Effectiveness of Short-term Cardiac Rehabilitation on Clinical Manifestations in Post-MI Patients

Background & Aim: Cardiac rehabilitation is one of the most effective ways of secondary prevention in patients with myocardial infarction manifestations. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation on clinical manifestations of myocardial infarction in post-MI patients. Methods & Materials: In this interventional study, 66 patients (58 males and eight females) with myocardial infarction who were hospitalized in public hospitals of Ahwaz were selected using purposeful sampling. The participants were randomly allocated into intervention and control groups. Data was collected using a self-structured valid and reliable instrument. The intervention group participated in an 8-week cardiac rehabilitation program. Data on the clinical manifestations were collected eight weeks later. Data were analyzed in SPSS. Results: The results showed that there was significant differences between two groups in hypertension crisis (P=0.03), chest pain, dyspnea, fatigue and palpitation after the cardiac rehabilitation (P<0.001). Conclusion: Cardiac rehabilitation program decreased the clinical manifestations of myocardial infarction in post-MI patients. It is recommended to perform this procedure in the post-MI patients

Cytotoxic effect of <em>Cousinia verbascifolia</em> Bunge against OVCAR-3 and HT-29 cancer cells

Introduction: Little information is available about phytochemical and biological properties of Cousinia genus. In a primary study, seven Cousinia species including C. verbascifolia showed cytotoxic activity ranged between 18.4 &plusmn; 0.59 to 87.9 &plusmn; 0.58 &mu;g/mL. To the best of our knowledge, no other biological studies have been conducted on this plant. Therefore, in this study the cytotoxic effect of Cousinia verbascifolia Bunge against OVCAR-3 and HT-29 cancer cells was evaluated. Methods: Filtration and in vacuo concentration of methanol extract resulted in a green gum which was subjected on reverse column chromatography. Semi polar fraction (41.3 g) eluted with water: methanol (20:80), was then subjected on a silica gel column chromatography using hexane/acetone and resulted in 11 fractions. Finally, cytotoxic activities against ovarian and colon cancer cells were determined at a wavelength of 570 nm by Matrix metalloproteinase protein (MTT) standard method. Results: None of the fractions showed highly cytotoxic activity. Based on NCI, fractions Fr. 1, Fr. 2, Fr. 4, Fr. 5, Fr. 6, Fr. 8 and Fr. 10 showed moderately cytotoxicity with IC50 values ranged between 119 to 190 &mu;g/mL against OVCAR-3 cells. Fractions Fr. 1, Fr. 2, Fr. 6, Fr. 7 and Fr. 8 showed moderately cytotoxic activity ranged between 118 to 194 &mu;g/mL against HT-29 cells. Fr. 10 and Fr. 11 showed no cytotoxic activity. Conclusion: Due to the inhibitory properties of extract and its fractions on cancer cells, identification of responsible compounds possessing cytotoxic effects for generating possible new approach in medicinal chemistry are recommended.</p

Effect of the nursing process using via "accessible care cards" on the patients' satisfaction of nursing care in intensive care units of Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz

Background and aims: Nursing process is performance Standard for nursing cares. According to their conditions and facilities, various centers can choose and implement a nursing process that is more efficient for them. This study was aimed to determine the effect of nursing process the way "accessible care cards" on patients' satisfaction from care in intensive care units. Methods: This is a cross-sectional interventional study with plan case-control study that was conducted in Golestan hospital in Ahwaz in 2014. Considering the inclusion criteria and available sampling method, a total of 38 controls and 38 cases were selected for the intervention group were evaluated. Data were collected questionnaire made by researcher, which was assess the scientific validity, the content validity method were used validated. As well as its reliability using Cronbach's alpha test (α= 0.9) was determined. Intervention was conducted by accessible care cards in nursing process for two weeks and its impact on patient satisfaction was measured. The control group was routine care. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS 19 and statistical tests. Descriptive statistics such as mean, and standard deviation was used. Chi-square test, Mann-whitney and t-test were used to compare groups. Results: Results showed that 28.90% of patients in the control group had great satisfaction of care, while the 97.36% of patients in the intervention group reported nearly excellent satisfaction. The observed difference in patients' satisfaction with nursing care in both the experimental and control group was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of nursing process, in a manner of available cards led to an increase in patient satisfaction compared with the routine manner and the use of these cards makes the nursing process of a greater degree of mental state, to objectively state, that can help in saving a lot of time for nurses

Anxiety Level of Pregnant Women from Ahwaz Exposed to Domestic Violence

Background: Domestic violence is a concern in the communities and need a wide attention. Violence against women can cause all kinds of physical and mental illness. This is a threat to woman’s and family member’s health. Stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy are risk factors for adverse consequences. Little is known about the level of the mental illnesses in women who exposed to domestic violence during pregnancy. This study reported the level of anxiety in women who were victims of domestic violence in health centers in Ahwaz.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which a sample of 110 pregnant women with domestic violence and pregnant women without violence were recruited.  The data were collected using the demographic questionnaire, World Health Organization standardized domestic violence questionnaire, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The data entered in SPSS 21 and were analyzed using Chi-Square, Independent-t and Multiple Logistic Regression.Results: The pregnant women in the domestic violence group had a higher mean score of anxiety (P&lt;0.05). Women exposed to violence experienced psychological violence (57.75%), physical violence (37.73%) and sexual violence (33.88%). The psychological violence was the greatest influence on the level of anxiety in pregnant women.Conclusion: This study demonstrated the impact of domestic violence on the level of anxiety in pregnant women and confirmed its treat to women's mental health

A comparative study of the mini-punch grafting and hair follicle transplantation in the treatment of refractory and stable vitiligo

Background: Some vitiligo lesions are resistant to all medical treatments. Objective: We sought to compare the efficacy of hair follicle transplantation and mini-punch grafting for the treatment of refractory vitiligo lesions. Methods: A total of 25 patients with stable and resistant vitiligo participated in the study. In each patient, a resistant vitiligo patch was divided into 2 equal parts. One part was treated with hair follicle transplantation and the other part with mini-punch grafting. Postsurgically, the recipient areas were exposed to narrowband ultraviolet B twice a week for 6 months. The diameter of the repigmentation around each graft was measured monthly. Results: At the end of the sixth month, 68% of follicle grafts, and 72% of mini-punch grafts, had repigmentation. The mean diameter of repigmentation around follicle grafts was 5 +/- 1.7 mm and around punch grafts was 5.3 +/- 1.6 mm. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups statistically (P = .18). Limitations: Small sample size and short time of follow-up are limitations. Conclusions: Because the results of the 2 methods are not statistically different and mini-punch grafting is much easier to do than follicular transplantation, we recommend mini-punch grafting to treat drug-resistant vitiligo

The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Burnout among Rehabilitation Personnel of Razi Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran

Background and purpose: The study about effective management dimensions in hospital staff performance is important. This study was done to survey the relationship between job satisfaction and burnout in the rehabilitation personnel of Razi Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 77 subjects including psychometrics, general practitioners, specialists, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and psychologists were selected randomly among rehabilitation staff in Razi Psychiatric Hospital in 2011. The data were collected using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ).The data were analyzed using Pearson&rsquo;s correlation method. Results: Job satisfaction had an inverse relationship with &quot;emotional exhaustion&quot; and &quot;depersonalization&quot;(p<0.001), but there was not a significant relationship between &quot;personal accomplishment&quot; and &quot;job satisfaction&quot;. The mean of emotional exhaustion was 68.18, depersonalization 68.4 and personal accomplishment 29.36. In addition, the results of this study showed that 36.6 percent of rehabilitation team employees in Razi Psychiatric Hospital were satisfied with their jobs. Conclusion: As the results show, it is necessary to perform further research to find the main reasons of intensifying job burnout and then reduce these critical factors leading to personnel dissatisfaction from their jobs and any probable consequence of this dissatisfaction

The impacts of Beliefs, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Enabling Factors-based educational program on cardiovascular risk factors through enhanced nutritional behaviors in water and wastewater organization employees

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of disability and morbidity in many countries. Considering the significance of education in correcting unhealthy eating habits and improving nutritional behaviors that prevents cardiovascular diseases, the current study has been carried out to investigate the impacts of Beliefs, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Enabling Factors (BASNEF)-based educational program on the employees' nutritional behaviors. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 120 randomly selected employees of Water and Wastewater Organization of Kermanshah. Individuals were divided into the control and intervention groups. Questionnaires devised based on BASNEF model and food frequency questionnaires were collected preintervention and 3-month postintervention. Educational program was performed in four training sessions. Results: Significant differences between mean scores of knowledge and other items of BASNEF model as well as nutritional improvements were observed in the intervention group after 3 months (P < 0.01). Conclusion: BASNEF educational model positively affected nutritional behaviors of the employees to reducing cardiovascular risk factors

The effect of pomegranate juice on clinical signs, matrix metalloproteinases and antioxidant status in patients with knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the commonest forms of musculoskeletal disorders that leads to joint degeneration and has a major impact on patients' quality of life. Experimental and in vitro studies have suggested the protective roles of pomegranate juice (PJ) as a rich antioxidant source for mitigating cartilage inflammation. In this interventional study, 38 patients with knee OA were randomly divided into two groups: PJ or control for 6 weeks to evaluate the effect of this intervention on clinical signs, inflammation and antioxidant status. RESULTS: Significant decreases in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) total score (P = 0.01), stiffness score (P = 0.00) and physical function score (P = 0.01) were observed in PJ group after the intervention. The means of serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 was significantly decreased (P = 0.02) and glutathione peroxidase was increased in the intervention group compared with the control group after the study period (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: According to the findings of this clinical trial, PJ consumption can improve physical function and stiffness, decrease breakdown cartilage enzymes and increase antioxidant status in patients with knee OA. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industr