Samar Burgan

Self-reported needle-stick injuries among dentists in north Jordan

The incidence of needle-stick injuries and the reporting attitudes among dentists in the north of Jordan were assessed with a cross-sectional survey. The study included 170 general dental practitioners (119 males and 51 females), of whom 113 (66.5%) were injured within the preceding 12 months. Needle-stick injury was significantly associated with higher age and a higher number of patients treated daily. Of those who were injured, 77.9% did not report the injury. Reasons for not reporting needle-stick injury were: because it took place before use on a patient (41.2%), ignorance of the risk (20.8%), being busy (25.0%) and dissatisfaction with follow-up procedures (13.0%). The study highlights the need for continuous education programmes about handling of sharp dental instruments and reporting injuries.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Lay Public, Pharmacists, and Physicians Toward the Use of Herbal Products in North Jordan

Dear Editor, Herbal medicines (HMs) are promoted as “natural” and “safe,” and they have been used for thousands of years without being subjected to the stringent standards of purity, efficacy and safety regulation applied to conventional drugs. Studies have shown that some HMs contain toxic metals and some may induce a wide range of adverse outcomes and drug interactions.1 For instance, ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), ginseng (Panax spp.), and royal jelly may interact with warfarin and cause an increase in bleeding time.2 The prevalence of HM use has been reported at around 13% in UK3, 27% in Canada,4 and 70% in some developing countries.5 In the United States, the prevalence of use varies from 12.9%6 to 80.3%.7 The prevalence in Jordan is unknown, although there are hundreds of herbalist shops selling more than 150 HMs, 27 of which were reported to be frequently prescribed.8 The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of HM use in Jordan, and to assess the awareness of the lay public, pharmacists, and physicians of the use of frequently prescribed herbs. This descriptive study was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire given to 300 randomly selected members of the lay public, 300 pharmacists, and 72 physicians working in the private sector in Irbid, the main city in the north of Jordan (Table 1). SPSS (version 15) was used for data processing and analysis. Variables were described in terms of frequency distribution. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables. Some 87.3% of the lay public, 84.7% of the pharmacists, and 66.7% of the physicians in the study acknowledged use of HMs for treatment of simple conditions. Most of those who used HMs (91.1% of the public, 95.5% of the pharmacists, and 87.9% of the physicians) believe that they got desirable effects following its use. The motives stated by the participants that led them to use HMs are shown in Table 2. Lay people learned about HMs from books/magazines (46.7%), friends and relatives (40%), herbalists (19.3%), and the Internet (5.3%). Only 21.3% of them sought information from physicians, and only 16% consulted a pharmacist. When physicians were asked about their feelings when consulted about HM use, 44.4% felt satisfied that the HM would have a positive effect, 25% were indifferent, and 30.6% had negative feelings toward HM use. When asked about their knowledge of the composition of HMs, 24.7% of the lay public, 60% of pharmacists, and 30.6% of physicians claimed that they had good knowledge. Some 25.3% of the public, 26.7% of pharmacists, and 52.8% of physicians thought that HMs may occasionally induce side effects. Regarding potential herb–drug interactions, most pharmacists (93.2%) and physicians (94.4%) believed that interactions could happen. Our data show that HMs use is common in the north of Jordan and the prevalence rate is somewhat higher than that reported in other countries.3–7 Additionally, this is one of very few studies that investigated the use of HMs among healthcare professionals (HCPs). Although some investigators have shown that the prevalence rate of HMs use is significantly high among well-educated individuals,9 the reported use of HMs by Jordanian HCPs was significantly higher than that from other countries.10 Although we did not investigate the characteristics of the members of the lay public who use HMs, the high prevalence rate of use (87.3%) may have no correlation with demographic factors. The essential motive for their widespread use was the belief that HMs are natural and, therefore, safe. We observed that relatives and friends encourage this belief; the use of HMs is usually recommended by elderly family members who know the Arabic names and the traditional indications for their use. Most participants in this survey did not believe that HMs can have side-effects when used inappropriately. FurtherLETTERS TO THE EDITOR 1186

Self‐reported allergy to latex gloves among health care workers in Jordan

The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of natural rubber latex allergy and its associated factors among health care workers in Jordan based on a self‐administered questionnaire. In this cross‐sectional study, the data were obtained through a self‐reported hand‐delivered questionnaire that was distributed to 500 health care workers who use natural rubber latex gloves. A total of 420 (84%) health care workers responded by filling the questionnaire. Of the total number of 420 health care workers who filled the questionnaire, 57 (13.6%) reported allergy to latex gloves. The prevalence of allergy to latex gloves was significantly higher for those who had allergy to some foodstuffs (especially avocado, kiwifruits and chestnuts) or with history of eczema and hay fever. However, allergy to latex gloves was independent of gender, age, job, family history, type of gloves, hours of use/day and number of years of use. It is concluded that a high rate of allergy to latex gloves was reported among health care workers in Jordan.

Risk indicators of pre-eclampsia in north Jordan : Is dental caries involved?

Background: Despite a huge body of published research, understanding the basic pathology that leads to pre-eclampsia is still incomplete. This study was conducted among women in north Jordan to determine factors associated with pre-eclampsia and to determine if dental caries was involved. Methods: A case-control study was carried out among women who delivered at Princess Badea Teaching Hospital, Irbid, North Jordan, between September 1, 2004 and January 1, 2005. 115 women with pre-eclampsia and 230 normotensive controls were included in the study. Information regarding participants’ demographics, antenatal history and family history were collected through personal interviews. Several oral parameters were measured for each participant. Results: In multivariate analysis, factors found to be associated with increased odds of pre-eclampsia were age ≧35 years (adjusted OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.08, 4.48), nulliparity (adjusted OR 2.73; 95% CI 1.38, 5.39), emotional stress during pregnancy (adjusted OR 4.22; 95% CI 1.79, 9.90), maternal history of pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR 16.04; 95% CI 5.82, 44.22), family history of cardiovascular diseases (adjusted OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.22, 6.51), family history of pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR 23.26; 95% CI 5.07, 106.78), twin births (adjusted OR 37.79; 95% CI 4.22, 338.51), and Body Mass Index (BMI). In comparison with women with pre-pregnancy BMI <25, adjusted OR were 1.97, 95% CI 1.02, 3.81 for women with BMI from 25 to 29.9, and 3.31, 95% CI 1.36, 8.03 for women with BMI ≧30. Mean decayed teeth surface was found to be associated with increased odds of pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03, 1.27). Conclusion: This study demonstrated no difference to reported risk indicators of pre-eclampsia in other populations, but adds that dental caries may have an association with increased odds of pre-eclampsia.