Performance of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Blood Culture Procedure in Tabriz Hospitals in 2016

Background: Blood culture is a method in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and a gold standard for the diagnosis of infection that is essential for proper newborn management. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of nurses in the NICUs of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences using a standard sampling method. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 90 nurses working in Al-Zahra and Taleghani ‎Educational and Medical Centers, and Tabriz Children Hospital using the convenience sampling method. The study tool included a two-part questionnaire in which the first part contained demographic characteristics of the infants and nurses and the service area. The second part included a checklist of the nurses' performance before and during ‎the blood culture procedure. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software (version 21), as well as descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Most nurses did not attend training courses for blood culture. The total performance scores before and during blood ‎culture sampling were ‎13.20‎‏±‏‎2.57 and ‎12.48‎‏±‏‎2‎.14‎, respectively.‎ Conclusion: Nurses are responsible for the correct sampling of blood culture and this procedure requires sufficient skill. Therefore, organizations must adapt their system to the standards in order to determine the benefits and disadvantages of the standards

Evaluation of brain CT scan, sonography and EEG findings in neonates with seizure

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the frequency of different types, causes, and abnormal findings of brain computed tomography scan (CT scan) and ultrasonography (US) and multichannel- electroencephalography(EEG) in neonates with seizure. The ability of brain CT scan was also compared with US in terms of detecting the underlying causes of neonatal seizures.Materials & MethodsIn this cross-sectional retrospective study, the medical records of 90 neonates younger than 28 days with the definite diagnosis of seizure were reviewed. The ability of brain CT scan was also compared with US in terms of detecting the underlying causes of neonatal seizures.ResultsTotally, 90 newborns (M: F = 1.5:1) with mean age of 63.11 ± 32.8 days were enrolled. 35.5% of newborns were born before the 37th week of pregnancy. In this study, 45.6% of EEG findings, 22% of brain CT scan findings, and 12.5% of US findings were abnormal. The automatisms (38.9%) and benign idiopathic neonatal seizure (70.7%) were the most common seizure type and cause respectively. The hypoxic Ischemic encephalopathy was the most common abnormal finding (30%) in brain CT scan. ConclusionsGiven the accuracy of EEG in detection of brain pathologies, where available, all neonatal seizures should be initially confirmed using EEG. Radiologic investigations (CT scan, US) off the head/ craniumshould be done to detect the cause of neonatal seizure. The capacity of brain CT scan to detect underlying causes of neonatal seizures is more than US &nbsp

Findings of Brain CT Scan in Patients Hospitalized with Meningitis in Tabriz Children's Hospital and Its Association with Prognosis

Background. Children's meningitis is associated with many complications and deaths. Therefore, it is critical to develop reliable and available methods to predict these complications, diagnose them in a timely manner, and prevent the progression of complications. This study aimed to investigate the findings of computed tomography (CT) scan in patients with meningitis and evaluate its association with prognosis. Methods. In this cross-sectional analytical study, we investigated the clinical files of 100 patients with meningitis (preferably bacterial meningitis) in Tabriz Children's Hospital, Iran between 2013-2017. The results of CT scan and disease complications were recorded and analyzed by statistical software. Results. Common symptoms identified in the patients included fever (88%), nausea and vomiting (36%), headache (27%), and convulsions (25%). Also, the results of CT scan included cerebral effusion (16%), hydrocephalus (7%), diffuse cerebral edema (7%), and cerebral atrophy (4%). Statistical analysis indicated a statistically significant association between the complications of meningitis (learning disorder, epilepsy, and hearing disorder) and the results of CT scan (cerebral effusion, diffuse cerebral edema, and hydrocephalus). Conclusion. CT scan can be used as an early diagnostic and prognostic method in children with meningitis. Practical Implications. Meningitis is associated with many complications and deaths, and the lack of diagnostic methods and accurate prognosis is one of the important challenges in this field. Therefore, identifying and introducing accurate and cheap methods for predicting these complications and taking early measures to prevent the development of complications and treatment can be beneficial. The results of the present study showed that CT scan can be used as an early diagnostic and prognostic method in children with meningitis