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H Bashour

Publications and source records attributed to H Bashour.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Gender differences and tuberculosis in the Syrian Arab Republic: patients' attitudes, compliance and outcomes.

In a prospective study of gender and TB outcomes, 552 newly diagnosed smear-positive patients throughout the Syrian Arab Republic were interviewed at recruitment (from January 2002 to July 2002) and followed until the end of treatment. Delay in diagnosis was significantly longer among males. Significant differences between males and females were noted in relation to the place they usually use to seek care. Gender did not seem to affect knowledge and attitudes of TB patients. Although the women reported more barriers to seeking care, compliance with treatment tended to be higher and the treatment success rate was significantly higher among females than males. Multivariate analysis showed that male sex was a significant predictor of a negative treatment outcome, after controlling for other significant sociodemographic and health care related variables.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Cost-effectiveness of different treatment strategies for tuberculosis in Egypt and Syria.

SETTING: The National Tuberculosis Programmes in Egypt and Syria. OBJECTIVES: To calculate the costs and effectiveness of alternative ways of implementing TB control in Egypt and Syria, in order to illustrate the factors influencing the cost-effectiveness of TB treatment in middle-income countries. DESIGN: We compared the costs and cure rates in Egypt and Syria of the World Health Organization recommended directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) strategy and alternative strategies. The study included costs both to the health services and to the patient. RESULTS: In Egypt and Syria, the cost-effectiveness of DOTS implemented through the primary health care (PHC) system was respectively $258 and $243 per patient cured. This compares to a cost per patient cured of $297 (Egypt) and $693 (Syria) for alternative strategies implemented through specialist clinics. In Egypt, when DOTS is implemented through specialist chest clinics it costs $585 per patient cured. Hospitalisation costs either $1490, $1621 or $1699 per patient cured, depending on treatment delivery in the continuation phase. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the move towards DOTS integrated at the PHC level has substantially improved the effectiveness of TB treatment in Egypt and Syria, without substantially increasing costs. An analysis of the different costs and effectiveness of the variety of TB treatment strategies has enabled both National Tuberculosis Programmes to expand DOTS and implement it in a way that takes into account limited resources and local health systems.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hepatitis E in Damascus, Syria.

A hospital-based study of acute hepatitis was conducted in Damascus, Syria, from 1995 to 1998. One hundred ninety-three sera from defined acute hepatitis cases were screened by ELISA for IgM anti-HAV, HBsAg, IgM anti-HBc and anti-HCV. Serum samples negative for all markers indicating recent infection by hepatitis A, B, or C were tested for HEV markers. Overall, 47 cases (24.4%) had no detectable hepatitis markers (non-A-E). HAV infection was detected in 71.2% of all viral hepatitis cases. Acute hepatitis B and C constituted 24 and 1.4% of the cases, respectively. Only five cases of acute hepatitis E were noted. Of 47 patients who had non-A-E hepatitis, fifteen (31.9%) tested positive for IgG anti HEV. This study provides indirect evidence that HEV is very likely to be endemic in Damascus, Syria. It reports for the first time the occurrence of hepatitis E in the country, a health problem that should be investigated further.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reasons for underreporting of notifiable diseases by Syrian paediatricians.

We investigated reasons for underreporting of notifiable diseases among Syrian paediatricians. Self-administered questionnaires and self-addressed envelopes were sent to all paediatricians listed in the recent records of the Syrian Medical Association. Of 723 questionnaires, 55 were returned by the post office due to an incorrect address. Only 160 questionnaires (23.9%) were answered. Approximately 50% of paediatricians gave two reasons for underreporting: lack of reporting forms and ignorance of reporting telephone numbers. Nearly 70% indicated that the most important improvements would be the availability of easy reporting forms and a condensed and feasible list of notifiable diseases.

Adult↗