Effect of glittered nail polish on pulse oximetry measurements in healthy subjects

Background: Pulse oximeter is a simple and noninvasive standard device to monitor the saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2) and heart rate. The nail polish of different colors may result in inaccurate oximetry reading and interpretation of oxygen saturation. This study aimed at determining the effect of different colors of glittered nail polish on SpO2in healthy students. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial on 30 healthy students with SpO2≥95% and without any complications on nail beds and environmental perfusion. SpO2was measured on 10 fingers of the participants after sitting and resting on a seat for 10 min in a room with normal temperature. Then they were asked to apply 10 colors of glittered nail polish randomly to their fingernails as all colors were used. After drying the two-layer nail polish, SpO2was measured again. Results: Of 10 glittered nail-polishes, dark green and purple did not change SpO2reading significantly. All other colors lowered SpO2significantly based on Wilcoxon test (red: p = 0.003; orange: p = 0.002; yellow: p = 0.015; pink: p = 0.017; dark blue: p = 0.001; violet: p = 0.001; brown: p = 0.001; black: p = 0.001). However, those changes were not clinically significant because SpO2differences before and after nail polish were in acceptable range (less than a 2% change). Conclusions: We conclude that different colors of glittered nail polishes do not result in a clinically significant change in pulse oximetry measurements in healthy subjects; therefore, it is not necessary to remove the glittered nail polish routinely in clinical, surgical, and emergency settings

Evaluation of in-Hospital NT-ProBNP Changes in Heart Failure Patients to Identify the Six-Month Clinical Response Following Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

N-terminal pro β-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a valuable marker for monitoring the response to treatment in patients with heart failure. Based on the clinically observed improvement of heart failure symptoms early after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), we sought to investigate whether CRT induce any significant reduction in the plasma level of NT-proBNP in three days after implantation and whether it is correlated with patients' response at six months. In this prospective study, 21 consecutive patients with severe heart failure (New York Heart Association class 3.19±0.40) who underwent CRT were enrolled. Being alive, no hospitalization due to decompensated heart failure, and improvement of at least one NYHA functional class at six months were classified as clinical responsiveness. The plasma level of NT-proBNP was measured before, three days, and six months after CRT. Clinical evaluation, echocardiographic study, and six-minute walking test were performed before and six months after the procedure. At six months' follow-up, 16 (76.2%) patients were responders. The plasma level of NT-proBNP at three days after CRT increased almost equally in both responder and non-responder groups of patients (∆NT-proBNP was 40.94±135.74 vs. 54.80±88.98); however, at six months' follow-up, the NT-proBNP changes statistically differed across the two groups of patients (P=0.005). According to our findings, NT-proBNP percent deviation from baseline to three days after CRT appears to be not correlated with the patients' clinical response after six months, which was incongruent to the patients' clinical improvement after CRT

Relationship between Lung Function and Flour Dust in Flour Factory Workers

Introduction: Exposure to flour dust is an important risk factor in occurrence of allergic airway disorders among mill workers. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and its relation with exposure to respirable dust. Materials and Methods: In this study, all of 35 workers who worked in the flour producing section of three factories were chosen as case group and 20 unexposed people were selected as the control group. Exposure to total and respirable dust were measured with standard methods. Spirometry was used for determining lung function disorders and the America Lung Society Questionnaire was used for assessment of prevalence of respiratory symptoms. The results were analyzed by t-test, correlation and linear regression. Results: The average total and respirable dust exposure in the exposed group was 8.06 and 5.09 mg/m3 and was higher than the threshold limit value recommended by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists(ACGIH). 52% of workers had sputum in the morning and during waking up, 44% felt tightness of breath or pressure in the chest, 55% felt short of breath while walking fast and work; and in 52% cough during work was experienced. There was a significant and negative correlation between total and respirable dust with Forced Vital Capacity(FVC), Forced Vital Capacity Percent(%FVC) and Forced Expiratory Volume in one second(FEV1). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that exposure to respirable dust was more than 10 times higher than the threshold limit and caused a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function disorders among mills workers

Effectiveness of oral clonidine and gabapentin on peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients in southwestern Iran: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract Background Peripheral neuropathy is not only the most prevalent consequence of diabetes but also the main reason for foot ulceration, disability, and amputation. Therefore, the current study aims to determine the effectiveness of oral clonidine and gabapentin on peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients. Methods This 12-week, randomized, and parallel-group trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of oral clonidine and gabapentin with gabapentin alone in diabetic patients in southwest Iran during the first half of 2021. Thirty patients with type 2 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy as assessed by a visual analog scale (VAS) and divided into two groups of 15 patients, treated for up to three months. The data were analyzed using SPSS-21 software. In order to report the results, descriptive indices, independent t-test, one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and analysis of variance with repeated measures were used. Results The mean and standard deviation of the age of the participants in the clonidine + gabapentin group was equal to 50.20 ± 7.44, and in the gabapentin group was equal to 50.47 ± 7.57 (t = 0.10, P-value = 0.923). This research showed a significant difference between the clonidine + gabapentin group and with gabapentin group in terms of neuropathic pain and the severity of neuropathic pain (P < 0.001). Conclusions According to this research results, clonidine + gabapentin can reduce neuropathic pain and the severity of neuropathic pain in diabetic patients. Therefore, it is recommended that healthcare professionals with diabetes expertise prescribe these medications to reduce neuropathic pain and its severity. Trial registration This study was registered in the Iranian Clinical Trials System with the ID (IRCT20211106052983N1) on 14/01/2022

Allopurinol prophylactic therapy and the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing coronary angiography: A prospective randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is considered to be a possibly severe complication of radiography and thus, remains to be the main cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) for inpatients. A clinical trial was executed to measure the preventive effect of allopurinol against CIN in high-risk patients undertaking coronary angiography. METHODS: Through randomized controlled trial, 140 patients with at minimum two risk factors of CIN, undertaking coronary angiography, were randomly allocated to the allopurinol (n = 70) or control group (n = 70). Those in the allopurinol group received allopurinol (300 mg) a day before their coronary angiography and intravenous hydration for 12 hours before and after their procedure, while members of the control group only received intravenous hydration. Serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and uric acid were measured before and 48 hours after the procedure. CIN was defined by a 25% increase in SCr or the concentration of &gt; 0.5 mg/dl, 48 hours after coronary angiography. RESULTS: CIN was observed in 8 (11.4%) patients in the allopurinol group and 11 (15.7%) patients in the control group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of CIN between the two groups at 48 hours after coronary angiography (P = 0.459). In the allopurinol group, the median SCr concentration decreased non-significantly from 1.16 mg/dl to 1.13 mg/dl, 48 hours after coronary angiography (P = 0.189). In the control group, the median SCr concentration increased significantly from 1.11 mg/dl to 1.2 mg/dl, 48 hours after coronary angiography (P &lt; 0.001). CONCLUSION: Allopurinol presents no considerable effectiveness over the hydration protocol for development of CIN in high-risk patients.&nbsp;</p

Relationship between Lung Function and Flour Dust in Flour Factory Workers Original Article

Abstract Introduction: Exposure to flour dust is an important risk factor in occurrence of allergic airway disorder

Rhenium-188 radiosynovectomy for chronic haemophilic synovitis: Evaluation of its safety and efficacy in haemophilic patients

Introduction: Radiocolloids labelled with less costly and more accessible radionuclides such as rhenium-188 are of interest to developing countries compared with those labelled with rhenium-186 and yttrium-90. Aim: This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiosynovectomy using rhenium-188 in patients with chronic haemophilic synovitis and recurrent hemarthrosis. Methods: In this quasi-experimental prospective study, 20 haemophilic patients were evaluated at preinjection, and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after injection. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done to measure synovial thickness and to calculate Denver score. Joint radiographs were taken to measure the Pettersson score. The Gilbert questionnaire, Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia (FISH) and visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain were completed, and the number of bleeding episodes and factor consumption were recorded at each follow-up visit. Results: The number of bleeding episodes, the amount of factor consumption per month, VAS pain scores and synovial thickness decreased significantly over time (P <.05). Gilbert and FISH scores showed significant improvement (P <.001). However, Pettersson score and Denver score showed no significant changes after injection. Minor complications including temporary pain and swelling occurred in 20% of patients, and no major complication was observed after rhenium-188 injection. Conclusion: Our results indicated high clinical impact, efficacy, safety and low invasion of rhenium-188 in radiosynovectomy of haemophilic patients. Considering the availability and relatively low cost of rhenium-188 in developing countries, this can be a good treatment option for haemophilic patients with recurrent hemarthrosis, particularly when the synovial hypertrophy is not massive yet

Design, development, and evaluation of a registry system for hyperbaric oxygen therapy: A methodological study

Abstract Background and Aims Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), utilizes 100% oxygen at pressures greater than sea‐level atmospheric pressure, for the treatment of conditions in which the tissues starve for oxygen. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) has granted HBOT approval for the treatment of various conditions. On the other hand, applying informatics registry systems can improve care delivery, ameliorate outcomes, and reduce the costs and medical errors for the patients receiving HBOT treatment. Therefore, we aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a registry system for patients undergoing HBOT. Methods In the first phase, the conceptual and logical models were designed after conducting symposiums with experts and having other experts review the models. In the second phase, the system was developed on the web using ASP.NET  and C# programming languages frameworks. The last phase involved Nielsen's heuristic evaluation method for the system's usability. Five experts evaluated the system, including three health information management specialists and two medical informatics specialists. Results The hyperbaric patient information registry system (HPIRS) interacts with three types of users—a specialist physician, a nurse, and a system administrator. A scenario for each predefined activity was designed, and all the information was stored in the SQL servers. The five experts independently found 152 issues, of which 84 were duplicates. The 68 distinct issues of the system were then resolved. Conclusions The design and development of such registry systems can make data available and stored carefully to improve clinical care and medical research and decrease costs and errors. These registries can provide the healthcare systems with E‐health applications, improved data management, more secure data transfer, and support for statistical reporting. The implemented heuristic evaluation method can also provide a low‐cost and readily available system to fix the issues of the designed systems