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Published by : PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS |
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ISSN 1681-715X |
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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Volume 23 |
July - September 2007 |
Number 4 |
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Viral infections, prevalence and costs: A 5-year, hospital
based, retrospective observational study in Shiraz, IranBehnam Sabayan1, Mohammad Motamedifar2, Nima Zamiri3,
Kasra Karamifar4, Abdolhhamid Chohedry5ABSTRACT
Objective: Many patients suffering from viral infections attend to health care centers. Data gathered from viral infections is limited to specific cases such as AIDS, viral hepatitis and Influenza. There is a significant lack of reliable documentation about other viral infections. In this study the prevalence and related costs of viral infections in hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were reviewed.
Methodology: In this cross-sectional study the data were extracted from files of 1319 patients with viral infection admitted in two university hospitals during a five year period (1999-2004). The frequencies of different viral infections along with their demographic data were analyzed.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 29.24 with the range of 90 years. Hospitalization days were 8636 in 40 different wards in two hospitals. US$ 30.84 was the daily mean cost for each admitted patient. Viral meningitis was most frequent (14.2%) and 8.4% of patients died during hospitalization.
Conclusion: This study confirms the necessity of expanding management programs for viral infections especially hepatitis B in youths in Iran. Unspecified viral infections cost much more than specified viral diseases. Viral infection costs can be reduced by finding more sensitive and specific diagnostic methods.
KEYWORDS: Viral infections, prevalence, Shiraz, Iran.
Pak J Med Sci July - September 2007 Vol. 23 No. 4 580-584
1. Behnam Sabayan
2. Mohammad Motamedifar
3. Nima Zamiri
4. Kasra Karamifar
5. Abdolhhamid Chohedry
1,3,4: Student Research Center
2: Department of Microbiology,
5. Department of Anesthesiology
1-5: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz – Iran.
Correspondence
Behnam Sabayan
E-mail: b.sabayan@gmail.com
* Received for Publication: January 9, 2007
* Revision Accepted: July 2, 2007
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