BACKGROUND Thrombopoietin (TPO), the major hormone controlling platelet production, has been measured in thrombocytopenias with discordant results. The aim of our work was to assess the value of the TPO assay for differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenias in a large cohort of patients classified according to the results of their platelet isotopic study. METHODS We measured TPO (R&D Systems) ...

AIM To investigate the factors that may influence the successful corneal donation among adults in China. METHODS This retrospective study was conducted in 2012. The eligible participants were all the adults registered in Nanjing Red Cross Eye Bank to donate their corneas after death during the period of 2001 and 2012. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to investigate the inf...

Implication for health policy makers/practice/research/medical education: Paying attention to the aspects of the infertile mothers` quality of life and also planning to upgrade that, may lead to the upgrade of the infertile couples ̀health level. Copyright © 2013, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal; Licensee Kowsar Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative...

BACKGROUND Verbal autopsy (VA) is one method to obtain valid estimates of causes of death in the absence of valid medical records. We tested the reliability and validity of a VA questionnaire developed for a cohort study in Golestan Province in northeastern Iran. METHOD A modified version of the WHO adult verbal autopsy was used to assess the cause of death in the first 219 Golestan Cohort St...

Compression springs were prepared from Cr-Si high strength spring steel and coated with pure Zn and ZnNi by electroplating process. The effect of baking after electroplating as well as applying an electroless nickel interlayer on the fatigue and fatigue corrosion of the springs was investigated. The results were analyzed using weibull statistical model. A considerable improvement (8%) in fati...

CONTEXT Afghanistan is one of the countries most affected by injuries due to landmines and unexploded ordnance. OBJECTIVE To understand the epidemiological patterns and risk factors for injury due to landmines and unexploded ordnance. DESIGN AND SETTING Analysis of surveillance data on landmine and unexploded ordnance injuries in Afghanistan collected by the International Committee of the R...

BACKGROUND Verbal autopsy (VA) is a widely used tool to assign probable cause of death in areas with inadequate vital registration systems. Its uses in priority setting and health planning are well documented in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Asia. However, there is a lack of data related to VA processing and completion rates in assigning causes of death in a community. There is also a lack of da...

Bacille-Calmette-Guerin (B.C.G.) vaccination on a large scale was started in a number of European countries in 1947 by the Danish Red Cross, and in the following year this campaign was enlarged under the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) and becarm known as the 'Joint Enterprise'. As a result of this scheme, some 8 million children and young adults have been vaccin...

273 May 2013, Vol. 103, No. 5 SAMJ An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town, South Africa: An evaluation To the Editor: In the March issue of SAMJ, an article on the emergency triage of children, of which we were the senior co-authors, appeared in association with an editorial by Professor Elizabeth Molyneux. We need to clarif...