Results: Among 513 subjects, male and female subjects were respectively 186 and 327. Of all subjects, 67 subjects (male: 42; female: 25) showed positive TST (10 mm ≤ induration) and 275 subjects showed 5 mm >induration. There was a significant relationship between TST result and the workplace of the subjects. Gender showed no significant relationship with the TST result.

Conclusion: All healthcare workers who are in direct contact with TB patients must undergo regular TB screening test and the workers should be trained for self-conducting TST.

Keywords: Tuberculosis (TB), healthcare workers, laboratory workers, prevalence, Ahvaz.

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Does Late-Onset Huntington Disease Represent a Distinct Symptomatic Picture? Evidence for a Selective Deficit in Executive Function and Emotion Recognition, in the Absence of Behavioral and Psychiatric Disorders - Pages 243-250

Maria Cristina Cossu, Matilde Conti, Veronica Di Palma, Maddalena Boccia, Umberto Sabatini and Cecilia Guariglia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2019.07.04.7
Published: 18 November 2019

Abstract: Huntington Disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant, neurodegenerative disorder, including motor, cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms. Motor symptoms used to set the clinical onset, typically emerge in the middle age. Here, we describe the case of a patient, who received a genetic diagnosis at 75 years and developed motor symptoms at 80. The Patient shows severe motor symptoms in the absence of personality changes or psychiatric disorders typically observed in HD. For what attain neuropsychological profile, it results unaltered apart from a specific deficit in emotion recognition and general slowness on executive functioning tasks, reflecting a specific trade-off between accuracy and rate of performances, that is a selective impairment in fine-tuning of resources. Both of these deficits in the Patient could be ascribable to the frontostriatal atrophy, evidenced by Computed Tomography. While deficit in emotion recognition is a well-known symptom in HD, a deficit in fine-tuning of resources regards a specific aspect of executive function. The ability of fine-tuning resources is the latest step in the development of executive functions, and it could be also the first level to be impaired in HD. We proposed that deficit in fine-tuning of resources could be the core of the neuropsychological deficit in late-onset HD.

Keywords: Huntington's chorea, Affective Processing, Cognition, Late-onset Huntington’s disease.

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