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Background: Hepatitis B (HB) vaccination is a recommended procedure in all dialysis patients, but its efficacy has not been perfect. In the current study, we aimed to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to find and pool data of the randomized trials evaluating the impact of serum albumin levels on the immunogenicity of HB vaccination in dialysis patients. Methods: Literature searches were conducted by the Medline and Google Scholar. The key words used included ‘Hepatitis B’, ‘Vaccine’, ‘Dialysis’, ‘Hemodialysis’, and ‘Albumin’. Data of serum albumin levels regarding seroresponse to HB vaccine in clinical trials have been achieved and analyzed. Finally, data from 17 clinical trials have been pooled and analyzed. Results: One thousand six hundred eighty-two dialysis patients (1212 seroconverted) were included in the meta-analysis. Analysis of response to HB vaccination in our dialysis population showed a significant relationship to their serum albumin levels (p

Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection is probably the most important factor that has been associated with the development of gastric cancers in human populations. However, there are no reliable data on the prevalence of this infection in the Middle East. In this article, based on a comprehensive literature review, we aimed to evaluate the situation in this region. The literature has been searched for the incidence and prevalence of H.pylori infection by Pubmed and Google Scholar. Search was repeated for each of the Middle Eastern countries, and to empower the method, citations of each found article were searched for the related studies. Seventy seven reports from the countries of the Middle East region had been reviewed and they all indicated a high rate of infection either in the general population or in the dyspeptic patients, the rate seemed to be higher in patients with dyspepsia, in patients with histologically confirmed gastritis and in patients of older age groups.

Living donor kidney transplantation has strong opposition and proponents. Opponents argue that this would exploit poor and female while proponents discuss the high mortality rate of ESRD patients and the low risk of a living donation. In this debate, we reviewed disputes in ethical aspects of living donor kidney transplantation to reach to a good overview of the current concepts on the issue. "To save an innocent human life is equal to saving the humankind." Holy Quran; AlMaeda:32

Ramadan fasting is one of the most appreciated Islamic rituals in Islamic culture. Although non-healthy as well as weak people are allowed not to fast in this month, some trans-plant recipient patients are willing to fast but are concerned about adverse effects on their health. Due to answering this question, a number of studies have been conducted. In this literature review we review the existing data on this issue and attempt to reach to a conclusion on what we know and what we still need to know.

Despite strong evidence suggestive of associations between hepatic diseases and pancreas injury, a potential relationship between acute hepatitis and acute pancreatitis has not been a matter of review; which we focused on in the current paper. Some of the main findings of this review article are: fulminant hepatitis failure represents the highest incident rate of hepatitis-related acute pancreatitis; so a screening program might be indicative in these patients. Specific characteristics of HAV-related pancreatitis are that it is a benign condition with no reported mortality; and a male preponderance in the incidence, with females developing in older ages and having shown the signs of both conditions simultaneously. The incidence of acute pancreatitis in HBV infection is the lowest, but the mortality was the highest. HEV-related acute pancreatitis was most likely to represent pseudocysts and there was an apparent ethnic-priority with Indian descents, the only reported cases in the literature. Hepatitis-related pancreatitis in liver transplant recipients was most frequent in HBV infected patients; and in IFN-induced pancreatitis, cessation of the drug was most effective in treatment, with no catastrophic event reported. Image: Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences logo. Tehran, Iran., JOP. Journal of the Pancreas, Vol 16, No 2 (2015): March - p. 99-217