How much the act of secrecy is done by medical staff? A descriptive cross-sectional survey in south of Iran

Some information may be gathered during the medical procedures, including medical records or personal information. Many of them can be considered as secrets. The medical staff has the duty of privacy, which means keeping the secrets away from a third party. Hippocratic Oath accepts no exceptions but modern ethical express the situations in which the disclosure of secrets is allowed, legal, or even necessary. The present study is about to evaluate the act of secrecy in medical staff of the tertiary health care centers affiliated with Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in south of Iran. This cross sectional study is done on 204 members of medical staff of 8 different wards in tertiary health care centers affiliated with Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in south of Iran, using a questionnaire of 31 questions in 5 major categories adding to a data sheet for demographic information (age, gender, ward). Validity and reliability of the questionnaire was proved by previous studies. Collected data analyzed by dependent T-test, Fisher's exact and SPSS.17 using descriptive and deductive statistics. The mean rate of secrecy was 3.82± 0.75. Respecting others in the category of "goals of secrecy" earned 4.48, common medical services in the category of "reasons for disclosure" earned 3.89, damage to the patient in the category of "legal reasons for disclosure" earned 4.05, patient's rights in "personal reasons for secrecy" earned 4.07, and informing the medical managers in "proper way to confront the offenders" with the score 2.85 were the highest scores of each category. The variant Ages (p=0.003) and wards (p=0.03) showed significant differences in the secrecy. Results show that the medical staff is not familiar enough to the legal and ethical indications of secrecy, so holding in-service courses may be effective

Pattern of inheritance of idiopathic hypercalciuria in two families

Idiopathic hypercalciuria is a leading cause of frequency-dysuria syndrome in childhood. Different modes of inheritance have been suggested in this disease. This article presents the occurrence of idiopathic hypercalciuria in all children of two families. In the first family, a 5.5 year old girl with a history of renal stones and dysuria due to hypercalciuria, had two involved brothers and one sister. In the second family, hypercalciuria and medullary nephrocalcinosis were detected in two siblings who were admitted for polyuria and dysuria. Idiopathic type of hypercalciuria was diagnosed in these two families by normal laboratory exams and exclusion of other causes of normocalcemic hypercalciuria. According to the involvement of all offsprings (both sexes) in these two families, it is suggested that idiopathic hypercalciuria is an autosomal dominant disease with complete penetration. © 2006 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

HYPERTENSIVE ENCEPHALOPATHY INDUCED BY MERCURY POISONING; A REPORT OF 3 CASES (IN AN IRANIAN FAMILY)

ObjectiveMercury poisoning is one of the important recent causes of mortality and mortality in children worldwide, particularly in industrial environments; mercury is a poisonous metal, especially harmful to the nervous and immune systems and the kidneys and can even be fatal. Elemental mercury is present in thermometers, barometer batteries, sphygmomanometers and latex paints.Inorganic mercury salts are found in antiseptics, pesticides, pigments and explosives and are used as preservatives in medicine. Mercury was once used to stop fever, and this worked because the immune system was so weakened that it could no longer sustain the attack for which the fever was created. Some medical drugs still contain mercury chloride and mercurous chloride and certain forms of mercury are still used in some laxatives. Mercury toxicity of the nervous system causes anorexia, ataxia, lack of ability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements, dementia, depression, dizziness, emotional instability, erethism (abnormal irritability in response to stimulation), incoordination, insomnia, irritability, loss of ability to speak, memory impairment, numbness, saresthesias (sensation of prickling, tingling or creeping on the skin), psychosis, tremors, drowsiness, fatigue and weakness.Other organ damages include kidney failure, headaches, hearing impairment, visual impairment, hypertension, dermatitis, digestive tract problems, colitis, diarrhea, stomatitis and excessive salivation, loss of teeth, metallic taste, chromosomal damage, birth defects and ensuing organ failure. Chronic mercury poisoning can cause Acrodynia (Pink disease). Mercury poisoning is a rare cause of hypertension in children. Herein we report 3 cases, the first a child with hypertensive encephalopathy due to severe mercury poisoning and his two siblings with moderate symptoms.Case reportA 10 year old boy was admitted in psychiatric ward of Imam Hossein Hospital with behavioral disorder, irritability, mood change and convulsion. Because of his blood pressure which was 160/120 he was referred and admitted to the Pediatric Nephrology department. On arrival, for his hypotonia and the pink  discoloration of his fingers a diagnosis of Acrodynia (Pink disease) was considered; his history showed that he has played with a ball of mercury, taken from a laboratory. He and his 2 siblings received British Anti Lewisite(BAL) and D-penicillamin; at follow-up all symptoms had gradually disappeared and they are well now.Keywords:Mercury poisoning, Children, Renal complications, Hypertensive encephalopath

Changes of cortisol hormone caused by stressing rainbow trout

Chronic and acute effects of stress on the reproductive system and hormonal balance in higher vertebrates is well documented, but the subject is little investigated on fish. Understanding the courses of stress to eliminate or minimize them, will contribute to designing culture systems, or methods, based on the physiological requirements of fish. This will consequently enhance production of cultured fish. This study has investigated the effects of stress as a result of handling and induced spawning through injection of HCG (1100 IU/kg), GnRH (2 Ug/kg), dopamine antagonist (25 mg/kg) and distilled water (0.5 cc/kg). Taking into consideration that the secretion of cortisol is the first response to stress, therefor the level of cortisol in the blood of injected fish (rainbow trout spawners) was compared by using Radio Immuno-Assay technic. In three treatments cortisol level of blood after 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 minutes after stress was measured. The present study showed a significant increase in the level of cortisol in the blood of fish compared to uninjected control treatment. This increase was caused by stress related to handling and spawning. There were no highly significant difference (P < 0.01) in the cortisol level among the fish injected with HCG, GnRH and dopamine antagonist. The type of injecting material does not make a difference in the amount of stress and cortisol level. This research has concluded that handling and injection make a significant stress for the spawning fish. It is recommended to use ecological factors to persuade natural spawning without disturbance and injections

Evaluation of some biofilter substrates in freshwater recirculation system

The nitrifying bacteria acting on various biofilter substrates including: scoria, P.V.C., marble and zeolite were evaluated. The experiment started with manufacture of a recirculation system with 130 liter fresh water volume in 7 l.min-1 flow rate in 3 replicate for every treatment. The volume of each biofilter was 60×40×30cm and after achievement to stable environmental conditions the nitrifying bacteria at a concentration of 105 ml-1were inoculated in each biofilters. Daily 3-10mg.l-1 of NH4Cl was added to biofilters. The procedure was conducted by exposure of Ammonium and Nitrate concentrations and pH in biofilters. The results showed that the Scoria can be reliable substrate as biofilter, in which provide the best substrate for the growth and attachment of the nitrifying bacteria which can reduce the retention time of a biofilter from 40-60 to 15 days

The effect of anaerobic fermentation of cow manure on culture of Rutilus frisii Kutum and comparison of survival and growth factors versus traditional feeding

Rutilus firisii kutum is one of the important fish in Caspian Sea that has significant economical role to the region. The overall objective of the project is to compare the growth and survival of Rutilus frisii Kutum larvae under conventional conditions and conditions under use of organic fertilizer by anaerobic fermentation or slurry. This study was conducted in nine 1.7 hec pounds with 3 treatments with stocking densities of 1.7 million fish larva at Dr Yousefpoor Center at Siakal Village, 32km far from city of Rasht in North of Iran. The first treatment considered as control using concentrated food and grinded kilka fish. In the second treatment, the pound was supplied only by slurry for 13 days followed by concentrated fish food. The third treatment started with slurry for 13 days followed by slurry and concentrated food together. The physical and chemical parameters of water, plankton, biometry of fish, growth indices were monitored weekly. The result indicated that production was 1.7 to 2 times higher in slurry than traditional treatment also the survival rate was 1.7 times higher in slurry treatment. Slurry with several active substances is more effective and can promote the growth of zooplanktons that is the food for larval stage of Rutilus frisi kutum. Nutritional contents of phosphorous, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, potassium, protein and lipid after anaerobic fermentation were higher in slurry treatment than control. The blue-green algae density in slurry pounds was less than control

Mercury Bioaccumulation in Some Commercially Valuable Marine Organisms from Mosa Bay, Persian Gulf

ABSTRACT: This study was undertaken to determine the concentration of mercury in edible muscle of five commercially valuable marine organisms from Mosa Bay, Persian Gulf, Iran. The total mercury concentrations were determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry and expressed in µg/g dry weight. Certified reference materials were used for each batch of analysis. Mercury concentration was 0.373 µg/g for Liza abu, 1.172 µg/g Sparidentex hasta, 0.445µg/g for Acanthopagrus latus, 0.390 µg/g for Thunnus tonggol, and 0.360 µg/g for Fenneropenaeus indicus. Carnivorous fish had higher level of mercury than non-carnivorous. Statistical analysis revealed weak correlation between fish mercury concentration and length for all studied organisms. The observed concentrations were comparable to those found in other areas of the Persian Gulf and were lower than the WHO guideline of 0.5 mg/kg wet weight. Our result demonstrated that estimated daily and weekly intakes of mercury via consumption of fish flesh were far below the PTDI and PTWI values recommended by FAO/WHO