A randomized comparative study of Albendazole and Thiabendazole against Strongyloides stercoralis infection

استرنژیلوئیدیس استرکورالیس یک انگل روده ای است که تعداد زیادی از مردم دنیا به آن آلوده اند. داروی مناسب برای درمان این انگل تیابندازول است اما این دارو دارای عوارض جانبی زیادی است. در این بررسی تاثیر داروی آلبندازول در درمان استرنژیلوئیدیازیس مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. در این مطالعه که از نوع کلینیکال ترایال است 80 بیمار آلوده به استرنژیلوئیدیس استرکورالیس به دو گروه تقسیم شدند. گروه اول (50 بیمار) با آلبندازول درمان شد و گروه دوم (30 نفر) با تیابندازول مورد درمان قرار گرفت. بیمارانی درمان شده تلقی شدند که آزمایش مدفوع آنها پس از درمان با داروهای فوق از نظر آلودگی به استرنژیلوئیدیس استرکورالیس منفی بود. نسبت درمانی (Cure rate) میزان 92 و 100 به ترتیب برای آلبندازول و تیابندازول بدست آمد، اگرچه از نظر آماری اختلاف معنی داری بین اثر درمان دو دارو در گروه های مورد درمان وجود نداشت. باتوجه به نتایج مطالعات مشابه در این خصوص می توان اثر درمان آلبندازول که عوارض جانبی آن از تیابندازول کمتر است را بهبود بخشید. در نتیجه آلبندازول می تواند به عنوان داروی انتخابی در درمان آلودگی استرنژیلوئیدیس استرکورالیس تلقی شود

Efficay of consoling guidelines on decreasing of psychological problems of newly arrived students of Shahrekord university of medical sciences

زمینه و هدف: استرس ها یا فشارهای عصبی در هر محیطی واکنش های غیر اختصاصی ارگانیسم را موجب می شوند و ضرورت تغییر و تحول را در روند معمولی زندگی به دنبال دارند. با توجه به اینکه محیط دانشگاه می تواند حاوی عوامل استرس زا از قبیل دور شدن از محیط خانواده، مسائل مالی، مشکلات ارتباطی و غیره باشد و لزوم توجه و کاهش استرس در بین دانشجویان را می طلبد، این تحقیق با هدف بررسی تأثیر راهبردهای مشاوره ای بر کاهش مشکلات روانشناختی دانشجویان جدید الورود (80-79) دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهرکرد انجام گرفت. روش بررسی: این مطالعه یک تحقیق نیمه تجربی است که بر روی تعداد 40 نفر از 148 نفر دانشجویان جدید الورودی که به روش سرشماری انتخاب شده بودند و در آزمون اولیه با استفاده از پرسشنامه GHQ-28، نمره 23 و بالاتر از آن را کسب نمودند انجام شد. نمونه ها به روش تصادفی به دو گروه مورد و شاهد تقسیم شدند. سلامت روانی هر دو گروه به مدت 3 ماه بدون انجام هر گونه مداخله ارزیابی گردید و سپس گروه مورد به مدت 4 ماه تحت آموزش راهبردهای مشاوره ای قرار گرفت و نتایج حاصل از پرسشنامه مورد نظر با استفاده از آزمونهای آماری ANOVA، t-test و Dankan تجزیه و تحلیل گردید. یافته ها: نتایج حاصل از این تحقیق نشان داد 1/81 نمونه ها دختر و 9/18 پسر بودند. میانگین نمرات کل در گروه مورد قبل از مداخله 14/3±60/23، بعد از مداخله 01/3±90/14 بود (001/0

Efficacy of simple hand-washing in reduction of microbial hand contamination of Iranian food handlers

Foods are likely to be faecally contaminated during preparation or dissemination by the Iranian Muslim food handler that their religion enjoins the mechanical cleaning of themselves after defecation. The current study was designed to determine the actual rate of hand contamination of Iranian food handlers with pathogenic flora of faeces or nose and to evaluate the efficacy of simple hand-washing instruction in reduction of hand contamination. A before-after study was conducted on 150 randomly selected food handlers in an Iranian city, Shahrekord. At the first stage, the hands of 72.7% of food handlers were found to be contaminated. A comparison of the before-and-after data, revealed a significant decline in hand contamination of the food handler from 72.7% to 32% (P < 0.0001). Our study showed that the poor hygienic practice by the food handler is such a serious problem facing the health sector that it merits a further consideration by Iranian authorities. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Sustained Release Intraocular Drug Delivery Devices for Treatment of Uveitis

Corticosteroids have been the mainstay of uveitis therapy. When intraocular inflammation is unresponsive to steroids, or steroid related side effects become a concern, steroid-sparing medications may be administered which can be classified into immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents. Uveitis treatment can be delivered systemically, topically, periocularly or intraocularly. All of the above mentioned medications can entail significant systemic side effects, particularly if administered for prolonged durations, which may become treatment-limiting. Some medications, particularly hydrophobic compounds, may poorly cross the blood–retinal barrier. Topical medications, which have the least side effects, do not penetrate well into the posterior segment and are unsuitable for posterior uveitis which is often sight-threatening. Intraocular or periocular injections can deliver relatively high doses of drug to the eye with few or no systemic side effects. However, such injections are associated with significant complications and must often be repeated at regular intervals. Compliance with any form of regular medication can be a problem, particularly if its administration is associated with discomfort or if side effects are unpleasant. To overcome the above-mentioned limitations, an increasing number of sustained-release drug delivery devices using different mechanisms and containing a variety of agents have been developed to treat uveitis. This review discusses various current and future sustained-release ophthalmic drug delivery systems for treatment of uveitis

Burnout among nurses working in medical and educational centers in Shahrekord, Iran.

BACKGROUND Nursing burnout is the main characteristic of job stress that is a delayed reaction to chronic stressful situations in the workplace which could affect nurses who do not have sufficient emotional energy to cope and communicate with different types of patients. There is also sometimes this belief that they do not have the required capabilities for their jobs. The aim of this study was the evaluation of burnout among nurses working in medical and educational centers in Shahrekord. MATERIALS AND METHODS This descriptive study was performed on 340 nurses working in medical and educational centers in Shahrekord in 2009. Samples were selected using proportionate random sampling. Demographic information and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were filled in for all nurses. RESULTS Burnout was considerable among nurses. The results showed that 34.6, 28.8, and 95.7% of the nurses had emotional exhaustion (EE), high depersonalization (DP), and high reduced personal accomplishment (PA), respectively. The mean scores (± standard deviation) for EE, DP, and PA were 22.77 (12.44), 6.99 (6.23), and 32.20 (9.26), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that burnout was noticeable among nurses working in medical and educational centers in Shahrekord. Disproportionate relationship between the number of nurses, workload, and income was the most important factor affecting nursing burnout. Due to the importance of nursing in the health-care system, policy makers should adopt suitable strategies for increasing the satisfaction of nurses

Toxic responses of the liver and kidneys following occupational exposure to anesthetic gases

This study was undertaken to determine whether exposure of operating room personnel to inhalation anesthetics, including nitrous oxide, isoflurane, and sevoflurane was associated with any hepatotoxic or nephrotoxic changes. Fifty-two operating room personnel and 52 non-exposed subjects were studied. A questionnaire pertaining to demographic characteristics and medical history of participants was completed. Fasting blood samples were taken from all subjects to measure the functional parameters of kidneys and liver. Biological monitoring was also performed to detect the urinary concentration of IAs. Urinary concentrations of nitrous oxide, isoflurane, and sevoflurane were found to be 175.8 ± 77.52, 4.95 ± 3.43, and 15.0 3± 16.06 ppm, respectively. The mean levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, Alpha-glutathione-S-transferase, as well as the serum levels of kidney injury molecule-1, creatinine and calcium were significantly higher in the exposed group. Statistically significant associations were observed between exposure to inhalation anesthetics and the mean levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase, serum creatinine, kidney injury molecule-1, and calcium. Under the exposure scenario described in the present study, occupational exposure to inhalation anesthetics was associated with subtle, subclinical, pre-pathologic changes in the parameters of liver and kidneys. Additionally, Alpha-glutathione-S-transferase and kidney injury molecule-1 were found to be sensitive markers for early detection of subclinical changes in the parameters of kidney and liver function in subjects who are exposed to inhalation anesthetics

Reasons of Delay in the Referral for Cochlear Implantation of Pre-lingual Sensory-Neural Deaf Children

Introduction: Deafness is the most common congenital sensory disorder. Clearly, deafness has a lot of negative influence on a child’s growth, learning, and social communications. More than 90% of deafness cases are sensory-neural, which can be cured with cochlear implantation. One of the most important factors which can change the results of cochlear implantation is the child’s age at the time of implantation. In this work, the reason of delay in referring sensory-neural deaf children for cochlear implantation is studied. Methods: A questionnaire was designed to investigate the reasons of delay in regards to deaf children referred of age 3 or more. 54 children, 28 (51.9%) boys and 26 (48.1%) girls were studied. Variables such as age, sex, reason of delay, parents’ level of education, etc. were considered. Results: 36 (66.7%) cases were due to the unfortunate referrals by the Ear, Nose and Throat specialists, among which 19 (35.2%) of them were reported this to be the only reason. 20 (37%) cases reported improper services at the cochlear implantation centers as their reason. 3 (5.6%) cases were due to the unfortunate referral by the pediatricians. 21 cases reported the delay due to combined factors. In an additional study, 49 cases of children with deafness which referred for a cochlear implantation before the age of 3 were questioned of how they were informed of this treatment. 27 (56.3%) cases reported that they were referred by a physician. Conclusion: Many reasons can be concluded as to the main reasons for the delay in referring children with deafness for cochlear implantation. The most important factor can be inappropriate referral by the treatment-health system and the second reason can be considered improper services at cochlear implantation centers

The comparison of the effects of education provided by nurses on the quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) in usual and home-visit cares in Iran.

Quality of life (QOL) can be considered as a quality indicator of health care systems and nurses can play an important role to improve QOL in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of education provided by nurses on the QOL in patients with CHF in home-visit care compared to usual care. In a single-blind randomized controlled trial conducted from September 2011 to June 2012, 110 patients with CHF were randomly assigned into two groups. While patients in group I were received usual education at the time of hospital discharge, patients in Group II, in addition to usual education, were received special education regards to their illness by nurses who visited patients in their homes. The 36-item short-form (SF-36) questionnaire was used to evaluate the patient's QOL at the time of discharge and also six months after hospital discharge. At the time of hospital discharge, mean score of all 8 sub-score of SF-36 questionnaire was 63.4±7.8 in patients of group II and 61.1±6.4 in patients of group I, respectively (P> 0.05). QOL was decreased in group I and increased in group II compared to the time of hospital discharge. After six months, mean score of QOL was higher in group II than in group I. QOL of patients with CHF were decreased after hospital discharge. Education provided by nurses in home-visit care could improve the QOL in patients with CHF, based on the findings of this study