Background: Universal precautions, as defined by centers for disease control (CDC), are a set of precautions designed to prevent transmission of human immunodeficiency virus , hepatitis B virus , and other blood borne pathogens when providing first aid or health care .
Objectives: To measure knowledge of and practice towards universal precautions among healthcare workers (apart from doctors) in Baghdad Teaching Hospital .
Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period of two months from 26th of February to the end of April 2007 in Baghdad Teaching Hospital / Medical City ,Baghdad to assess the knowledge and practice of 110 health care workers towards the use of universal precautions in their daily work and to assess the effect of different factors on both knowledge and practice ( including :age , years of experience gender ,level of education ,occupation and hearing about universal precautions ) .
Results: The study showed that (52.7%) had heard about universal precautions with an overall low understanding of precautions except concerning disposal of sharp instruments, use of protective equipment and clean of spilled blood .Health workers showed difficulty to distinguish deep body fluids to which universal precautions should be applied from body secretions to which they are not applied (saliva and sweat) . Good practices were reported regarding hand washing, disposal of needles and sharps,and gloves, masks and gown usage. This study showed that hearing about universal precautions had no positive effect on knowledge as those who had heard about universal precautions had mean knowledge score of (5.9) from total score of (10) which is lower than those who never heard with mean knowledge score of (6.1) ,in contrast to practice score which was higher in those who heard about universal precautions (8.4) than those who never heard (8), from total score of (10).
Conclusion: universal precautions were not only insufficiently but also selectively understood and applied so great work should be done in form of pre- and in-service education and training programs to the staff with good supply of protective equipment to implement universal precautions on scientific and practical basis in near future.
The Yamama Formation is characterized by a wide geographic extension of southern Iraq. Microfacies analysis of this formation was studied in six wells distributed in six fields: Fayhaa, Sindbad, Siba, Zubair, Ratawi and West Qurna. This research aims to determine paleoenvironments by diagnosing biofacies and lithofacies. Miscellaneous marine fauna of foraminifera and calcareous algae, mainly green algae (dasycladacean.) and skeletal bioclasts from gastropods, pelecypods, bryozoans, sponge spicules, and echinoderms were found. Petrographic studies and well logs interpretations led to the identification of five main Microfacies ( Mudstone, Wackestone, Packestone, Grainestone and Rudstone and twelve submicrofacies (Foraminiferal-
... Show MoreExperimental study on the effect of cylindrical hollow cathode, working pressure and magnetic field on spatial glow distribution and the characteristics of plasma produced by dc discharge in Argon gas, were investigated by image analyses for the plume within the plasma. It was found that the emission intensity appears as a periodic structure with many peaks appeared between the electrodes. Increasing the pressure leads to increase the number of intensity peaks finally converted to continuous form at high pressure, especially with applied of magnetic field, i.e. the plasma is more stable with the presence of magnetic field. The emission intensity study of plasma showed that the intensity has a maximum value at 1.07 mbar pressure and decre
... Show MoreThe present study was designed to investigate the effect of different concentrations of Maxxthor on some hematological and oxidative stress parameters in male albino rats.Twenty male rats with age of 6-8 weeks and weight of 200-250gm were equally divided into four groups as follow:G1 treated with normal saline as control group,while G2,G3andG4groups were treated with(0.01,0.1,1)mg\kg body weight of Maxxthor respectively for 40 days.The following hematological parameters were measured: red blood cell(RBC),hemoglobin (Hb),white blood cell(WBC), platelets(PLT),malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH),catalase and vitamin E. The hematological parameters results revealed highly significant(p<0.01)decreasein RBC and H,while a highly significant(p<0.
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of ?broblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase in oral squamous cell carcinoma, and to correlate the two studied marker with each other and with clinicopathologicalfinding including grade, stage. Methods: Sections of 30 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded blocks specimens of oral squamous cell carcinoma were immunostained to assess the expression of ?broblast growth factor-2 and Heparanse in oral squamous cell carcinoma cases. Results: The expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase were positive in all oral squamous cell carcinoma cases (100%). The positive expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 was significantly correlated with tumor site (p=0.016),and clinical pres
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to propose and evaluate an eco-epidemiological model with Allee effect and nonlinear harvesting in predators. It was assumed that there is an SI-type of disease in prey, and only portion of the prey would be attacked by the predator due to the fleeing of the remainder of the prey to a safe area. It was also assumed that the predator consumed the prey according to modified Holling type-II functional response. All possible equilibrium points were determined, and the local and global stabilities were investigated. The possibility of occurrence of local bifurcation was also studied. Numerical simulation was used to further evaluate the global dynamics and the effects of varying parameters on the asymptotic behavior of
... Show MoreBackground: Nutritional Rickets is a condition produced by an absence of Vitamin D, calcium or phosphate. It clues to relaxing and fading of the bones. Dental expression of children with rickets contains enamel hypoplasia and delayed tooth eruption. This study was conducted in order to assess caries experience (dmfs) and enamel defects among study and control groups, and to evaluate and compare the levels of selected salivary biomarkers between children with nutritional rickets and apparently healthy children. Material and methods: Assessment of caries according to WHO in 1987, and assessment of enamel defects according to enamel defect index EDI of WHO in 1997. In addition a stimulated saliva samples were collected according to Palone e
... Show MoreFor the first time, the life cycle of Neoechinorhynchus iraqensis, a parasite of Liza abu and other freshwater fishes in Iraq and its larval development in the intermediate host, the copepod Cyclops hyalinus was given. Hatching took place in the intestine of the copepod host within 10 minutes of exposure to the infective eggs. Motile acanthor penetrated the wall of the intestine within 2-4 hr. after exposure and was found free in the hemocoel where it metamorphoses through the acanthella stage. Acanthella stage revealed changes in the entoblast where the anterior section gave rise to brain, proboscis and proboscis receptacle. The posterior section differentiation gave rise to the genital system. By 12 days, development in the copep
... Show MorePeripheral neuropathy represents one of the common diabetic complications in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2). Peripheral neuropathy affects the feet, legs, hands, and arms. It was found that one-third to one-half of diabetics have peripheral neuropathy. The current study aimed to evaluate the level of visfatin in diabetic patient groups with or without peripheral neuropathy in comparison with healthy subjects to knowledge whether visfatin can be applied as a predictor factor for this type of disease complication. The study included 120 males and females ranging in age from 40 to 97 years old. (40 patients with type 2 diabetes, 40 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and 40 healthy people served as the control group
... Show MoreThis study aims to isolate the pathogenic yeasts from genital tract and investigate their relationship with the age .The results clarified that the most pathogenic yeast isolated from genital tract was Candida albicans , also the results of C.albicanas isolates susceptibility test, to different antifungal revealed that they were sensitive to Miconazole, Ketoconazole and Clotrimazol and were resistant to Nystatin and Grisofulvin. The study of relationship of vaginal infection with the age showed that the incidence of infection with Candida was high among females age group (19-39 years).