Patients’ Experience of Living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): A Hermeneutic Phenomenology

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder with a wide range of effects on the individual’s quality of life, emotional state, and identity. Given the lack of knowledge about patients’ perceptions of life with irritable bowel syndrome, this study aimed to describe and interpret patients' experience of living with irritable bowel syndrome Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach on 15 patients with irritable bowel syndrome who referred to three central clinics. The data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews with the participants who were selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was carried out using Van Manen’s six-step methodological framework as a guide. Besides, MAXQDA software was used for data management. Results: The analysis of the data yielded four themes and eight subthemes. The patients’ experiences of living with IBS were manifested through the themes of “crisis and transient release” (with “storm in the corporeality” and “relief” subthemes); “surrender and harassment” (with “mandatory submitting” and “feeling of helplessness” subthemes); “looking for adaptation” (with “struggle in obtaining insight” and “seeking help from coping strategies” subthemes); and “different selfperceptions” (with “threatened self” and “deep self-knowledge” subthemes). Conclusion: Understanding the life experience of IBS patients can be effective in improving the interdisciplinary medical-care programs and reducing their psychological, social, and physical problems. Therefore, carrying out more studies to promote the quality of life of IBS patients is suggested

Investigating the relationship between religious orientation and spiritual intelligence with general health dimensions in women with breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death among women. Religion and spiritual behaviors are effective strategies for maintaining human health. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between religious orientation and spiritual intelligence with general health dimensions in women with breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a correlational study that was performed on 50 women with breast cancer referred to medical centers affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Data were collected through questionnaires of religious orientation, spiritual intelligence, and general health. Data were analyzed by Spearman and regression tests. RESULTS: The results showed that religious orientation had a significant positive relationship with the overall score of general health, but the components of religious orientation had a significant negative relationship with the number of components of public health (p < 0.05). Spiritual intelligence also had a significant positive relationship with general health. However, the number of components of spiritual intelligence has a significant negative relationship with the number of components of general health (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Considering the relationship between religious orientation and spiritual intelligence with public health and considering educational programs based on spiritual intelligence and religious orientation in this group of people can be an important step in promoting their general health

Simultaneous Salmonella septic arthritis and naïve tricuspid valve endocarditis: A case report

Background: Salmonella osteoarticular involvement is a rare complication, occurring in about 2% of the cases. Septic arthritis is exceedingly rare, involving only 0.2 % of all salmonellosis patients. Endocarditis is another complication that occurs in less than 0.8 % of cases. These complications are more likely to happen among immunocompromised patients. Case Presentation: We report a previously healthy 25-year-old man who presented with left limb pain. He had been treated for brucellosis ten days earlier by his primary care physician. Arthrocentesis and subsequent hip-joint biopsy confirmed septic arthritis due to Salmonella. However, he was unresponsive to the treatment. We found no underlying immunosuppression. A trans-esophageal echo was performed due to the continued fever and positive blood cultures. It revealed Salmonella endocarditis of the naïve tricuspid valve. He was treated via arthrotomy and antimicrobials for four weeks. Follow-up after 20 months showed no underlying immunosuppression. Conclusion: This case highlights that in patients with positive Salmonella blood cultures and a focus of infection compatible with Salmonellosis but unresponsive to treatment, searching for other foci of infection is necessary. Furthermore, physicians in endemic areas of brucellosis should consider other differential diagnoses in patients with fever and limping because any delay in diagnosing Salmonella septic arthritis can destroy the joint space with lifelong discomfort

Evaluation of the effectiveness of an herbal formulation of Boswellia sacra Flueck. In improving cognitive and behavioral symptoms in patients with cognitive impairment and alzheimer's disease

Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an herbal formulation based on Boswellia sacra in improving cognitive and behavioral symptoms in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild-to-moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: A 3-month, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial was implemented from October 2021 to April 2022. Patients with MCI and mild-to-moderate stages of AD aged above 50 years (n = 60; 40 women, 20 men) enrolled in the study using clinical diagnosis and a score of 10–30 on the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) test. They were assigned into two groups; one receiving a herbal formulation) include B. sacra, Melissa officinalis, Piper longum, Cinnamomum verum, and Physalis alkekengi) three times a day and the other receiving a placebo for 3 months. The main efficacy measures were the changes in cognitive domains based on the MMSE and changes in behavioral and psychiatric symptoms based on neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) scores compared with baseline. Side effects were also recorded. Findings: Results of this study showed significant differences between the two groups after 3 months in terms of all the assessed variables, including the overall result of the mean score of MMSE and NPI tests (P ≤ 0.001). The herbal formulation had the most considerable effects on the domains of orientation, attention, working memory, delay recall, and language of the MMSE test. Conclusion: Herbal formulation based on B. sacra was significantly effective compared to a placebo in improving cognitive and behavioral symptoms in patients with MCI and mild-to-moderate AD

Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety in Teaching Professors of an Educational Hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Burnout is prevalent in several physicians that may undermine the progress nad performance of physicians, reduced accessibility of patients to physicians, and patients’ safety. This study endeavored to determine burnout, anxiety, and depression in the specialists and attending physicians of one of the educational hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in the academic year 2018. One-hundred twenty-three physicians filled the Malach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety, and Depression Survey (HADS) questionnaires. Results: Forty-four physicians (35.8%) had some levels of burnout. Severe Emotional Exhaustion (EE) was seen in 18 physicians (14.6%). Likewise, severe Depersonalization (DP) in 12 physicians (9.8%), and severe dysfunction in Personal Accomplishment (PA) were seen in 33 physicians (26.8%). Four physicians (3%) had an abnormal level of anxiety, and 32 subjects (26%) were in the borderline zone. Four (3.2%) had abnormal depression, and 12 subjects (9.8%) had a borderline depression. There was a significant relationship between attending teacher type (i.e., educational, research, or treatment) and dysfunction of personal accomplishment (X2 = 12.24, p = 0.02). Moreover, anxiety was higher in non-married physicians (p = 0.046); anxiety was higher in part-time physicians as well (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Findings revealed that burnout is an essential issue in attending physicians of educational hospitals. Identifying and managing burnout and its adverse effects could eliminate further health complications for the physicians and under-treating patients

Experience lived by iranian patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: transitory Crisis and Liberation

Objective. Research on the nature of living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Methods. Qualitative study of the hermeneutical phenomenology, which conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with people trained on the irritable bowel syndrome. The sampling was intentional type and open questions were used to collect data. The Thematic Analysis Method by Van Manen was used. Results. Two principal themes and five subthemes emerged in this research to determine the meaning of living with the irritable bowel syndrome: Storm in corporality (body with pain and affliction, tension and sequence of symptoms, and: distress during moments of life) and Relief (sense of liberation of the body symptoms, and moments with pleasure). Conclusion.The experience lived by patients with irritable bowel syndrome is of a transitory crisis and liberation.Objetivo. Investigar a natureza de viver com a Síndrome do Intestino Irritável. Métodos. Estudo qualitativo da fenomenologia hermenêutica na qual se realizaram entrevistas semiestruturadas em profundidade a pessoas com diagnóstico de síndrome do intestino irritável. A amostragem foi de tipo intencional e se utilizaram perguntas abertas para recopilar os dados. Se empregou o método de análises temático de Van Mennen. Resultados. Dois temas principais e cinco subtemas emergiram na presente investigação para determinar o significado de viver com a Síndrome do Intestino Irritável: Tormenta na corporalidade (corpo com dor e aflição, tensão e sequência de sintomas, e: angustia nos momentos da vida) e Alívio (sensação de liberação dos sintomas corporais, e momentos com prazer). Conclusão. A experiência vivida de pacientes com síndrome do intestino irritável é de uma crises transitórias e liberaçãoObjetivo. Conocer la experiencia de vivir con el Síndrome del Intestino Irritable. Métodos. Estudio cualitativo de la fenomenología hermenéutica en el que se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad a personas con diagnóstico de síndrome del intestino irritable. El muestreo fue de tipo intencional y se utilizaron preguntas abiertas para recopilar los datos. Se empleó el método de análisis temático de Van Mennen. Resultados. Dos temas principales y cinco subtemas emergieron en la presente investigación para determinar el significado de vivir con este síndrome: Tormenta en la corporalidad (cuerpo con dolor y aflicción, tensión y secuencia de síntomas, y: angustia en los momentos de la vida) y Alivio (sensación de liberación de los síntomas corporales, y momentos con placer). Conclusión. La experiencia vivida de pacientes con síndrome del intestino irritable es de una crisis transitoria y de liberación

Patients’ experience of living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): A hermeneutic phenomenology

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder with a wide range of effects on the individual’s quality of life, emotional state, and identity. Given the lack of knowledge about patients’ perceptions of life with irritable bowel syndrome, this study aimed to describe and interpret patients' experience of living with irritable bowel syndrome Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach on 15 patients with irritable bowel syndrome who referred to three central clinics. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with the participants who were selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was carried out using Van Manen’s six-step methodological framework as a guide. Besides, MAXQDA software was used for data management. Results: The analysis of the data yielded four themes and eight subthemes. The patients’ experiences of living with IBS were manifested through the themes of “crisis and transient release” (with “storm in the corporeality” and “relief” subthemes); “surrender and harassment” (with “mandatory submitting” and “feeling of helplessness” subthemes); “looking for adaptation” (with “struggle in obtaining insight” and “seeking help from coping strategies” subthemes); and “different self-perceptions” (with “threatened self” and “deep self-knowledge” subthemes). Conclusion: Understanding the life experience of IBS patients can be effective in improving the interdisciplinary medical-care programs and reducing their psychological, social, and physical problems. Therefore, carrying out more studies to promote the quality of life of IBS patients is suggested

Application of Information Technology by Iranian Dentists: Assement of Knowledge and Performance

Background and Aim : Advances in medical sciences have increased the volume of medical records and documents. In order to solve this problem, the information technology (IT) is now being applied to improve health care. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of dentists about IT and its application by them .   Materials and Methods : In this analytical cross-sectional study, a validated questionnaire was distributed among 220 dentists participating in the 52nd International Congress of Iranian Dental Association and 120 dentists working in Tehran and included 7 questions about knowledge, 8 questions about background, 10 questions about general use of IT and 3 questions about the professional use of IT. The data were entered into SPSS version 18 software and the statistical analyses were performed by regression modeling .   Results : Of a total of 340 general practitioners, 30.4% were males and 11 dentists (3 . 6%) stated that they had no access to a personal computer. Some of the most popular sites visited by dentists were Google (94.3%) and Facebook social networking site (69.8%). Among the participants, 64.5% were not familiar with any website related to their special field of work. The mean knowledge score was 5.3 (SD= 2.5). The application of professional IT was more common among men and among those with higher general use of IT .   Conclusion : Most dentists participated in this study had insufficient knowledge about ​​ professional IT. The general and professional use of IT was poor by dentists and further instruction and training seem necessary in this respect