Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Feb 2012
ReviewPrimary palliative care: the potential of primary care physicians as providers of palliative care in the community in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life and relieving suffering in patients with progressive chronic illnesses. Palliative care services remain very limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region although the need for them is high and increasing. ⋯ This review highlights the urgent need to provide such care in the region and proposes that primary care providers in the region are well placed to provide palliative care in their communities. As palliative medicine is not established as a specialty in the region, training and support in palliative care are required to build capacity in end-of-life care and to allow all patients who would benefit from this approach access to it equitably and early in their illness.
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Feb 2012
ReviewHalothane: how should it be used in a developing country?
The anaesthetic agent halothane is still widely used in developing countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran because of its low price. Because of halothane-induced hepatitis, a rare complication, it has been replaced by other inhalation anaesthetics in Western countries; it has been suggested by some Iranian professionals that the Islamic Republic of Iran should do the same. We evaluated various dimensions of this replacement through a literature review to assess the incidence of halothane-induced hepatitis and costs of anaesthetics in the country. ⋯ The results indicate that the incidence of halothane hepatitis in the Islamic Republic of Iran is very low and could mostly be avoided by strict adherence to guidelines. Complete withdrawal of halothane in the Islamic Republic of Iran might not be appropriate at present. Comprehensive cost-effectiveness studies are needed before a decision is made on complete replacement of halothane with other anaesthetics.