Publications by authors named "Lotfi F"

Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) of various cancers in Isfahan province, Iran, using data from a local cancer registry covering 2014 to 2018.
  • The registry recorded 42,994 new cancer cases, with a majority being males, and showed strong quality indicators, such as a high microscopic verification rate.
  • The most common cancers included prostate and bladder cancers in men, and breast cancer in women, with higher incidence rates for leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma compared to national averages, indicating potential links to environmental factors in an industrial setting.
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Objective: Despite the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) program in Iran, the regulation of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure-an often-overlooked hazard-, still requires improvement. We employed a multi-center case-control study to investigate the association between exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) from various tobacco products (cigarettes, water-pipes, pipes, and chopogh), opium use, and the risk of lung cancer.

Method: We included 627 lung cancer cases and 3477 controls.

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Objectives: Metastatic prostate cancer is the most common malignant cancer and the second leading cause of death due to various types of cancer among men after lung cancer. This study aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of triptorelin, goserelin, and leuprolide in the treatment of the patients with metastatic prostate cancer from the societal perspective in Iran in 2020.

Methods: This is a cost-effectiveness study in which a 20-year Markov transition modeling was applied.

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Background: The labor supply of nurses, as one of the main healthcare workers, is an important issue in health human resources planning in all health systems. Finding the factors affecting it, could help policymakers to solve the shortage of nursing work supply. The present study aimed to investigating the quantity and factors affecting the nurses' labor supply in Iran.

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Background And Objectives: This study aimed to assess the association between the 10-year implementation of tobacco control policies, cigarette affordability index and changes in tobacco smoking prevalence across Eastern Mediterranean (EMR) countries.

Materials And Methods: An ecologic study was conducted using EMR countries as the analytical unit. Data from three sources were utilized: the MPOWER scale to measure tobacco control policy implementation (2010-2020), the tobacco affordability index (expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita required to purchase 2000 cigarettes, from 2010 to 2020), and national tobacco smoking prevalence data for EMR countries (2010-2023).

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Introduction: In recent years, enzalutamide and abiraterone have been widely used as treatments for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, the cost-effectiveness of these drugs in Iran is unknown. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of enzalutamide for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer resistant to castration in Iran.

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Background: The tobacco control scale (TCS) score is used widely in European countries to evaluate the adoption of anti-tobacco policies by countries, however, data on the adoption of tobacco control programmes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) are limited to a 2009 survey.

Aim: To compare the TCS score for measuring national tobacco control programmes in the EMR countries in 2009 and 2021.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey compared data from 21 EMR countries on 6 major indicators, including the price of cigarettes, tobacco smoke-free public places, national budget for tobacco control activities, ban on tobacco advertising, health warning labels on tobacco packets, and support for treatment of tobacco dependence.

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Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the effects of Viola odorata syrup on the sleep quality of postmenopausal women.

Methods: This triple-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted on menopausal women presenting to the healthcare centers in Mashhad, Iran, in 2019. The participants were selected using simple random sampling.

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Objectives: Protecting people against financial hardship caused by illness stands as a fundamental obligation within healthcare systems and constitutes a pivotal component in achieving universal health coverage. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence and determinants of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) in Iran, over the period of 2013 to 2019.

Methods: Data were obtained from 7 annual national surveys conducted between 2013 and 2019 on the income and expenditures of Iranian households.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze changes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rates, demographics, treatments, in-hospital outcomes, and costs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tehran.
  • The research involved over 4,500 AMI hospitalizations, revealing that while the number of AMIs decreased by about 12.65% during the pandemic, the in-hospital mortality rate and complications increased significantly compared to pre-COVID rates.
  • Results showed that COVID-19 patients had a higher average hospitalization cost, adding up to $188 more than non-COVID AMI cases, indicating a greater economic burden during the pandemic.
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Background: Reinfection with Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) has raised remarkable public health concerns globally. Therefore, the present retrospective cohort study intended to investigate COVID-19 reinfection in registered patients of Fars province in Iran from February 2020 to April 2021.

Methods: The patients' data, including the COVID-19 infection, symptoms, comorbidities, and demographics, were collected using the Health Information Systems (HISs).

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Congestion is an economic phenomenon of the production process in which the excessive values of inputs lead to a reduction of the outputs. As the existence of congestion makes to increase costs and decreases efficiency, this issue is not acceptable for decision makers. Hence, many methods have been proposed to detect the congestion in the Data Envelopment Analysis framework (DEA).

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Background: Type II diabetes is considered a chronic disease that influences the affected person's quality of life and imposes a high economic burden on the patient and society. The enhancement of health literacy seems essential for self-management and disease control in patients with type II diabetes. Consequently, this study was performed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of enhanced health literacy in type II diabetes patients.

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When there is an extensive number of inputs and outputs compared to the number of DMUs, one of the drawbacks of Data Envelopment Analysis appears, which incorrectly classifies inefficient DMUs, as efficient ones. Accordingly, the DEA ranking power becomes further moderated. To improve the ranking power, this paper renders the details of an algorithm that presents a model combining the Principal Component Analysis and the Slacks-Based Measure (PCA-SBM) which reduces the number of the incorrectly determined efficient DMUs.

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Background: The outbreak of Coronavirus in late 2019 and its continuation in the following years has affected all human societies, government organizations, and health systems. Access to health services is an important issue during crises. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the consumption of health services in the public sector compared to the private sector in Iran.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined differences in cancer survival rates across nine provinces in Iran using data from 90,862 adult cancer patients collected between 2015 and 2016.
  • The results indicated that survival rates were significantly lower for more treatable cancers in certain provinces, with the highest mortality excess hazard seen in Western Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, and Kerman compared to Tehran.
  • Additionally, the findings revealed a correlation between higher Human Development Index (HDI) and better cancer survival rates, highlighting regional inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes in Iran.
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Background And Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine molecular characterization and genetic diversity of colistin-resistant clinical isolates in Intensive Care Unit hospitalized patients.

Materials And Methods: A total of 127 clinical isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial susceptibility. PCR reaction and sequencing were performed for the detection of mutations in and genes.

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Background And Aims: Analyzing the utilization of health services is necessary for allocating the resources and planning the provision of health services. The present study aimed at investigating the utilization and cost of outpatient services and the factors affecting it among the insurees of the Iran Health Insurance Organization in Fars province in 2019.

Methods: The study population consisted of all Iran Health Insurance Organization insurees in Fars province in 2019 ( = 2,618,973).

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Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, the cause of which is mostly human papilloma virus (HPV). The aim of this study was to determine the economic burden of cervical cancer and premalignant lesions associated with HPV infection from a societal perspective.

Methods: The study is a partial economic evaluation (cost of illness), which was conducted cross-sectionally in the referral university clinic in Fars province in 2021.

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The monitoring and modeling of changes, based on a time-series LULC approach, is fundamental for planning and managing regional environments. The current study analyzed the LULC changes as well as estimated future scenarios for 2027 and 2037. To achieve accuracy in predicting LULC changes, the Land Change Modeler (LCM) was used for the Latian Dam Watershed, which is located approximately in the northeast of Tehran.

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Background: Policymakers use simulation-based models to improve system feedback and model the reality of the problems in the system. This study uses the system dynamics approach to provide a model for predicting hospital bed shortages and determine the optimal policy in Shiraz, Southern Iran.

Methods: This study was designed based on Sterman's system dynamic modeling (SDM) process.

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Introduction: The use of electronic systems in prescription is considered as the final solution to overcome the many problems of the paper transcription process, especially with the outbreak of Coronavirus needs more attention than before. But despite the many advantages, its implementation faces many challenges and obstacles. Therefore, the present study was conducted to review the effectiveness of computerized physician order entry systems (CPOE) on relative risk reduction on medication error and adverse drug events (ADE).

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Background: COVID-19 presents as a mild and less severe respiratory disease among children. However, it is still lethal and could lead to death in paediatric cases. The current study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of children and young people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Qazvin-Iran.

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An effective method for evaluating the efficiency of peer decision-making units (DMUs) is data envelope analysis (DEA). In engineering sciences and real-world management problems, uncertainty in input and output data always exists. To achieve reliable results, uncertainties must be taken into account.

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Background: Depression disorders are a leading cause of disability in the world which imposes a significant economic burden on patients and societies The present study aimed to determine the economic burden of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) on the patients referred to the reference psychiatric single-specialty hospitals in southern Iran in 2020.

Methods: This cross-sectional research is a partial economic evaluation and a cost-of-illness study conducted in southern Iran in 2020. A total of 563 patients were enrolled through the census method, and a researcher-made data collection form was used to gather the required information.

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