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Fascioliasis is a tropical zoonotic disease caused by the Fasciola parasite. The adult parasite usually resides in the liver and biliary ducts; however, several cases of ectopic fascioliasis (EF) have been reported. This study is a highlight on EF according to the confirmed case reports. In a setting of systematic review, we found 25 eligible articles containing 26 confirmed cases of EF (any date until 30 November 2018), including abdominal and intestinal EF in six cases, skin and subcutaneous tissues in five cases, eye in four cases, brain and pancreas in three cases, neck and lymph node in two cases, and lung, dorsal spine, and peritoneal cavity in one case, respectively. The result indicates that fascioliasis can have diverse ectopic forms and should be more attended in the endemic regions of fascioliasis in order to distinguish from other endemic diseases.

Background Co-infection of intestinal helminthic infections (IHIs) and tuberculosis (TB) has appeared as a public health issue, especially in developing countries. Some recent studies have been carried out on the possible relevance of IHIs to TB. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the prevalence and odds ratio (OR) of IHIs among TB patients and clarify the relationship between IHIs and TB disease. Methods For the purpose of the study, five English databases including PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science (ISI), and Google scholar were searched (up to January 30, 2019) in order to find the related studies. Random-effects meta-analysis model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence, odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Results A total of 20 studies including 10 studies with case-control design (2217 patients and 2520 controls) and 10 studies with cross-sectional design (a total of 2415 participants) met the eligibility criteria. As shown by the random-effects model, the pooled prevalence of IHIs in TB patients was estimated to be 26% (95% CI, 17–35%; 1249/4632). The risk of IHI was higher in TB patients compared to controls but this was not statistically significant. However, according to genus/species, the pooled OR of Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) (OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.59–4.54) had a significantly higher risk in TB patients compared to controls. Nevertheless, the results of random effects model showed no statistically significant association between overall pooled OR of IHIs in TB patients compared to controls in case-control studies (OR, 1; 95% CI, 0–1). Conclusions It is highly recommended that more precise studies should be carried out by researchers in order to better understand this association. Also, it is of great importance to include the periodic screenings for IHIs in the routine clinical care of these patients.

This qualitative study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for Iranian migrants suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) and living in Austria for an average of 14 years. The qualitative data were collected through interviews based on the Farsi version of the Structured Clinical Interview for the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). However, to obtain more information from the participants, they were asked to talk in more detail about their childhood and teenage years, reasons for immigration, their lifestyle before and after immigration, and their social activities. Interviews were conducted at four time points: preintervention, postintervention, 1-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. Patients who did not complete the interventions were interviewed on a voluntary basis to explain their reasons. Preintervention interviews were conducted to get some useful information about participant's' expectations of psychotherapy, especially group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT), and also to assess the reasons for depression from their own point of view. The postintervention interviews were conducted to examine the participants' psychological situations as well as the reasons for positive effects of interventions. The interviews on average lasted 50 minutes, and field notes were taken. The results of this study showed a reduction in depression symptoms after the interventions. However, the effect of treatment was not persistent. The findings suggest that the main reasons behind Iranian migrants' depression in Austria is related to their dysfunctional acculturation attitude. The effectiveness of GCBT for Iranian migrants with depression also may be related to their sociocultural background.