Preparation and Implementation of Intrahospital Transfer Protocol for Emergency Department Patients to Decrease Unexpected Events

Introduction: Most of the patients hospitalized in the emergency department (ED) are in need of transfer to other hospital wards or paraclinic units. This process is called intrahospital transfer (IHT) that may lead to a wide range of complications known as unexpected events (UE). Objective: In the present study we decided to evaluate the effect of using a pre-designed protocol on decrease of UEs and safety improvement of IHT among patients hospitalized in ED. Method: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 in the ED of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. All patients with triage levels of 1 and 2 who were in need of temporary or permanent transfer to other departments of the studied treatment center based on clinical indication as decided by the in-charge physician were enrolled in the study. This study was conducted in 3 phases of pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention. Any UE was recorded in first phase. During intervention phase ED-IHT protocol was prepared and implemented. the checklist of complications and UEs during transfer was filled again and pre- and post-intervention results were compared. Results: In this study, 207 patients with the mean age of 58.9 ± 20.6 years were evaluated (61.4% male). Demographic data and baseline characteristics of the studied patients in the phases before and after implementation of the protocol has no significant difference. Overall, before implementation of the protocol out of the 105 studied patients, a total of 35 patients (33.3%) were affected by UE during transfer, but after implementation of the protocol this rate decreased to 11 patients (10.8%) out of the 103 studied patients and this decrease was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results obtained from this study, it seems that performing the IHT protocol specialized for ED patients has been effective in decreasing UE cases

Preparation and Implementation of Intrahospital Transfer Protocol for Emergency Department Patients to Decrease Unexpected Events

Introduction: Most of the patients hospitalized in the emergency department (ED) are in need of transfer to other hospital wards or paraclinic units. This process is called intrahospital transfer (IHT) that may lead to a wide range of complications known as unexpected events (UE). Objective: In the present study we decided to evaluate the effect of using a pre-designed protocol on decrease of UEs and safety improvement of IHT among patients hospitalized in ED. Method: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 in the ED of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. All patients with triage levels of 1 and 2 who were in need of temporary or permanent transfer to other departments of the studied treatment center based on clinical indication as decided by the in-charge physician were enrolled in the study. This study was conducted in 3 phases of pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention. Any UE was recorded in first phase. During intervention phase ED-IHT protocol was prepared and implemented. the checklist of complications and UEs during transfer was filled again and pre- and post-intervention results were compared. Results: In this study, 207 patients with the mean age of 58.9 ± 20.6 years were evaluated (61.4% male). Demographic data and baseline characteristics of the studied patients in the phases before and after implementation of the protocol has no significant difference. Overall, before implementation of the protocol out of the 105 studied patients, a total of 35 patients (33.3%) were affected by UE during transfer, but after implementation of the protocol this rate decreased to 11 patients (10.8%) out of the 103 studied patients and this decrease was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results obtained from this study, it seems that performing the IHT protocol specialized for ED patients has been effective in decreasing UE cases

The association between sexual health literacy and sexual function of women in Iran

BACKGROUND: Considering the importance of sexual health literacy in promoting individual sexual health and ultimately improving family and social health as well as the effect of health literacy on sexual function, this study was designed and conducted to determine the association between sexual health literacy and sexual function among women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 420 women referring to health centers were entered into the study using one-stage cluster sampling method. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, Iranian Adult Sexual Health Literacy Assessment Questionnaire, and the Persian version of the Female Sexual Function Assessment Questionnaire (FSFI). Data were collected and entered into SPSS 22 and logistic regression. RESULTS: The results of the logistic regression test showed that the variable of sexual health literacy was effective on women's sexual function (P = 0.021) so that the chances of having a desirable sexual function in women with excellent were 4.222 times more than women with inadequate health literacy; the variables of employment status, level of education, duration of marital life, and the number of sexual intercourses per recent week were the factors affecting women's sexual function (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study pointed out the existence of an undesirable level of sexual function and a desirable level of sexual health literacy among participating women. Hence, designing and implementing the training plans to promote sexual function among these women is necessary

Association between Interleukin-8 -251T/A Polymorphism and Endometriosis in Iranian Women

Bachground: Endometriosis is a disease of female genital system, which is defined by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. IL-8 is an autocrine growth factor in the endometrium that contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between -251T/A polymorphism in the IL-8 gene and endometriosis risk in Iranian population. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 100 endometriosis patients and 100 healthy individuals. The IL-8 -251T/A genotypes were determined using PCR-RFLP method. The association between genotypes of the -251T/A polymorphism and the endometriosis risk was examined by use of odds ratios (OR) and 95% of confidence intervals (CIs). Results: No statistically significant associations were observed between IL-8 -251 variants and the risk of endometriosis development (&chi2: 1.02, P: 0.63). In addition, subgroup analysis according to severity of disease, were unable to identify any association between IL-8 -251T/A polymorphism and endometriosis (P>0.05), and there was no significant association between IL-8 -251T/A and the severity of endometriosis. Conclusions: This is the first study regard to association of -251T/A polymorphism with endometriosis risk. Our results indicate that the presence of the -251T/A polymorphism in IL-8 gene is not associated with the risk of endometriosis

The effect of glycolysis inhibitor dichloroacetate on the apoptosis rate and alteration of gene and miRNA expression of breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231

Breast cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer among women. The triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most invasive subtype, and chemotherapy is the only therapy option. Cancer cells preferably utilize the glycolysis pathway even with proper oxygen availability, and this activation plays a great role in tumorigenesis. Therefore, glycolysis targeting can be an effective strategy for cancer treatment. Here, the apoptotic effect of a glycolysis inhibitor named dichloroacetate (DCA) on TNBC cells MDA-MB-231 was assessed, and the expression of anti-apoptotic genes and oncogenic miRNAs was evaluated. MTT assay showed that DCA reduces cell viability in a dose-dependent manner with the IC50 concentration of 50 mM. Annexin/PI assay demonstrated that DCA due to DCA treatment. Finally, the expression of anti-apoptotic genes Bcl2l1 and Mcl1 and oncogenic miRNAs miR21 and miR27a decreased due to DCA treatment. Our results confirmed that DCA, as a glycolysis inhibitor, leads to apoptosis induction in TNBC cells because of reducing expression of viability genes and miRNAs

Speech intelligibility in 4-5 year old children

Introduction: Speech intelligibility is the measure of the effectiveness of speech. The Speech intelligibility has important clinical implication including the following: Determining if intervention is needed, setting intervention goals and evaluating effectiveness of intervention. The goal of this study was to measure Speech intelligibility in 4-5 year old children. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive analytic –cross sectional study .The research group consistent of 70 children (35 girls, 35boys(, that were selected by simple random method among five districts of Isfahan. Two kindergartens from each district were selected accidentally and speech samples of seven children from each kindergarten were analyzed to determine Speech intelligibility. Results: Mean of Speech intelligibility percentage was 97.53 (SD  =2.4) and its range was 90 to 100. Mean of Speech intelligibility percentage in boys was 97.9 and in girls was 97.9. T-test showed no significant differences (P = 074)in Speech intelligibility between boys and girls. Conclusion: According to the result, speech intelligibility in 4-5 years old children was roughly similar to the adult

Preparation and Implementation of Intrahospital Transfer Protocol for Emergency Department Patients to Decrease Unexpected Events

Introduction: Most of the patients hospitalized in the emergency department (ED) are in need of transfer to other hospital wards or paraclinic units. This process is called intrahospital transfer (IHT) that may lead to a wide range of complications known as unexpected events (UE). Objective: In the present study we decided to evaluate the effect of using a pre-designed protocol on decrease of UEs and safety improvement of IHT among patients hospitalized in ED. Method: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 in the ED of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. All patients with triage levels of 1 and 2 who were in need of temporary or permanent transfer to other departments of the studied treatment center based on clinical indication as decided by the in-charge physician were enrolled in the study. This study was conducted in 3 phases of pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention. Any UE was recorded in first phase. During intervention phase ED-IHT protocol was prepared and implemented. the checklist of complications and UEs during transfer was filled again and pre- and post-intervention results were compared. Results: In this study, 207 patients with the mean age of 58.9 ± 20.6 years were evaluated (61.4% male). Demographic data and baseline characteristics of the studied patients in the phases before and after implementation of the protocol has no significant difference. Overall, before implementation of the protocol out of the 105 studied patients, a total of 35 patients (33.3%) were affected by UE during transfer, but after implementation of the protocol this rate decreased to 11 patients (10.8%) out of the 103 studied patients and this decrease was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results obtained from this study, it seems that performing the IHT protocol specialized for ED patients has been effective in decreasing UE cases