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Article History

Received: 14 March 2022

Accepted: 17 January 2023

First Online: 23 January 2023

Declarations

:

: Verbal informed consent was obtained for all participants (if the subjects are illiterate informed consent was obtained from legal representative). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IR.IUMS.REC.1399.1044) and was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Committee waived the need for written consent and approved the use of verbal consent. The verbal consent protocol approved by the Ethics Review Committee required the interviewer to obtain permission to conduct the study. Initially, the aim of the study was explained to the participants. They were insured that their information would remain confidential. They were also informed that participation is totally voluntary, and they have the right to withdraw from the study whenever they wish. Administrative permission to access and use the patient medical records described in this study was given by the infectious disease specialist, who is the corresponding author of the manuscript.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.