Effects of peer review process on quality of nursing records

Background Nursing records are considered as an indicator of care and its quality; therefore, any flaw in them can represent inadequacy of care. Peer review is an approach to authority submission by managers for nursing quality assurance.  PurposeThis quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine the effects of peer review process implementation on the quality of nursing records in critical cardiac wards (CCU and PCCU) at governmental hospitals of Arak in 2007. Methods4 wards (CCU and PCCU) at 2 hospitals in Arak were selected. 2 wards with more nursing staff (25 nurses) and the other 2 with less staff (19 nurses) were chosen as case and control groups respectively. Checklists for assessing the quality of nursing records were used for data collection. 35 checklists were completed by a colleague as a pretest. Raters had been instructed regarding the assessment 1 month before the intervention. The peer review process was then performed by the raters 1 month with direct and 1 month without direct supervision of researchers. The checklists were completed again for both groups as a posttest. Results No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of demographic characteristics (age, education, financial status,…). There was no relationship between these characteristics and the quality of records. However, a significant difference was found between the groups regarding the quality of records before and after the intervention (

Systematic revision of compositae in Egypt

Volume: 30Start Page: 439End Page: 45

Investigating Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease Based on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome phenotypes in the 18-14 year Old High School Girls in Shiraz 2009

Introduction: In patients with polycystic ovary syndrome hyperinsulinaemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia may represent an increased risk for coronary cardiovascular disease .This study aimed to investigate risk factors for cardiovascular disease based on polycystic ovary syndrome phenotypes in Shiraz. Methods: This Cross-sectional study was performed on 3200 students aged 18-14. Demographic survey, clinical signs of androgen excess (acne, hirsutism, alopecia), Ultrasound were applied in order to find the cyst. Tests included prolactin, dehydroepiandrodion sulfate, and oral glucose tolerance test, fasting blood glucose, blood sugar two hours later, triglycerides, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein. Data were submitted to SPSS software, version 11.5 and then analyzed by chi-square tests. Results: The serum cholesterol mean in four phenotypes had a statistically significant relationship with non-PCOS patients(p<0.05). Mean of serum cholesterol in oligomenorrhea, Hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovary phenotype (195.09±30.28) was higher than the other phenotypes. Mean of serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein(LDL-C) were significantly higher in patients with Hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovarian phenotype(130.046±26.27) and oligomenorrhea, Hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovary syndrome phenotype(138.58±28.34) compared with non-infected individuals. Serum glucose mean in all phenotype was higher than non-infected after two hours and it showed a significant relation in oligomenorrhea and also polycystic ovarian phenotype(98.03 ± 20.98 versus 87.5±12.97) with non-infected individuals. Conclusion: Biochemical factors that lead to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases is increased in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Therefore, it should be attended in prevention program