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Hassan Solhi,1 Hossein Sanaei-Zadeh,2 Sadra Solhi,1 Mohammad Ali Azizi Nadian,1 Morteza Gharibi,3 Bahman Sadeghi Sedeh4 1Department of Internal Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, 2Emergency Room, Division of Medical Toxicology, Hazrat Ali-Asghar (p) Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 3Department of Emergency Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, 4Department of Social Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran Abstract: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of morphine and meperidine (pethidine) as pain relief in opioid-dependent patients with acute pain. A total of 122 opioid-dependent patients with acute pain were included in the study. Their pain severity was assessed, using visual analog scale (VAS) scores ranging from 0 to 10. The patients randomly received intravenous morphine (up to 0.15 mg/kg) or meperidine (up to 1.5 mg/kg) for pain control by patient control analgesia (PCA) pump. The clinical opioid withdrawal scale (COWS) was employed for the assessment of withdrawal symptoms. The pain relief and the emergence of withdrawal symptoms were measured at 15, 30, and 60 minutes after drug administration. The patients who received morphine reported a better pain control compared to those who received meperidine (mean ± standard deviation [SD] VAS scores 4.11±1.90 vs 5.85±2.08 at the end of the study; P

Background: Methamphetamine cannot be detected through conventional urine screening tests or other analytical methods in methamphetamine abusers who have not used the drug for some time. In some instances, detection of methamphetamine in fingernails can be a good alternative. We aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the one-step methamphetamine test strip used in the detection of methamphetamine in urine in the detection of methamphetamine in fingernails., Methods: We took 72 fingernail samples, including 60 samples from methamphetamine abusers and 12 samples as controls from their relatives who had no history of methamphetamine use. The liquid-liquid extraction method was used on fingernail samples, and the resultant solution was tested with one-step methamphetamine test strip. We analysed participants' demographics including age, gender, duration of methamphetamine abuse and strip test results., Results: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 25 (4.33) years. The mean (SD) duration of methamphetamine abuse was 10 (4.5) months. Of the 72 participants, 61 (84.7%) had positive and 11 (15.3%) had negative strip test results. All 60 methamphetamine abusers had positive test results. A positive or negative history of methamphetamine abuse was taken as the gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of the test was 100% and 91.6%, respectively., Conclusion: Performing liquid-liquid extraction on fingernails and using the strip test for detection of methamphetamine is a simple, inexpensive, rapid and accessible method, and its high sensitivity and specificity make it appropriate for screening. This method may be preferred over other urine and blood methamphetamine detection methods when the patient has not used the drug for a few days., Competing Interests: None

A large number of dead bodies are referred to forensic autopsy halls for medicolegal examination. They can be a source of transmission of infectious diseases through direct contact or autopsy tools. The main aim of this study was to estimate the virus infection rates in the dead bodies. One thousand consecutive dead bodies that had been referred to autopsy hall of Legal Medicine Bureau of Tehran, Iran, during 2016, were included. The blood samples were analyzed in the laboratory for detection of HBs Ag, HBs Ab, HIV Ab, and HCV Ab, after providing informed consent from legal next of kin of the dead bodies. The general characteristics of the dead bodies were also collected by a checklist. Forty-seven cases of HIV seropositivity, 80 cases of HBs Ag seropositivity, and 97 cases for HCV Ab seropositivity were found. Among them, 27 cases of HIV, 40 cases of anti-HBC positive, and 94 cases of RIBA testing positive for HCV were proved through confirmatory tests. In other words, 2.6% of the dead bodies were infected with HIV, 3.8% with HBV, and 9% with HCV. The total infection rate was 15.5%. This is a worrying risk for pathologist and autopsy technicians.